Photography Basics

Camera and lens choices

Modern digital cameras are usually capable of taking great photographs of insects.  A DSLR or Mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses is recommended.  Beyond that, it really boils down to personal taste and budget as to which camera to buy. A good way to make a choice is to search macro photos on Flickr.com by camera type. The following features are desirable if the budget allows:

  • A mirrorless camera with a high definition electronic viewfinder.

  • One of the more recent cameras with a high performance sensor that gives low noise even at elevated ISO.

  • A full-frame sensor is preferable

  • In-camera focus bracketing and possibly in-camera stacking.

  • Rapid continuous shooting, such as 15 frames per second (fps) or faster

  • At least 40 Megapixel (MP) resolution, and ideally more, for digital cropping.

  • Rapid autofocus preferably with insect recognition capability

  • In-body and in-lens image stabilization.

Lens choices are determined by the type of photo we want to take. For shots where we want to be unobtrusive and avoid disturbing the subject, a telephoto lens with a minimum focus distance of around a metre is desirable. (Some of the example shots shown in the Gallery use a Sony 150-400mm lens for this purpose).

A macro lens is needed for close-up shots. For a full frame camera like the Sony A7R4, a 90mm lens might be a good choice. For a crop-sensor camera such as the Olympus range, a shorter focal length will also work well, maybe a 60mm or shorter. Just be aware that with very short focal lengths, such as 30mm, you need to get quite close to the subject and that makes lighting a challenge and demands very cooperative subjects! We will talk about ways to adjust the magnification with extension tubes and magnifying lens add-ons.

Insect photography in the field is often opportunistic.  The choices of camera equipment and lighting must usually be made in advance, by anticipating the sort of shot that will be needed.

Very often, when an unexpected opportunity arises, the only camera available will be the one in your phone or maybe a compact camera in your pocket. These can also produce acceptable photos! We won’t be concentrating on them in this website - but don’t let those opportunities pass!

©Helen Moody

Use of “manual” rather than “auto”

Most photographers start by using the “auto” setting and letting the camera make the choices about aperture, shutter speed, ISO etc.  However, “auto” settings are essentially chosen by the camera’s algorithms for a generalized situation. This approach doesn't always yield the best possible results for photographing insects.  You'll need to know how to operate the camera manually, choosing the settings that will work best for the situation.

So set the dial to “M” for manual and we will get into the question of which settings you will be using!

Balancing ISO, aperture and shutter speed for photographing insects

The settings on the camera are primarily about balancing trade-offs in managing the light from the subject.  What shutter speed is needed given the amount of movement in the subject?  Aperture choices are about allowing the right amount of light whilst accommodating the depth of field that is required.  ISO choices determine how much detail can be captured and how much is lost due to “noise” - a graininess in the image. 

The following table describes the trade-off that we are managing when adjusting these variables.

Don’t be put off by the complexity of the diagram. In the video below we will go through it bit-by-bit and explain what it all means! If you want more detailed explanation of the terms, see the “other resources” tab.

Chromatic aberration and loss of sharpness

It is tempting to go for very large apertures (small F numbers) to let more light into the shot. However, the closer we get to the lowest F number supported by our lens, the greater the risk of chromatic aberration. This means color artefacts that appear at the peripheries of the subject. At the same time there is an increasing risk of loss of sharpness. In general, it is best to steer clear of the lowest possible F numbers. However, it should be noted that this is very much lens-dependent. You need to find how far you can go, for a given lens, before these problems start to appear.

Diffraction

One option for increasing the depth of field is to move to a small aperture (high F number). A small aperture means a greater depth of field …..but there is a problem! At small apertures, say F16-F22, diffraction becomes an issue. Diffraction is when light rays from the image are dispersed by passing through a small hole (the camera’s aperture), such that they interfere with each other. This causes a loss of detail in the shot. This issue limits the ability to use aperture to solve the problem of a narrow depth of field in the image. We must look elsewhere for a solution.

The narrow depth of field issue

To get enough light into a shot, we may choose a wide aperture. However, this implies a narrow depth of field; only a small portion of the insect will be in focus. To achieve a good image, with all of our subject in focus, we need to combine multiple images, each with different points of focus. This is called focus stacking.

Check out this photo of a crane fly. Only a portion of the image is in focus, just part of the legs nearest to the camera. The diagram above shows the relationship between aperture and the depth of field. A small F number (large aperture) was clearly used in this image as the depth of field is quite narrow.

Another factor affecting the depth of field is the distance between camera and subject. The closer you get to the subject and the greater the magnification, the narrower the depth of field.

Cameras with larger sensors (such as full-frame cameras) tend to have a narrower depth of field compared to cameras with smaller sensors (crop-sensor cameras) when using the same focal length and the same aperture. This is one of the reasons why many macro photographers are happy with their smaller sensors - such as the very active Olympus OMD macro community.

To get an image of the whole insect, about 60 images like this were needed, each with different points in focus. These were “stacked” into a single image so it looked like this:

©Phil Warb

Symplecta pilipes
Family: Limoniidae
Order: Diptera

Lighting

Lighting is critical in any photograph. The methods vary depending on the situation and the type of photograph being taken. Ambient light might be the best solution for photographs taken at a distance away from the insect with a telephoto lens. When getting up-close and personal with a Macro lens, then external lighting such as flash with a diffuser becomes essential.

In general, we would want to avoid any shadows in the image as it would reduce the clarity of the image and diminish its value as a scientific record. See menu for more on lighting.