Beetle photography

Ground beetle:

30252478224_d44d8e94b7_o.jpg
 

Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
CR Pro
Nov 7, 2013
5,664
8,491
Germany
Hello Tamas!

Thanks for sharing you pictures.
When I looked at them I was a little bit confused that they all seemed to be a bit out of focus (OOF) or have some motion blur, see for example the black beetle's front leg on the right hand side, where you can see some motion.

When I looked at the exposure data on your fickr page I wasn't surprised anymore because of seeing the long exposure times. I also saw that you were almost anytime shooting at base ISO 100.
So now I suppose, you were using a tripod and guess that the insects were alive and not frozen or dead and the leaces were also shaking in the wind.
If my guess is true, I'd say that for that conditions your pictures are fine.

If you want to get them sharper and more "pop" I may give you some advice and say the following:
- For such close up insect portraits I think your composition is okay. But you have to think about technique first.
- Your pictures lack of detail sharpness, possibly because of the reasons mentioned above.
- Firstly I would raise ISO. Base ISO (100) isn't always the "sweet spot" with Canon sensors.
I don't know the sensor of your EOS 1200D but most Canon sensors have their sweet spot at ISO400
and I guess you won't see any difference if you'd go up to ISO800.
==> This will allow you to make your shutter time shorter.
Even with tripod I'd go at least to 1/100 sec for living insects and if they're moving even 1/250 isn't enough
Also some bursts - 3 or more shots in a row - help you to get one sharp picture.
So with this we should have avoided motion blur.
- Secondly I'd be more careful with focus.
If the subject IS NOT moving, I'd go for manual focus in LiveView and max. magnification on LCD
If the subject IS moving, select the appropriate AF point and again also shoot bursts.
- Thirdly think about fill light or flash if the lighting conditions are bad.
you can think of reflectors (cheap: kitchen foil or styrofoam), LED ring lights (they don't cost that much) or flashes.
If you're using flashes, note that macro ring flashes are quite expensive
but normal flashes will cause shadows from the lens if you're really close.

A personal example might be this dragonfly:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=442.msg333811#msg333811

I hope, my advice is welcome and that we'll see some more of your macro work.

Yours,
Maximilian
 
Upvote 0

photojoern.de

See more in http://photojoern.de
Mar 10, 2016
53
0
Berlin, Germany
photojoern.de
When I looked at them I was a little bit confused that they all seemed to be a bit out of focus (OOF) or have some motion blur, see for example the black beetle's front leg on the right hand side, where you can see some motion.
The grasshopper is front focussed, in my opinion. Not sharp at the head. Macro photography has always the difficulty of shallow depth of field. Increasing ISO and closing the aperture might be one remedy. Focus stacking for still objects another. But this grasshopper one is, as I see it, not properly focussed. Which is always imperative #1.
 
Upvote 0
Hello Maximilian!

Thank you for your detailed answer and advices. I've just bought my 1200D and EF-S 60mm lens last christmas and started to take macro photos this spring so I'm still learning how to use it. I will try to raise the ISO to 400. Most of the times I'm using the Aperture-priority AE program of the camera and select at least f/8 aperture to have a wider DOF. Tripod is a must for me as I try to get as close to the subject as possible and am using the EF-25 II extension tube many times to increase the magnification. I prefer to focus through the viewfinder but will try to take some shots with LiveView.
Until next beetle season begins here's a stink bug: Rhaphigaster nebulosa.

30252695484_522748fbc8_o.jpg
 
Upvote 0

Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
CR Pro
Nov 7, 2013
5,664
8,491
Germany
SkynetTX said:
Hello Maximilian!

Thank you for your detailed answer and advices.
I am glad that you appreciate it.

... and started to take macro photos this spring so I'm still learning how to use it. I will try to raise the ISO to 400.
Try out also ISO 800 or even 1600 and look if the results (esp. sensor noise) are still pleasing you.

Most of the times I'm using the Aperture-priority AE program of the camera and select at least f/8 aperture to have a wider DOF. Tripod is a must for me as I try to get as close to the subject as possible and am using the EF-25 II extension tube many times to increase the magnification.
I think that is totally okay but also try to avoid to narrow apertures like f/32 because it makes short shutter times difficult and also you will have some sharpness limitation because of diffraction.
When I am working with a fill flash or FED ring light I am working with full manual and Auto ISO, so I have fill control over shutter and aperture, but I'll have to watch for the ISO not getting too high.

Until next beetle season begins here's a stink bug: Rhaphigaster nebulosa.
You can improve your technique during the winter with other subjects ;)

Have fun and good luck.
 
Upvote 0