Macro Insects and a Focusing Tips (Original Macro Photography)

Howdy,

It has been a great week for macro photography, but getting a great macro image isn't as easy as one might think. The closer you get to your subject, the less of the image is in focus. The slightest movement from an unstable hand or even breathing can throw the focus off. Add the movement of the leaf or critter you're trying to focus on and it becomes even harder. Fortunately, there are a few tricks to getting the shot. I'll share some below.

^Breakfast!

This was a photo I took in the early morning light. Morning is a great time to take macro photos of insects, since the temperatures are cooler and they don't move as quickly. I saw this metallic green bug eating someone for breakfast and had to try and get it.

Focusing Tip Nº 1:
Try setting your camera to high-speed burst. When your camera focuses, hold the shutter and move toward and away from the subject ever so slightly. One of the photos should be in focus!

^{Let's call him "Harry"}

This one is an invasive species. Locally referred to as Japanese beetles, they are very good at eating the leaves off of trees. The burnished bronze shell and white dots around their backside make them quite pretty, though.

Focusing Tip Nº 2:
If possible, kneel down and use an elbow on the ground or on your knee for stabilization. It's not a tripod, but it does help prevent your camera from shaking.

^{Definitely Caught the Red-Eye}

This red-eyed bug seems to be a bee of some sort. It's back had yellow and black markings, though it was too small for me to see whether it had a stinger or not. It was a little dark, so I had my aperture wide open. Getting a little lower down, I managed to get the eyes in focus, as well as the leaf it was perched on.

Focusing Tip Nº 3
If your eyesight is good, practice with manual focus. Sharp vision and manual focus can be much quicker and more accurate with macro lenses. When I could still do it, I would overshoot a little both front and back focusing, then split the difference.

Even if your eyesight isn't great, you can roll your focusing ring while using high-speed burst. Just like slightly moving toward and away from the subject after locking focus, you should get a couple of shots that are spot-on.

And what if the subject is moving?

Hope your auto focus is better than mine! Here's a little video I put together to illustrate my relationship with trying to focus moving targets...

Thank you for taking a look! If you enjoy my work, please click the upvote button. Comments are also greatly appreciated.