EOS 90D How to photograph bees' wings

[Ramsden]

Good morning from the North of England

I was warned that Macro photography would take me to weird and wonderful places - and it has. My front garden has provided a great, but predictable source of flowers etc. But now my lavendar bushes are in full bloom and attracting lots of bees.

So, serious question: how to get close to bees wings and take great photos. I have an EOS90D + an EFS 24MM, a nifty fifty and an EF 25 extension which I've been mainly using for my macro photographs. So far, my biggest problem has been getting things in focus, particularly when they move - but the bees wings are at another level of difficulty.

As a keen learner, any advice on technique and settings will be gratefully received.

Best 

Ramsden

[Ramsden]

Hey March 

They are amazing shots. I don't have such a big lens and I can see the point of  not harrasing wildlife with my camera. You guys have been so helpful with my post and I'm learning so much.

Thanks

Ramsden

[Ramsden]

This is really helpful.

Thanks again

Ramsden

[zakslm]

Ramsden,

Not to put too much on your plate, but as other may have suggested, if you do not already do so, you may want to shoot in RAW and then process your shots using Canon DPP.  The camera does a pretty nice job producing JPG's but there are things you can do with and to a RAW image that the camera cannot or will not do.

The only RAW processing software I've used is DPP and I started doing so a couple of years ago at the suggestion of the experts on this message board.  Since I have not used them, I can't tell you about or recommend Lightroom or any other programs.

Among other features, built into DPP is a "Digital Lens Optimizer" that does some lens correction for Canon lenses. It also will show and tell you alot of information about your shot including which focus points were used and all of your shooting data.  There are tutorials on Youtube that will help you get started with DPP, with repeated use and trial and error, it shouldn't be too hard to find your way around.

The learning curve for that software isn't too steep and my process is use the Digital Lens Optimizer, appy the best crop, then to click the "Auto" button and tweak from there.  Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised at details or enhancements to my shots that are made when I click "Auto" on the Basic Image Adjustments tab of the Tool Pallet and I've learned to use the sliders on that tab and others to further tweak my images.  It's a free download from Canon that can be found in the Downloads section on the Support Menu for your camera and free to use once you enter your camera's serial number.

Just another suggestion to enhance your enjoyment.

Regards,

LZ

[March411]

Here is a link to the Digital Photo Professional software zakslm suggested, it will be in the second block of applications as your scroll down the page. I also use it to review, cull and check focus points. It's a bit slow but zakslm is correct, good tool and it's free.

EOS / PowerShot / SELPHY Apps & software 

[Ramsden]

Hi LZ

Yep got the DPP. Just a question on your screen shots for setting the back button. In the first step you say to set the right hand button - but one of the Canon YouTubes suggests the middle button for metering start. I’ve tried them both and there doesn’t seem much difference. Both work great and it’s so logical and simple. Repeating myself, this has been a great 48 hrs.

Thanks

Ramsden

[zakslm]

Ramsden,

Good questions and I was thinking about it after I sent you the reply.

I pretty sure this is the difference:

• The * is "Exposure Lock".  So if you recompose while the shutter button is pressed half-way down, the exposure is locked based on what was in the viewfinder when you pressed the shutter button half-way down.  For instance, if I know the subject is backlit or has a very bright background, I'll lock exposure on a somewhere in a darker shadow area first, recompose the shot, use back button focus and then take the shot.  It makes pressing the shutter button half-way behave like the * button (Exposure Lock) that is located to the right of the AF-ON button.
• The middle icon (to the best of my knowledge) turns on the metering but doesn't lock exposure. So if the illumination changes between the time you half-way press the shutter button and take the shot, I think the exposure setting will change accordingly.  

When I sent you my the shots of my set-up, I realized that had exposure lock set.  I intend to experiment a bit in different situations, but I don't think it will matter much when taking shots at 10fps of small creatures on or near plants.

Good luck!

LZ

[Ramsden]

Hi 

That makes sense. We have a few flies around so set up on your settings 5 mins ago. It works and is dextrous to my old hands to use. Getting the exposure background set beforehand is stage 2 on my course. I clearly need to get my head around composition and exposure. In the meantime I just shot a fly that came in from the garden and it was so good. The memory too big to attach because they were on DPP! The scary thing today was that my journey into macro could end up with bigger lenses to avoid disturbing the insects and bees!

I’ll work have to work on this.

Best

Ramsden

Best

Ramsden

[Ramsden]

[Ramsden]

That’s with your settings!

[zakslm]

Well done!

Wierd things happen when you start experimenting and getting into macro.  Sometime you see things in the photo you didn't notice when taking the photo like the little guy at about 5 o'clock in the photo below.