1)Chrisgetsclosetoa marbledwhitebutterfly.2 )Usinga
Benrogearedheadaidspreciseframing.3 )LiveViewfocusing
helpsChrisfocuspreciselyonthebutterfly’seyes.4 )Ross
addsextralightwiththehelpofa smallManfrottoLEDlight.
5)Thankstotheovercastconditions,lightis flatandboring.
6)Somefrontlightinghelpsliftthesubjectfromitsbackdrop.CHALLENGE 3: LIGHTING
By the time we reached our last location- an area of culm grassland just over the
border in north Devon – it was 7.30pm. The
afternoon had whizzed by and we were now
losingthelight.Chrishadn’tbeenparticularly
luckywiththeconditions,withcloudand
windaddingto thechallenge,butnature
photographyis rarelyeasy.Aswewalked
alongtheboardwalktowardthereserve,
I toldChristhatforhisfinalchallenge,light
neededto bethekeyingredient.Withthe
sunobscuredbycloud,hewouldn’tbeable
to relyonnaturallight,butinsteadhewould
needto generatehisownusingeitherflash
orLEDlighting,andapplyit creatively.
Insectsgrowinactivetowardeveningas
temperaturesfall.Therefore,if wecould
locatea suitablesubject,I hopedChris
wouldbeabletoset-uphistripodclose-by
andhavethetimeandopportunityto
refinehiscomposition,backgroundand
lighting.In contrasttoourearlierstruggles,
wefounda handfulofroostingmarbled
whitebutterflieswithinminutesofentering
thereserve.Forinsurancepurposes,Chris
grabbedsomehandheldimagesbeforehe
attemptedtoset-uphistripod,justin case
it flewawaywhenhepositionedthelegs.
However,thebutterflydidn’tflinchasChris
placedhisset-upnearby.
Theabilitytousea tripodforinsect
photographyis hugelybeneficial.Youcan
composeyourshotwithmoreaccuracyand
focusviaLiveViewforpin-pointprecision.
Withyourcamerafixedin position,you
havetimetoallowyoureyetoexplorethe
frameforanydistractinggrassesordead
vegetation,whichyoucanthencarefully
remove.Chrisexperimentedwithdifferent
compositions before settling on the one
heliked best. His Nikon D750 boasts ‘Live’
depth-of-field, so Chris was able to adjust
hisaperture until he achieved the right
balance between subject sharpness and
background blur. We scrutinised his shots
viaplayback and they were perfectly sharp
andexposed. However, the lighting was flat
dueto the overcast conditions.Chris had recently purchased a small
LED light for photography and was keen
to use it. I explained that a little LED device
is great for small subjects and using one
can completely alter the look and feel of an
image. Being a continuous light source, they
couldn’t be easier to use as you instantly
see the effect they create. Chris’s Manfrotto
Lumimuse LED could be hotshoe-mounted“Chris’sfinalshotsof thedaywerealsohisbestin
my opinion. Using a tripod provides so much
more control and precision, but typically it is only
possible to use a support during early morning
and late evening shoots when subjects are
cooler and less active. We found a lovely subject- a pristine butterfly perched on a photogenic
flower head. Chris needed little help from me,
and he enjoyed experimenting with the LED light
to create different effects – seeing for himself the
impact and importance of light when shooting
insects. I love backlighting and his final shot is a
classy insect close-up. Top stuff .”
CHALLENGE 3 Pro verdict
5126374 Digital SLR Photography October 2019
The (^) Photo Workshop