Macro/Close ups of Insects **Pic Heavy**
- Thread starter Cobweb
- Start date
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no worries, the first picture is made from a 6 pint milk bottle. the main things are to get the flash away from being in line with the lens, even a tiny bit makes a difference. then aim to get the flash close to the subject to minimise the amount of power needed to prevent blowing out highlights, then diffuse the flash so it isnt that harsh cold light - a cotton shirt, a stofen omnibounce, gary fong products, chopped up milk bottles or similar all work
when you do it like that you get nice coloured lighting, with nice shadows etc and its quite even cos of the diffusion.
loads of info on google etc
Thanks again Mr Ed. I've got a Canon 350D and a 430EX speedlite. When mounted, is the flash far enough away from the lens? If not, how can I get the flashgun to fire remotely without spending vast amounts of money. BTW I have the stofen omnibounce already so that should help.
Thanks mate.
the aim is to get the flash as close as possible to the subject so that you dont have to use lots of light power, and therefore get more pleasing illumination
if your camera supports wireless flash triggering then fine use that if it doens then get an 'off camera flash cord' as you own a canon you can get generic ones or canon own brand which are better and nicer built ( i used to have one)
that way you can use the camera and flash with all features anything upto about 3 ft away, its quite useful for creative lighting anyway.
before you spend out though what lens are you using? i got quite good results using the flash on the hotshoe and the milk bottle diffuser with a 100mm lens and a 150mm lens and got good results. its all about experimentation.
another good diffuser material is the corrugated opaque plastic modelling board you can get at hobby craft etc.
i reckon though for around 25 quid you could get an off camera flash cord and some kind of flash bracket. the cord will have a tripod socket on the bottom of the flash end which makes for easy mounting. for the flash bracket either go to a 'proper' camera shop and see if they have 2nd hand bits for sale and look for a flash bracket like this
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/9097/show.html
(thats over priced IMO and they can be got cheaper)
then you can attach it to the bottom of your camera and the flash on the other end, i used 2 that i joined together to give me a pivot origianlly but it was a bit unbalanced. i then just used to one and was able to position the flash next to the lens but pointing in.
i will have a look around see if i have a spare bracket you can have, or any other bits from when i was experimenting, i may have binned it all though so cant promise.
PM me if you want to know more
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My first attempt at posting a photo.
not a very artistic portrait, but a nice subject.
It was photographed in Ghana at Akosombo
not a very artistic portrait, but a nice subject.
It was photographed in Ghana at Akosombo
Fantastic !! Love the way he's peeping over the leaf
Thanks Dave. He is a bit of a tease.
i havnt been on here in a while but this thread looked interesting as iv just added photography to my list of hobies. (i have only had the camera for about 2 weeks and havnt had mutch photography expeerience yet)
these where taken with my nikon d3000 with just the origional kit lens (18-55mmVR) in the back garden last weekend.
i hope to get a maco lens soon, but i just kind of blew all my money on the camera so maybe not as soon as i would like.
these where taken with my nikon d3000 with just the origional kit lens (18-55mmVR) in the back garden last weekend.
i hope to get a maco lens soon, but i just kind of blew all my money on the camera so maybe not as soon as i would like.
good shots steve i do like this thread and cant wait to get my nikon d3000 and start taking photos
Green Veined Butterfly
check here for the large one, the detail in the eyes is awesome
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flat4/4595677670/sizes/l/in/photostream/
check here for the large one, the detail in the eyes is awesome
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flat4/4595677670/sizes/l/in/photostream/
here a pic from here
and a link to the pic on picasa in case you want to watch it with more detail
http://picasaweb.google.com/esteban.soler/Bichos#5364703767483093570
the spider was identified by some guy at a spiders website as a hunter spider
no need for macro at this pic since the spider was about 12 cm in diameter (5 inches)
cheers
Esteban
and a link to the pic on picasa in case you want to watch it with more detail
http://picasaweb.google.com/esteban.soler/Bichos#5364703767483093570
the spider was identified by some guy at a spiders website as a hunter spider
no need for macro at this pic since the spider was about 12 cm in diameter (5 inches)
cheers
Esteban
here a pic from here
and a link to the pic on picasa in case you want to watch it with more detail
http://picasaweb.google.com/esteban.soler/Bichos#5364703767483093570
the spider was identified by some guy at a spiders website as a hunter spider
no need for macro at this pic since the spider was about 12 cm in diameter (5 inches)
cheers
Esteban
Those spiders give me the willies. It's the same species they used in the film Arachnophobia. They jump very fast. They're like House spiders on steroids.