Nothing that well planned is pure luck. Congratulations!
I would need an α9 ΙΙΙ to get that shot. Even with your tips!
cheers
There was one tip I did not mention
Choose the right insect. This is an Australian hoverfly. As its name implies ... it hovers. It makes it considerably easier to photograph mid-flight. If it flew like a normal insect it would be close to impossible to capture!
Here is another.
And this guy in the middle of lunch. Even this is difficult to capture, if the wind blows the flower, your photo will be out of focus.
Insect photography is way too difficult. Here are a few more tips:
- lens: insects are skittish so you don't want to get too close to them. You need a 100mm lens with a magnification of 1:1. Forget 50mm macro lenses.
- autofocus: forget it. There is no way your camera will lock on to something that small and fast. AF usually goes for the background.
- camera resolution: as high as possible. You will need to crop your photo.
- APS-C has an advantage over full frame. You get "free" focal length and more resolution.
- ISO: as high as possible to compensate for the small aperture and fast shutter speed.
- flash: absolutely mandatory. Preferably a special macro flash, I used a Canon MR-26EX. Normal flashes can't tilt down enough. You need it to be in manual mode because you don't know what it will meter, it will probably meter for the background and overexpose the subject. Since you don't know the exposure of the subject, you need to dial it in by photographing the tip of a pen at the approximate distance you want to shoot your insect.
Some insect photographers kill or freeze insects to stop them from moving. The insects are then posed for photos. Now I have to admit that I am a bit conflicted here, after all I am responsible for countless insect deaths (e.g. I wiped out an entire ant colony a few weeks ago). But killing insects for photos? I am against it but I can not explain my moral double standard.
Another tip that many insect photographers consider cheating is to dab some honey on a photogenic flower. You then wait for a volunteer to come along. I don't find this morally questionable, but again I don't do it.
In any case, I chased insects for a year. For the investment of a couple of thousand $$$ in equipment, I have these 3 photos to show for it. The rest are utterly forgettable. These days I only do travel photography.
