SLR Photography Guide

What is the best time of the day for macro insect photography

I recently read in a photography magazine that one of the best times of the day for insect photography is early morning, before the dew dries out. This weekend I decided to get up at the break of dawn and put this theory to the test. As it turned out, early morning photo shoots certainly do put a new twist on macro insect photography.

There two main advantages of taking macro photographs early in the morning before the sun comes up:

• Lighting early in the morning is more colorful and less harsh than mid morning. With no sunshine to dull the colors, early morning macro’s look brighter and bolder.
• Insects can’t fly when their wings are covered with dew drops and they havn’t yet dried out. This also give you an opportunity as a macro photographer to show the viewer a part of nature that otherwise goes un-noticed. It doesn’t take long to realise why the early bird gets the worm, so to speak.

Note: You can click the insect macro’s below to see them in larger size

The insect macro shown above was photographed from above the dragonfly, looking down. As you can see by the dew drops on its wings, it wasn’t going anywhere too soon. As a macro photographer, this gave me sufficient time to get a good shot.

The photograph shown below is the same insect, shot at a different angle.

Now for one of my personal favorites, a damselfly covered in dew drops. The black background was created with the use of a Twin Lite MT-24EX flash.

Other times that are good for insect photography:

• I’ve found after a storm is also a good time for shooting macro’s of insects. Like most animals, they come out to play after a rainshower. Like early morning, many are also covered with water drops and can’t fly too well until they dry out.
• You’ll also find plenty of insects in the late afternoon and on cloudy days, where the lighting is perfect for really colorful shots.

In contrast, the worst time of the day for this style of macro photography seems to be hot sunny daylight hours, say between 10.30am and 3.30pm. Of course every insect is different, so it’s best to do your research.