# Any advice on shooting dragonflies



## StudentOfLight (Oct 8, 2014)

Dragonflies are probably the insects that intrigue me most. I'd love to get better shots of these incredible insects. Do any of you guys like to share some advice on techniques, strategies, equipment or other prep work that helps improve your results.


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## Brachytron (Oct 8, 2014)

Hi 

I am a keen UK based dragonfly photographer and it's great to be able to share advice with someone else. I've been a long term canon rumours (UK spelling!) reader but your posted prompted me to join this forum!

Here's my blog site northantsdragonflies.blogspot.com containing many of my shots.

I predominantly use a Canon 300mm f4 L lens with a Canon 25mm extension tube. This allows good frame filling full body shots of dragonflies and damselflies. It's not macro, for that I have a Sigma 150mm OS. A monopod is indispensable for extra support, a tripod will only slow you down. I find that the APS-C bodies are better than full frame because the extra reach with the 1.6 crop factor is very beneficial for photographing these very flighty insects - they have excellent eyesight and are spooked very easily so getting a good working distance is paramount. Aperture-wise, I stick with f8-f11 on the 300mm to give adequate depth of field with good background blur.

In flight photography is a great challenge, and I use the same kit, changing to either f4 or f5.6 or the Canon 70-300mm L which has faster AF than the 300mm.

The key to successful dragonfly photography is to study the subject. Each species has different behaviour characteristics that once understood will help you get better shots. For example, Aeshna mixta hovers at territory allowing great flying shots, yet Anax imperator doesn't and rarely lands so is a real challenge.

Our season is finishing here shortly for winter so I eagerly await April 2015! Good luck. 

Mark


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## Maximilian (Oct 8, 2014)

Hello StudentOfLight!

In addition to Brachytron’s good response some additional advice that I can give:

Equipment:
A macro lens not necessarily needed, because many dragonflies tend to have flight initiation distance bigger than 1 meter. I shoot very often with the 100-400L. MFD of the lens is important so a 70-200L II is also interesting, esp. with TC, that doesn’t reduce the MFD.
If you are slow and cautious enough to get closer the 100L macro is great, because if it’s HIS. It helps a lot while shooting handheld.
If you want to take pictures with plants in the background sometimes you have to shoot from water onshore. Therefore you might need some rubber pants.
Sometimes you might need a flash for fill light. If you go below 1 m distance, a ring flash might be better.

Timing:
In the morning dragonflies are cold and stiff and have to warm up. So they don’t move much or fast.
A good chance to get close to them.
During the day it is easy to predict their behavior, because many of them hunt from exposed spots and come back for rest. So just be patient and study their behavior.
You also can predict their flight course and try to shoot them inflight. But that’s much more difficult than BIF. So don’t bother about too many misses here.

Technique:
As always with small things look for the right aperture to gain enough DOF. Focus on the compound eyes. If these aren’t sharp almost every picture looks bad.
I mentioned onshore positions above.
While they’re sitting, angles from below seem very interesting.
Their wings give you really lovely highlights and rainbow colors when the angle to the sun is right.

Have fun and share your pics with us. 

Greetings,
Maximilian


PS: Sometimes you are lucky enough to get almost at MFD of the macro even during the day, see here
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=442.msg333811#msg333811


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## Pieter (Oct 8, 2014)

Yes I would agree with everything Brachytron said, except that I vary the aperture a bit more depending on what I'm after. Sometimes a small aperture adds interest, e.g. by just having the eyes in focus.

One strategy in the field is to identify a twig or reed near the water's edge where a dragonfly is sitting. They will typically fly off when you approach them but if you wait they will often return to the same spot. At that time you've chosen your aperture and framing (more or less) and you can spend your time on focusing and optimizing framing. After you have mastered the art of taking sharp photos start paying attention to backgrounds - a smooth background with interesting color gradations often makes the picture. As you are working with a telephoto lens a small change in your own position is usually enough to change the background completely.

Like Brachytron I also use the Canon 300 mm f4 as my workhorse lens - it is nearly ideal as it has the highest magnification of any telephoto lens in that range (I think). I've tried the 400 mm f2.8 but it's much too heavy - you need to be able to walk around and quickly change positions. For close-up shots I use the Canon 100mm macro. I've used crop sensors but prefer the 5d III with a 1.4x extender, as I like the large viewfinder image - particularly for in-flight shots.

Some pictures: http://www.nearbyuniverse.com/

Have fun!


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## Maximilian (Oct 8, 2014)

Brachytron said:


> Here's my blog site northantsdragonflies.blogspot.com containing many of my shots.


Hi Mark!

And welcome to CR. 
Really nice pictures you've made there, especially inflight. 
I'm trying to get better at this and these are really inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

Maximilian


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## lintoni (Oct 8, 2014)

No advice, I'm afraid, but I agree - dragonflies are very intriguing and I've sometimes pondered making an effort to go photographing them, but haven't - yet!

The stunning images linked to in this thread have firmed my resolve, next year, I _will_ have a go. Thank you all for your inspiring work!


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## neuroanatomist (Oct 8, 2014)

Brachytron said:


> Here's my blog site northantsdragonflies.blogspot.com containing many of my shots.



Welcome to CR Forums, Mark - and thanks for sharing your photos...execllent work!


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## neuroanatomist (Oct 8, 2014)

I shoot dragonflies on occasion, mostly opportunistically when out after birds and the day warms up. I'll echo some of the above advice - dragonflies return to the same perch frequently, so when you see one that offers a pleasing composition, set up a tripod and wait. 

For example:




EOS 7D, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 400mm, 1/640 s, f/5.6, ISO 160


Sometimes, you get lucky and more than one of them wants the same perch...




EOS 7D, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 400mm, 1/640 s, f/5.6, ISO 100


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## Oceo (Oct 8, 2014)

I concur with the comments previously written, just a couple of images of the nearly two hundred saved from shooting dragonflies when the butterflies are not so much in flight in our garden. I especially enjoy taking photographs of Insects In Flight (IIF). Image 1DX_16433 shows the dragonfly "slapping" the water with its tail.


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## BellusPhoto (Oct 8, 2014)

Model: Canon EOS-1D XLens Model: EF180mm f/3.5L Macro USM


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## Marsu42 (Oct 8, 2014)

Maximilian said:


> During the day it is easy to predict their behavior, because many of them hunt from exposed spots and come back for rest. So just be patient and study their behavior. You also can predict their flight course and try to shoot them inflight. But that’s much more difficult than BIF. So don’t bother about too many misses here.



There's so much excellent information here so that I find myself nearly at a loss to add anything except +1. With the 100L, I find it easier to use the crop 60d camera for more working distance (or higher magnification at the same distance) - but this only works in very good light.

Be prepared that this is only a fun venture, there are so many high-megapixel "sitting duck" top-notch shots out there and you you probably get the best images from frozen or paralyzed animals with focus stacking, which I certainly won't do.


For me the key is to predict where they land to wait for prey, chasing after them is near useless. After some time they might get used to you though or simply rest a while so you can crawl up.
The biggest problem is depth of field to get anything in focus except a part of the eye. This results in either slow shutter speeds (= _shake, motion blur_) or high iso settings (= _too little dynamic range for daylight high contrast, noise_). The better pictures you want, the less keepers you get...
I find in-flight images extremely difficult, my cameras certainly arent't able to track them so for me it comes down to pre-focusing and being very, very lucky

Have fun and let us see some of your shots, here's a thumbnail of one recent of mine. Also attached is the 100% crop with some motion blur on the eye so you can have an idea what to reasonably expect with a crop sensor.


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## Larry (Oct 8, 2014)

Brachytron said:


> Hi
> 
> I am a keen UK based dragonfly photographer and it's great to be able to share advice with someone else. I've been a long term canon rumours (UK spelling!) reader but your posted prompted me to join this forum!
> 
> Here's my blog site northantsdragonflies.blogspot.com containing many of my shots.



Thanks Mark, for posting the link.

Fantastic collection of shots, ...even more so when I first misread your opening sentence as "teen" rather than keen.


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## chrysoberyl (Oct 8, 2014)

I hand hold a 6D + 70-200 2.8 II + 2X III TC + flash.


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## 20Dave (Oct 8, 2014)

I'm an amateur/hobbyist photographer and a novice in terms of dragonfly/damselfly photography. Nevertheless, I will share a few points from my experiences:

1) You'll want a medium telephoto lens with a small minimum focusing distance (MFD). I don't shoot enough where I'll buy specialized lenses, but if I were to do so, I'd get a Canon 300mm (f/4 or f/2.8) lens. With my limited equipment, I mostly use my 400mm f/5.6, with one or more extension tubes (typically 36mm) to reduce it's very long MFD, but that is far from an optimal setup. I sometimes add a 1.4x extender which doesn't change the MFD and allows me to bring in some more distant shots (e.g. damselflies sitting on lilypads). Finally, I sometimes use the 70-200mm with or without extension tubes as well. 

2) A borrowed a 100mm macro lens briefly and found that I wasn't able to use it as a true macro very often with most dragonflies since they are a usually too shy for closeups. However, I like imaging other types of insects as well, so I'm seriously looking at the Sigma 150mm macro. I've attached the best macro shot that I was able to get with it.

3) Shallow depth of field can make for nice images, but in some instances it can make it hard to identify the species. So, if identification is important to you, you'll want your settings to allow the entire insect to be in focus. Or, vary your settings if you have a cooperative subject.

4) Be patient. As others have said, if you scare one off but you remain still, it will return to its original spot.

Here are a few of my photos. I don't recall which ones I use the extension tube with:

Azure Bluet, 5DIII, 400mm f/5.6 lens






Halloween Pennant, 5DIII, 400mm f/5.6 lens





Halloween Pennant, 5DIII, 100mm macro (non-IS)
http://bartolini.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v146/p425824408.jpg


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## Maximilian (Oct 8, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> Be prepared that this is only a fun venture, there are so many high-megapixel "sitting duck" top-notch shots out there and you you probably get the best images from frozen or paralyzed animals with focus stacking, which I certainly won't do.


Bah! 
How I hate even the thought of it. Luckily you and a lot out there feel the same.


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## Marsu42 (Oct 8, 2014)

Maximilian said:


> How I hate even the thought of it. Luckily you and a lot out there feel the same.



Of course it's hard to pinpoint in what circumstances a picture was shot - with macro, it's so difficult to capture a part of the environment and show that it isn't in a lab or a zoo.

Take 20Dave's last (linked) shot above, here's a thumbnail: It doesn't seem to be cropped from a natural environment, so how did the animal get there :-o. Before I get excited about image quality, I'd be interested in the story.


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## ifp (Oct 8, 2014)

This was shot with a 100-400 and 6D, 400mm f6.3 1/800 ISO200.

Not up to the standard of some of the other images, but it's my best one. I don't actively pursue them, but I shoot them when I see them. My advice is keep shooting. This was one good shot (well good for me) out of 30 or 40.


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## StudentOfLight (Oct 8, 2014)

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Static shots for me are not such a problem (if you have even a moderate amount of patience) but in-flight shots appear to be orders of magnitude more difficult. I imagine it takes dedication and fair bit of luck to get good in-flight shots. I can't really control my luck but I can understand my equipment, improve on my technique and be prepared for how the subject might behave.

In terms of bodies I'd probably be using a 5D-III or a 60D attached to Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 VC or 150-600mm VC but was also considering using the lightweight 135mm f/2 L. (I got a "free" monopod with my 70-200 which I hardly ever use so I should definitely give it a try...)

I'm quite interested in learning more about their behavior. They tend to fly quite erratically so the better I can understand what they might do, the better I can frame up shots or know where to spend time setting up and waiting for the kind of shots I'm looking for. Hopefully it's not all about running and gunning. Any recommended reading/viewing?

A couple more questions in terms of techniques:
Do you guys actively track with single point or expanded-AF, or do you rather use manual focus and shoot a burst as they fly through the DoF?
What shutter speed will allow for just a tiny bit of motion blur? 1/1000s or 1/1250s? I've attached a shot I took in my garden a couple days ago similar to what I want to achieve in terms of the look of the flight (with motion blur in the wings). The shot of the bee is at 1/800s.


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## Marsu42 (Oct 8, 2014)

StudentOfLight said:


> I'm quite interested in learning more about their behavior. They tend to fly quite erratically so the better I can understand what they might do, the better I can frame up shots or know where to spend time setting up and waiting for the kind of shots I'm looking for. Hopefully it's not all about running and gunning.



I don't know about any literature, I found out for myself what they do - it's pretty regular. For example the "Heidelibelle" types above rest on noon and even retreat into the woods. If you happen to see one there, you can probably point your macro lens only a couple cm away from it and it won't fly off.

The other good opportunity is when they're looking for weeds in the water to lay eggs, they're really busy then and don't care when you come near them (or preferably wait standing in the water where the best spots for their eggs are). 



StudentOfLight said:


> What shutter speed will allow for just a tiny bit of motion blur? 1/1000s or 1/1250s?



I've tried this with my 60d back then with bees, I found it essentially doesn't really matter that much. Even 1/8000 is not enough to motion-stop an insect in full flight, but as with the wings of kolibri they tend to freeze in the air for tiny moments - that's when you have to get a lucky shot. Essentially I wouldn't trade off iso vs. shutter too much, better get a deeper dof for less oof shots - 1/1000 should be enough.


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## 20Dave (Oct 8, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> Maximilian said:
> 
> 
> > How I hate even the thought of it. Luckily you and a lot out there feel the same.
> ...



No interference or foul play on my part .

Freezing/capturing bugs or any wildlife is not something that interests me. For me, the fun is as much in the exploration as it is for getting the photos themselves. 

In this particular image, the post is from the fence in my wife's garden. I had to veeeerrry slowly walk up to it, and it periodically flew away and then returned. It was claiming rights to her garden against a few other dragonflies, which likely contributed to it allowing me to approach it. It is the only time where I was able to get that close to a dragonfly. (Well, there was one other case - I ran across one that was on its last legs. I felt sorry for the critter...).


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## Pieter (Oct 8, 2014)

StudentOfLight said:


> I'm quite interested in learning more about their behavior. They tend to fly quite erratically so the better I can understand what they might do, the better I can frame up shots or know where to spend time setting up and waiting for the kind of shots I'm looking for. Hopefully it's not all about running and gunning. Any recommended reading/viewing?
> 
> A couple more questions in terms of techniques:
> Do you guys actively track with single point or expanded-AF, or do you rather use manual focus and shoot a burst as they fly through the DoF?
> What shutter speed will allow for just a tiny bit of motion blur? 1/1000s or 1/1250s? I've attached a shot I took in my garden a couple days ago similar to what I want to achieve in terms of the look of the flight (with motion blur in the wings). The shot of the bee is at 1/800s.



For the in-flight shots I typically use 1/1600 s and f/10 with auto ISO with the 5D III. That will typically be ISO 3200 or 6400, but that's still OK. A lot depends on the species - some hover regularly (eg many Mosaic Darners), and then you can use longer exposure times and get a nice motion blur in the wings. Others are more or less continuously in motion but fly pretty straight (eg the Twelve-spotted Skimmer) so you can get them but you need a fast shutter speed.

A nice species to look out for is the Wandering Glider - see below. These are often attracted to parked cars on hot days, and they hover. (the mating wheel below is more difficult to catch, as the movements become very erratic) They are big, orange/yellow dragonflies.

I've not been able to use autofocus - even with the 5D III. All my in-flight shots are manual focus, and not in burst mode: I follow them, slowly turning the focus ring based on the direction in which the dragonfly is flying, wait for the right moment and press when the dragonfly is in focus. About 1 in 100 shots are keepers - a much higher fraction for hovering species such as the one below. I have never tried it with the 1D X though.

I have tried the 135 f2 - that did not work for me. You have to be too close to get full-body shots of skittish species and it doesn't focus close enough for detail shots. The 70-200 mm with a crop body would probably be great for in-flight shots and typical full-body shots (I use the 300 mm with a full frame).


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## Maximilian (Oct 8, 2014)

20Dave said:


> Well, there was one other case - I ran across one that was on its last legs. I felt sorry for the critter...


It's so strange and fascinating, how short their airborne life is. (at least for a lot of their species)
And although it's so short evolution has made them the (al)most perfect aviators.
And that was a hundred million years ago. Since then almost no design change.
I really love to watch them fly.


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## 20Dave (Oct 8, 2014)

StudentOfLight said:


> Thanks for all the replies guys.
> 
> Static shots for me are not such a problem (if you have even a moderate amount of patience) but in-flight shots appear to be orders of magnitude more difficult. I imagine it takes dedication and fair bit of luck to get good in-flight shots. I can't really control my luck but I can understand my equipment, improve on my technique and be prepared for how the subject might behave.



In my case, practice makes "not terrible all of the time". When they hover, there is a decent chance of getting some shots in flight. Or, soon after they take off is another option.



> In terms of bodies I'd probably be using a 5D-III or a 60D attached to Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 VC or 150-600mm VC but was also considering using the lightweight 135mm f/2 L. (I got a "free" monopod with my 70-200 which I hardly ever use so I should definitely give it a try...)



Fast focus is critical, so I would think that a 5D3 (which I have) would be light years better than a 6D. The not-yet-real 7D2 looks like it would be a perfect camera as well if you're thinking about getting another one.



> I'm quite interested in learning more about their behavior. They tend to fly quite erratically so the better I can understand what they might do, the better I can frame up shots or know where to spend time setting up and waiting for the kind of shots I'm looking for. Hopefully it's not all about running and gunning. Any recommended reading/viewing?



http://www.amazon.com/Dragonflies-Damselflies-Princeton-Field-Guides/dp/0691122830 is the bible for the Eastern US.



> A couple more questions in terms of techniques:
> Do you guys actively track with single point or expanded-AF, or do you rather use manual focus and shoot a burst as they fly through the DoF?



I use both MF and AF. If I'm using the 400mm and an extension tube, or if I'm shooting damselflies, I almost always use MF and take a few shots while moving in and out. The DoF is so micro-thin that AF will miss the eyes as often as not (mostly because of my shaky hands.)



> What shutter speed will allow for just a tiny bit of motion blur? 1/1000s or 1/1250s? I've attached a shot I took in my garden a couple days ago similar to what I want to achieve in terms of the look of the flight (with motion blur in the wings). The shot of the bee is at 1/800s.



This shot was at 1/1600, so depending on how much blur you're looking for, around 1/1000 should help keep the body sharp while showing some wing blur.


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## chrysoberyl (Oct 8, 2014)

In my experience, dragonflies are usually quite skittish, but I have a nearby fence where they are quite bold for whatever reason. I have actually nudged one, after approaching very slowly. My advise is look for a galvanized fence where they gather. Oh yes, the fence must have had 30 in a 50' length. Maybe a mating thing...


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## StudentOfLight (Oct 8, 2014)

Dave and others thanks for all the great info.

The 7D Mark-II does sound like the ideal camera but it's not in my budget for this year. If I do buy one it will be in 2015 around the time of my local Canon EXPO. Anyway, that's not stopping me from entering any and every competition until then where there's a chance to win one.


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