Macro Fly Photography Set-Up
- This topic has 14 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated Sep 19, 2007 at 1:23 pm by
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Hi Matt,
This is a question that has more answers then George W has enemies…
First thing you need is a soft light source above the fly ( a couple feet ), an on camera flash with mini softbox or bouncer is good enough.
The flash should be almost directly overhead but angled in slightly from the lens ( 20 deg. ? )Below the fly you need a white reflector ( bright white card or heavy paper ) it also needs to be almost directly below but angled up slightly from the front (again 20 deg. ).
You need to do this in a space where the flash wont bonce light off other surfaces and might even need to black out around the front, back and sides.
You dont want dead flat light like i see in a few shots of this nature, IMO shadows give a photo shape and depth, flat light is boring.
Behind the fly you can have almost any background from paper to board or even a shirt or wall.
You need to experiment with the distance from the fly to the background to get the color and level of blur you like.
A lot of this will depend on the lens you use and how far back from the fly it is when focused close enought to fill the frame.For example moving the fly from 2 to 3 feet from a mid blue background might change it to dark blue in the picture.
It’s a very hard thing to type out, you need to have a muck around and see what comes out..
You can get light tents that surround the fly and are lit from above but I don’t like the look they give shots, flat and lifeless.
Have fun..
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
My thought is that I can build a frame with mounts for lights, backgrounds, etc that is somewhat portable and offer the ability to alter light placements.
Hi
David’s approach is very sound and a great way to go. Personally I think most fly photography is boring and simply descriptive.IE- fly fills frame /fly in focus and reasonably lit.
Hi Will, I agree, you have a beautiful website, I love the river shots..
Your gear shots are also very well done – it’s great to see such hi quality in fishing photos, I think it adds sizzle to our sport.I also agree that a lot of fly photography is boring and I try to do all mine out on the water.
But for a book on fly tying or a book of patterns I would go the simple studio set-up.www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
Hey David,
I agree with you… Shadow is good or bad. Just like a double edge saw. it’s all depends on when and how to use them 😀 you make several good points and thanks for the detail studio setup…
I was wondering, did you shoot Micro photos with Canon TSE 90mm? Would love to see some examples… if possible 😉
MarkMark,
I shoot most of my macro stuff with a 100 2.8 USM, it’s avery sharp lens andwww.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
David,
Thanks for the information! I am in the moment of considering obtain a TSE…
Maybe we should start another threadDavid and Byron- ty for the encouraging words:))
I think this is a great discussion to pursue- not sure how else fly pattern photography develops without these exchanges- and
Ty Ron:0
David- I know I should apologise but I won’t…:)) I’m on a Nikon d200 so 1.5 crop factor. I was wondering if you are using a full frame Canon or a crop factor Canon
Hi Will, I have a couple 1Ds II’s. ( full frame ) but have 1DS III’s on order and should have them by mid November – fingers crossed..
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
I agree, this has turned into a great thread! There really are a lot of great threads on this forum and it is the reason that I come back to this forum so often :).. I am an obsessed fly fisher and tyer but I also prefer this forum for the photography skill levels as well.
I have a question about the tying tutorials though. I agree that shadowing is essential in capturing artistic images but along the lines of a printed hard copy tutorial; would the shadowing be a distraction and interfere with the step-by-step illustrations? I agree that a nice artistic image of the sample fly and/or completed fly is best represented this way though.
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