How to shoot dragonflies
Q
I’m into nature photography and have an ambition to photograph a dragonfly as it is emerging. Any advice?
Kenneth Pullen
A
Catching the moment that a dragonfly hatches from its larval stage is one of those things you either stumble on by chance or due to repeatedly visiting a location where you know they hatch. In most cases, this emergence will happen early in the morning.
For those who don’t know, dragonflies change from a water-based nymph form by crawling out of the water on a reed stem or other vegetation and then emerging from the nymph into the adult. Once emerged, the adult will wait next to the nymphal case before making its virgin flight. If you are lucky enough to come across one at any point during this process then you can take a bit of time to set up a macro lens and get some shots, because the dragonfly isn’t ready to fly. Don’t disturb it, but look for an angle you think shows off both the adult and nymphal case. If you can get parallel, that’s often a good angle, but consider what gives the most naturallooking composition and a clean background so the subject stands out.
Of course, with a macro lens you only have a tiny depth of field, so choose an aperture such as f/8 or f/11 to maximise this and get some of both the adult and nymphal case sharp. It’s usually best to focus on the head of the adult. In poor light, a little fill flash can lift the shadows. Alternatively, if you have a small LED light then that can be useful as an alternative to flash. If you are using flash, make sure it doesn’t overpower the low natural light or the background may be too dark.