Photographing Butterflies and Snakes

I like to photograph butterflies but they rarely sit still. How do I go about this problem? My brother loves to photograph snakes. Any hints?

Try photographing butterflies in winter or whenever the ambient temperature is low. This usually means early mornings. Butterflies (and other insects) need to raise their body temperature before they can use their wing muscles. Once the air gets warm, it is difficult to photograph them as they don’t sit still for long. Here are a few other tips: 1. Try to have the camera’s sensor parallel to the butterfly’s wings so that you have most of the butterfly in a single plane. This will ensure edge-to- edge sharpness. 2. Use a narrow aperture ( like f/11 or f/16) for increased depth of field when the wings are not parallel to the imaging sensor. 3. Use higher shutter speeds to freeze the movement of the butterfly as well as the swaying of the flower due to the breeze. 4. Higher shutter speeds may require you to set higher ISO sensitivity on your camera (which in turn could cause the images to be noisy). You must know the ISO limit for your device after which images tend to turn noisy. 5. Photographing the butterfly with frontal lighting will ensure maximum richness of its colours. 6. I have noticed that if you cast a shadow over the butterfly, it usually flies away. 7. Don’t expect the butterfly to pose for you immediately; be patient. It eventually will oblige if you stay reasonably still. Make all your movements slow; fast movements will scare it away. 8. Use a longer focal length macro lens. For the same magnification, your ‘ working distance’ ( the distance between the front of the lens and subject) will be greater with a longer focal length macro lens. Photographing snakes can be very dangerous. A common-sense approach is needed. Rule #1. Don’t try to be a hero; in a split second, you could be a zero! Don’t handle the snake, unless you are a trained herpetologist. Rule #2. Learn to identify venomous snakes. Remember, some snakes may look non-venomous, but you could be dead wrong! Rule # 3. If you must photograph snakes, take someone along with you, in case of an emergency. Let your folks at home know where you are going. Some tips: 1. Like butterflies, snakes too are lethargic in cold weather, and hence early mornings in cold weather would be a good time to photograph snakes. 2. Always wear heavy safety boots, preferably those that are almost kneehigh. 3. Use a commercially available snake stick or any other metal/wooden rod to clear away leaves and debris when searching for snakes. Do not use your hands or that could be the last time you’ll use them! 4. Shoot many frames, keeping your shutter speed high. 5. Use a long focal length lens so that you are further away from the reptile.