Perdita Petzl

Perdita is an award-winning photographer, author, and judge. She specialises in photographing the small world and runs her own workshops and webinars. See more at www.perditapetzl.at, @perdita_petzl on Insta, @NaturfotografiePetzl on Facebook.

Worm’s eye view

When photographing plants and animals, working with low camera angles is often best. Try to capture your subject at eye level. It’s this low angle of view that makes your subject the main focal point, while distracting elements in the foreground and background disappear into an attractive blur. For the best results keep trying new perspectives and experiment moving the camera a few inches to the left or right. Small changes often have a surprisingly big impact and can transform a good photo into a great one!

Best time of day

For the most harmonious results and to get the best natural light, photograph your subjects in the morning or late in the afternoon – this applies to both wildlife and plants. At this time of day, the sun is low and the light is soft, so you don’t have to worry about harsh contrasts. If you want to photograph early bloomers, you have to know your subjects for choosing the perfect time of day: some plants close their petals overnight and therefore they are not equally photogenic at all times of the day. Liverworts, for example, open their blossoms around 8am – depending on the temperatures and cloudiness.

Colours and mood

Try to shoot when the sunlight is not directly hitting your subject. Create some shade with a small folding diffuser and photograph your subject against a sunlit background and expose to the right – that will lead to soft pastel colours. For more vibrant results you can play around with contrasting colours. To create a dreamy feel, photograph against the light. Be sure to keep an eye on the optimal exposure and be careful not to overexpose bright parts of the image.

Create a blurred effect

Shoot your subject through plants growing in the foreground and use a wide aperture – the wider, the better. This will result in your subject being sharp whilst the rest of the frame is completely out of focus. The blurry plants in the foreground will entwine attractively around the subject. This can also create leading lines which all helps with the composition. Working with a smaller magnification scale can help you to put your subject in relation to the environment or depict a habitat. Work with the camera’s live view to get a good impression of what the photograph will look like before pressing the shutter.

Understanding your subject

Knowing the optimal time to photograph your subject will help you get great results. For example, when nights are cold, insects are lethargic first thing in the morning and need to warm up before they are ready to fly. This is the perfect time to set up your gear, compose, and focus your photo. But be careful, since as soon as insects are exposed to the sun, it doesn’t take long until they become more active. If you are not an early riser, you can also photograph butterflies in the late afternoon or early evening when they are already roosting. Try to look for insects in shady areas – they cool down faster and stay calmer! Try to approach very carefully, so as not to startle the butterflies.

Eye focus

When photographing wildlife, always stay focused so you don’t risk missing the perfect moment. When you want to be more spontaneous with your composition, make use of your camera’s AF modes – Canon has an Eye Detection AF, which is great. But watch out when you’re shooting with backlight as it may not be as accurate, in which case it is better to set the focus point manually to achieve great results.