Like many branches of photography, butterfly photography is also very fun, interesting and unique in itself. Although you can take a picture of any subject in any way, but that is not the case in such pictures. Such a picture gets lost in the crowd of lakhs and crores of pictures. Your captured photo may be special to you because it is created by you but others as a viewer will not be interested in it, because anyone can take a simple snapshot.
Content:
Correct camera settings
Camera focus and composition
Take care of lighting
Finding the right location
Your clothes and your safety
Your behavior
Knowing your subject
As a photographer, you have to get into the field with
special preparation for attractive eye catching photos of butterflies. This
preparation involves many things, such as choosing the right kind of gear
(camera, lens, flash, etc.), your clothes, being at the right place at the
right time, being physically and mentally prepared, etc.
But above all there is one thing. It is a different thing
to take pictures of landscapes, beautiful natural scenes, flowers and leaves,
historical sites etc. static things or people or your pets (pet dogs-cats,
birds). In this, you hardly have to walk according to your subject. But when it
comes to photography of animals, the matter is completely different.
The freedom of animals and animals that roam freely in
nature is their beauty. And you have to capture their beauty with the help of
your patience, skill, understanding and camera. You have to know about them,
you have to understand them. You should have a good grasp of their possible
places to be found, their habits, their movements, what they like and what they
shy away from.
It is not a difficult task at all. You just have to love
these lovely beautiful subjects of yours. So, friends, let us know what things
we have to keep in mind to get attractive pictures of butterflies.
1.Choosing the Right Gear:
You can start with any camera and lens for butterfly
photography. If you have a DSLR camera then what to say. Any lowest priced DSLR
from any brand like Nikon, Canon etc will suffice. Nikon D3400, canon 1500D etc
can be named for example.
Yes, the thing about the lens is that your 18-55mm kit
lens won't do, as butterflies usually won't let you get that close. So it is
important that you use a telephoto lens at maximum zoom, so that there is
enough distance between the shy butterflies and you.
In this sense, a mid-range telephoto lens from 200mm to
300mm will be of your use. Like Nikon's 55-200mm, 55-300mm lens or Canon's
55-250mm or 70-300mm lens. These lenses are the cheapest lenses in their range,
but they are very effective for taking beautiful photos of butterflies from a
distance of one to one and a half meters. On top of that, they are lightweight
which means they weigh very little.
If you want to photograph very small butterflies like
'Grass Blue' or close-up of wing patterns or wing details of a large butterfly
like 'Plain Tiger', then you can opt for 100mm or 105mm micro lens. These
lenses are expensive.
So this is the matter of camera and lens. Now one more
question remains, is it practical to use flash and tripod in butterfly
photography? I would say that the practicality of using a camera mounted on a
tripod to photograph a moving creature like a butterfly is extremely limited,
especially when these modern lenses themselves are equipped with vibration
reduction technology. This is called VR (vibration reduction) in Nikon lenses
and IS (image stabilization) in Canon lenses.
It is better not to use flash in animal photography. This
hinders their spontaneous movement. Especially for delicate creatures like
butterflies, the bright light of the flash is harmful.
2. Correct Camera Settings:
This point is very important and you must practice it
after learning it. I'm going to assume that you are familiar with Camera
Basics. So let's learn the correct camera settings for butterfly photography-
(i) Lens Zoom:
Always keep your telephoto zoom lens at maximum zoom. For
example, if you use the 55-200mm or 70-300mm, set them to 200mm and 300mm,
respectively. This gives you the maximum size of your subject even while
staying at a safe distance of one or one and a half meters and helps in keeping
the background as plain as possible.
(ii) Shutter Speed:
Butterflies are always on the move and the rapid movement
of their wings creates the biggest problem in photographing them. You must keep
the shutter speed of the camera so that the motion can be frozen. Especially if
you are after a flying butterfly, then at least 1/600 second shutter speed must
be kept. If the butterfly is stable and there is open sunlight, then you can
also work on a lower shutter speed as per the need. By the way, sometimes
artistic motion blurred pictures of a flying butterfly can also be taken by
trying a low shutter speed.
(iii) Aperture:
Since you have to take photos from a very short distance
at high zoom, you also have to pay attention to the aperture of the lens so
that all the parts of the butterfly's body are in sharp focus. For this, the
more you increase the f number of the aperture, the better, but you also have
to take care of adequate exposure.
That's why we recommend keeping the aperture at f/8 for
telephoto lenses at 200mm or 300mm to be safe. By the way, according to the
situation, you can increase or decrease it. As sometimes happens, if the
butterfly is sitting quietly with full wings spread, then you can take sharp
photos even by keeping the aperture f/5.6.
(iii) ISO:
As you know, in low light situations, you have to
increase the ISO. Light is very low ISO can be increased to very high such as
800 or 1600 or even higher. It depends on your camera how high an ISO it can
handle while keeping noise reasonable. In modern normal DSLRs, you can keep up
to ISO 400 so that noise is reduced in your photos and at the same time you get
the freedom to use fast shutter speed and large f numbers.
(iv) White Balance:
Photography of butterflies Since you shoot outdoors in daylight, always set the white balance to daylight. This will capture the butterfly and its surroundings in true color in the photo. This applies if you work in jpeg format. In case of RAW format you are free to change the white balance in post processing.
(v) Picture Control:
If your shooting format is jpeg and you don't want to
spend much time in post processing, set the desired picture controls in camera
beforehand. Vivid can generally be set to Standard or more saturated color and
brightness. It depends on your choice.
3. Camera Focus and Composition:
It is best to focus on the area between the butterfly's
eye and torso. Keep in mind that the position of the camera should be parallel
to the wing of the butterfly. This keeps the entire wing of the butterfly in
focus. In the frame, space should be left in front of the head of the butterfly
sitting with its wings folded upwards.
Try capturing the butterfly from different angles. Wait
patiently, you can capture a sunbathing butterfly with full wings open. If the
butterfly is perched on a flower, leaf or twig with its wings open a little
above the ground, a low-down underwing photo can make for a very attractive
frame.
If a butterfly sitting on a flower is calm and allows you
to approach it, then pay attention to the delicate thin long pipe-like organ in
front of it, with the help of which it drinks the juice of flowers. Normally
the butterfly keeps it wrapped like a coil, but when the juice is to be drunk,
it opens and lengthens it and takes it to the anther of the flower.
4. Take care of lighting:
Light is the most fundamental thing for any kind of
photography. To get beautiful pictures of butterflies, always keep in mind that
the main part of the butterfly which is in front of your camera is getting well
and uniform light. The butterfly of the blossoming sun looks very beautiful in
the picture. Always keep in mind that the sun is behind you so that you have a
sun-bathed butterfly in front of you. In your movement, be careful that your
shadow does not fall on the butterfly. When this happens the butterfly will
immediately change its position.
5. Finding the Right Location:
Generally, wherever plants grow, flowers bloom, there are
butterflies. Therefore, it is not necessary that you go somewhere far away in
the forest or in a National Park or Sanctuary, only then you will be able to do
butterfly photography. You can find butterfly anywhere. In your kitchen garden,
in the garden, in the bushes growing along the road and railway line, in the
fields, on the plants, bushes and reeds growing on the banks of the river or
lakes.
You will also find them in places with mud and moisture from where they fulfill their mineral requirement. If you're lucky, butterflies may even be attracted to potted plants on your balcony.
6. Your clothes and your safety:
If you go somewhere outdoor for the photo of butterflies,
then keep in mind that you wear full clothes. Full pants and full sleeve shirts
will protect you from mosquitoes and insects in forests, in gardens, in shady
places, in bushes around water holes.
There are many mosquitoes in bamboo clumps and moist
shady places. Because of these, you will not be able to concentrate in
photography. In such places, you can use any mosquito repellant cream like
Odomos on the exposed parts like your hands, neck and face.
Don't forget to protect your feet with ankle height boots
to protect your feet from snakes, thorns, sharp stones and pegs. Sticking to
the viewfinder of the camera, your eyes are on your subject. Often with
butterflies we too have to suddenly change our place. While walking behind the
butterflies, we sometimes go deep into the tall grass or inside the bushes.
It is very important to take care of where your feet are landing. To protect land animals like snakes, snails, frogs, and also for your own safety.
7. Your Behavior:
Keep in mind that when you go to a forest or bushes in
search of butterflies, you are like an intruder for them. Your sudden presence
makes them uncomfortable. So for them to be comfortable in your presence and
for you to be comfortable with the place, it is important that you remain calm,
focused and study the butterflies and their surroundings with open eyes.
Your movements should be very slow. Don't chase them when
they seem to be running away from you. Change your position very slowly. Let
them be calm and comfortable. Maybe then they just come to you. Who knows, one
of them might fly off and sit on your lens!
The colors of your clothes or cap should not be bright
red, yellow, blue, black, white at all. You should wear light colored clothes
to match the surroundings.
Like dark colors, butterflies are also intolerant of
unnatural smells like perfume, deo etc. So don't use them before going to the
world of butterflies. It is very important to keep this in mind in butterfly
photography.
8. Knowing your subject:
Friends, there is a hidden thing behind any attractive
and powerful photo. That is the photographer's connection with his subject and
knowing them. This also applies to butterfly photography. Love for your subject
inspires you to know more about them. Then you can truly enter their world.
Whenever you take a photo of a butterfly, be sure to find
its name. Save the photo of butterflies with their name in the computer. Learn
about their world with the help of books, magazines and the Internet.
spend time outdoors. Visit nearby parks, zoos, any place
full of trees and plants, rivers, lakes, temples built in secluded places,
where there are flowers, plants and clumps of trees. Sometimes visit these
places without even carrying a camera and sit back and watch the movements of
the butterflies.
Butterflies disappear from our eyes and lie quietly in
their safe places in the cold early in the morning. When the sun comes out,
they first recharge their bio energy by spreading their wings. Shortly after
this, they leave their bases and start flying in the open. Their flight speed
remains slow till eight-nine in the morning. These one or two hours in the
morning are the best for butterfly photography. Dew-drenched petals, leaves and
grass make beautiful backgrounds for his photographs.
The softly slanting rays of the slowly rising sun in the
eastern sky provide an excellent exposure for photographs of butterflies. As
the sun rises higher in the sky, the flight of butterflies accelerates. After
the fatigue of flying all day, in the light of the setting sun, they again
start to become lethargic. But at this time there is no morning peace, coolness
and cleanliness in the atmosphere.
Friends, there is no limit to the possibilities. If you
can master taking great professional-level photographs of butterflies, it may
even be possible for you to make money from these photos. You can send such
pictures for publication in magazines. You can also contact organizations and
research papers related to nature-environment and wildlife. You can also put
your photos for sale on stock photo sites.
Hope this article on Butterfly Photography in Hindi will
be useful for you and you will like it. From time to time, we will keep
bringing such useful articles related to photography for you. How did you like
the article, if you want, you can tell us by writing in the reply box below.
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