Photographing Butterflies
NOTE: this page is old! It's been a lot more than a decade since I used this particular equipment.
I've gotten the occasional question about my butterfly photographs, and this seems like a good place to explain what I'm using and why. I'm far from an expert, but I'm learning in a hurry, and want to share what I've learned.
My Equipment
My current setup is a Sony DSC F-717 digital camera. To that, I've added a Hoya +5 two-element achromatic diopter and Canon 500D diopter. The diopters are a critical part of this setup — if you don't know what a diopter does or why you'd want one, see the diopters explainer page.
Note: digital photography advances fast, and this equipment information is now quite out of date!
Focusing
With a +5 diopter, just about all successful photos will be taken from roughly 20 centimeters (8 inches) away from the target. Autofocus is useless if the camera is too close or too far, so:
- Put the camera on manual focus.
- Move the camera into the correct distance range — it will then be nearly in focus.
- Zoom in or out until the butterfly is framed as you'd like. Don't worry too much about framing; you can crop later. Just don't clip any details you'll want.
- Tweak focus by moving the camera slightly towards and away from the butterfly until the eyes are sharp.
- Press the shutter.
Exposure
In good light, automatic exposure is usually fine. But in low light, shade, strong light, or when a butterfly is backlit, switch to full manual mode: F‑8.0, 1/1000s, with flash at low power. (Normal flash power creates reflections that are too strong.)
This approach also improves depth of field, improving the odds that any given picture will be in focus. An external flash with a diffuser — or a ring flash — would be an improvement over the built-in flash, but adds bulk.
Tripod
I don't use one, ever. It's hard enough approaching butterflies without a tripod getting in the way — and they make it impossible to get ground-level shots. If I did start using one, a focusing rail would be essential.
Other Advice
Shoot more than you think you need
Digital film is free. If the butterfly is still sitting there when you're walking away, you didn't take enough photos. I took 125 photos of a single Yucca Giant-Skipper — and it didn't cost me a dime.
Review focus in the field
Always review the focus of your pictures in the field by zooming in on the playback. Few things are more frustrating than returning home to find you didn't get a single sharp shot of that rare skipper.
Don't get greedy
More zoom = shallower depth of field = fewer in-focus shots. Start with "half-frame" shots, check the focus, and when you're satisfied, move in for the kill. You can always crop a half-frame shot if you have enough megapixels.
Learn photo editing software
Find a program you can use to edit and crop photos, and really learn it. Even modest post-processing makes a big difference.