Photographing Flies

[flybop]

I almost built that one. I went as far as walking into the hardware store before realizing that I had left the material list at home. I needed a light box for far more than just fly pics. So far I am glad that I invested 40 bucks (It was on sale then) and only 5 minutes getting the shiny store bought model.

[Normand]

read the manual to find out your cameras macro capability and focus distances.

lighting is very important. 1 on each side and 1 from the top.

adjust the white balance in your camera for the lighting you are using

use a tripod, gets rid of the shakes.

re-read the manual

use a backgroung color that is pleasing to the eye, not your cluttered tying desk as a background

set the camera to macro mode. its the tulip symbol on your camera.

depress the shutter button only 1/2 of the way down to let the camera focus on the subject. the depress the the shutter button the rest of the way down to take the foto.

use the self timer if you have one in your camera.

dont forget the scanner. it takes good pics too!

[barel fly]

This guy can help ya!
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07...to-studio.html

this is the exact set up I use for my photographs, with exception of the white background.

it works very well. I also use a piece of aluminum foil under the fly to bounce light on the underside of the fly.

as for camera, I have a Nikon D50, I take all my photos in aperture priority mode, open the aperture all the way to maximize depth of field and also use macro rings (+1, +2, +4) on my 18-55mm lens. Most importantly, I use a tripod and a remote to take the photo (which is usually a 1-2" shutter time).

[DBenner]

Flybop, those are NICE bodkins and the backdrop of the picture suits them well.

My pictures are still blury, need to time to play with my camera.

Dwight

[flybop]

Thanks DBenner. All the advice on the camera settings should help. One great thing about digital is immediately seeing the pics. Adjusting the white balance can not be over emphasized. The tripod and self timer add to the pics as well. Set your camera up and cycle through the white balance settings to see which one gives you the best results. Also, using the simple auto enhancement funtion is software like Photo Shop Elelments helps a good bit.

[davkrat]

One technique I was told once was to hang the fly from a thin piece of wire adn then photoshop out the wire. It makes the flies look like they are floating. That's how Peter Frailey did this... http://www.fishingwithflies.com/Hopp...illeHopper.htm

[Sagittarius62]

I know it's not all hand made or nothin', but Wal Mart has these
http://www.newworldvideodirect.com/p...productid=1572
on sale for 49.99. I got one and I like it.
Took this with it.

[Buddy Sanders]

Used to be if you wanted a good lighting/box set up, you either spent the big bucks at a camera store or built your own.

With the adbvent of Ebay, and all the money coming from it, lots of folks have jumped into the 'photograph and sell it' business. That's made a demand for things to make this easier, like the simple light boxes and lighting that you can get anyplace, like WalMart (as Sagitarius pointed out), for not a lot of cash.

Many of these things will work great for taking pictures of flies.

You can build your own. I saw a neat one someplace that used an old plastic milk jug mounted to the vise. What made it different was the addition of a couple of mirrors mounted on bendable wire arms. The jug diffused the light well and the mirrors let you bounce the available light where it was needed.

The PVC box and sheet is great if you need to take pictures of things other than flies-a bit large/elaborate for photographing something less than an inch long....

You can keep it really simple-a sheet of paper or card stock behind the fly mounted in the vise for a neutral background, and a piece of aluminum foil under it to bounce some light....use a trippled sheet of foil and curve it, and you can light the front and back of the fly well enough for this purpose.

Tripods are great, but if your hands are steady enough to tie flies, you should be able to get 'internet quality' digital pics without one....my camera has a low quality internet/computer image setting on it....we don't require 'magazine display/print quality' images here.

My criteria for taking photos of flies is always that it has to be easy and quick to set up.

We are really just showing off with this, and the effort shouldn't be excessive. It's the tying and fishing that really matters, so I want a quick picture and back to the fun part...if it takes more a couple of minutes to 'set up' it's too complicated for me...

Obviously if you are selling flies you'll want something more permanent...or if the 'showing off' is important to you. Lots of folks like that, and it's always fun to see their efforts.

Have fun,

Buddy

[sagefisher]

Sagittarius62,

Thanks for the tip on the Digital Concepts Portable Lighting Sudio.

I went to Wal-Mart and bought one this morning. Well worth the $50 in my opinion.

Larry ---sagefisher---

[ducksterman]

If one were to get one of these Wally World setups....anyone have any quick and easy ways to mount a fly?....my vise is attached to my table and I wouldn't want to mess with moving it.