Dragonflies and damselflies are among my favorite subjects to photograph because of their incredible colors and astounding beauty. Dragonflies and damselflies are also very common subjects for macrophotography.
Order Odonata
Dragonflies and damselflies belong to the insect Order Odonata. The main difference between the two is that dragonflies are larger than damselflies. Dragonflies also do not fully fold their wings when resting, unlike damselflies.
These amazing fliers display a wide range of colors. They are some of the most beautiful winged creatures on earth and it is no wonder that they are also some of the most photographed.
Here's my own take on how to photograph dragonflies and damselflies.
Choose the right equipment. There are a lot of equipment to choose from specially for macrophotography. Foremost of which are macro lenses that are made especially for taking close-up pictures.
However, these lenses are a bit on the pricey side which is why many amateur photographers go for inexpensive extension tubes which are usually paired with either a kit lens or any other lens.
I also usually have my prime lens and extension tubes ready at all times, although I sometimes use my Canon 1300D kit lens. However, I find the prime lens and extension tubes combo a better option.
When I shoot, I usually have two extension tubes on hand. Some might find it tedious to constantly change extension tubes, depending on the size and distance of your subject. But I find it a good exercise to be able to handle the lenses and the camera while I'm in the thick of things.
Shoot early in the morning. For me, the best time to take photos of dragonflies and damselflies is very early in the morning when these creature are yet to be fully awake and are thus more docile and more cooperative.
You might have read or heard about "the golden hour," which is said to be the perfect time to take photos using natural light. The golden hour is said to be the hour before the sun rises or the the hour before the sun sets. The golden hour is the time when sunlight is naturally diffused by clouds, thus providing the best lighting condition for taking photos.
I personally prefer shooting in the morning and if I am still shooting while the sun is already up, I try to find some shade to soften the harsh, natural sunlight.
Find a good location. What I do is wake up early and go out at around 5:30 a.m and start looking for a good location. I usually do a quiet "stakeout" of possible spots including small branches, blades of grass, meadows, and plants near small bodies of water such as a pond or a stream where dragonflies and damselflies might be perched on.
The bonus is that there might also be a lot of other critters and crawlers that might also be good subjects for macrophotography.
Find the right angle. Once I find a good spot and a cooperative subject, I try to find the best angle to shoot from. What I try to do is shoot the subject from different angles, depending on the source of light and depending on the composition that I was thinking of at that time.
There is a lot of experimenting when it comes to finding the best angle and a lot will depend on the composition that you have in mind. Do you like to just shoot the upper part of the dragonfly, or do you want to shoot the whole body of the insect? Do you want to just focus on the eyes, or both the head and thorax? The choice is yours.
Basically, you will have to decide if you want to zoom in or zoom out which means you will do a bit of adjusting on the lens. Personally, I usually focus on one angle first, say the upper part of the dragonfly. After taking several photos, I would then focus on taking a photo from a different angle, say the whole body of the insect. I usually do a bit of adjustments on my extension tubes. I either add one more, or remove one, depending on the composition.
Also, because I was taking macrophotography shots, I try my best to always preconfigure my camera's settings so that only minimal adjustments have to be made while shooting.
Take a lot of photos. It is a general rule particularly in macrophotography, that you need to take a lot of photos and hope to get the best photo in terms of sharpness and focus.
I try to take as many photos as I can knowing that I might only have a few precious seconds to adjust my camera and find the right angle before the subject decides to fly away and perch someplace else. There was a time that I needed to take more than 70 photos and after reviewing the photos, ended up with just 1 or 2 "keepers."
Be patient and enjoy the experience. Lastly, you have to be very patient in looking for your subjects. If you see a great subject but was not able to take a good photo of it, just be ready to walk away and look for another location. I once saw a bright red (or maroon) dragonfly perched on an overhanging tree branch. Problem was, I had to wade across a small stream which was directly below the overhanging branch. This proved to be very difficult. I was trying to macrophotograph the red dragonfly from its side and I would need to be very close to it so I can take the photo.
Unfortunately, the angle I was looking for was almost impossible to get. What I did was look for another angle and took a few shots. In many instances, I just walked away and looked for another location.
Here are a few more photos:
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