Tips on...<Butterflies>

Choose the right time of day

• Trying to shoot buttterflies on a warm sunny day when they are the mist active will be a difficult and frustrating task. Its much easier to shoot them in cooler conditions early or late in the day

Pick the right weather

• The most important is the wind, or rather lack of it. Even if the butterfly manages to stay still the grass will cause it to move so much thay it will be impossible to get a sharp picture. Look for still, calm conditions

Advance Slow and Steady

• Once you have found your subject dont get close too quickly, butterflies can detect changes in air pressure and take flight.
• Always approach it slowly and avoid sudden moves. Leave your bag on the ground nearby.
• Dont move the surrounding vegetation too violently.

Watch your shadow

• Before you approach the butterfly try and predict where your shadow will be. If the sun is behind you and the shadow falls over the butterfly, most likely it will take flight. In cold conditions you ccan still get away with it because they will be tired.

Wear natural colors

• Best to wear dark, natural colored clothing if you want to get as close as possible. Avoid bright colors such as red as they can pick more movement that way if you are wearing them.

Do photograph butterflies in flight

Airborne they convey all the magnificient form and color byt also the graceful yet improbablr means of flight

Dont shoot in the shade

Direct sunlight allows the fast shutter speeds and small apertures you need to freeze motion and render color

DO use a fast focusing high magnification lens.

Dont use a close focusing lens.

Butterflies spook if you get too close, so you need glass that provides highest magnification at distance no closer than 3 feet. If your lens forces you to get 3 inches away to fill the frame, move to beetles

Do use a wide area autofocus brackets, or a similar full area autoselect AF mode so your unpredictable subject stays in focus. With flying creatures our "keeper" rate diminishes when we use single point AF

Dont chase butterflies,

let them come to youm sit calmy and watch a swath of flowers that has recently attracted butterflies, they will return eventually. Move slowly and you can shoot you your heart's content

Shoot in the morning. Usually butterflies spend their first hour actively nectaring to get energy for the day. These first hours which can be mid to late morning as they need sunshine sun and warmth to become active are the best time to capture them

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