Fly My Uglies! - Macro Insect Photography With Off-Camera Flash

I never use a tripod for macro work, choosing instead to use a flash for the extra exposure requirements. Having some assistance from my friend Vajola during the week, I was able to light these macros from different angles.

Often I use my flash on-camera with a ring light or other modifier. This is usually more than adequate, but with the assistance of another person to hold the flash at different angles from the subjects, one is able to get more interesting lighting.

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We went to the local botanical gardens and it wasn't long before the mini beasties presented themselves.

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I wasn't aware of the scattering particles until I uploaded this photo to my computer. I suspect the geraniums are releasing pollen into the air.

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We lit this little sucker from the extreme side. Notice how much more texture comes out with the dramatic lighting. I called him a sucker because his labellum can be seen extended onto the leaf. Most houseflies have long spongey mouth pieces which dissolve their food before sucking it up.

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This guy was fidgety. I got about 15 shots of his ugly butt before he finally turned to face me, Hmmm still ugly! I got this one lucky shot before he flew off. Typical prima donna model really.

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I've been asked by the awesome @jamtaylor to be on the judging panel for this weeks Steemit Photo Challenge. I'm absolutely honoured to be involved in the most successful competition on Steemit, so have spent the last few days looking at all of the entries. The standard of #photography on Steemit is superb.

As requested I plan to write about my macro gear and technique in more detail, so if that interests you, please follow me @condra and expect that article very soon. As part of the judging panel, my shots this week cannot be entered into the competition. I couldn't just let them sit on the computer though, so here I am, setting these little suckers free....

FLY MY UGLIES!

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All shots Nikon D750, Nikkor 105mm VR Micro, Godox TT685 + Mod

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