Pixiq

I conduct a workshop twice a year in St. Louis to photograph exotic and colorful poison dart frogs (that are not poisonous in captivity because their diet is different than what they get in the jungle) and reptiles. The workshop is really all about macro photography, and at the outset I discuss lighting techniques for this kind of work.  Because the frogs are so small, I prefer to use a ring flash because it provides a very soft type of lighting that simulates an overcast sky.

My favorite lens for this type of photography is a 50mm macro.  Many nature photographers like a longer lens for closeup work such as the Canon 180mm macro. Their rationale is that it provides a greater working distance between the subject and the lens, and this is perfect for shooting butterflies, for example, because these insects don’t allow a close approach.  A telephoto macro also makes the background more out of focus, and that means that all of the attention will be forced on the subject without distracting background elements. I agree that these are advantages in some situations. However, exceptionally small subjects require a different approach.

When using a ring flash, it is best to be very close to the small subject.  This gives you a much softer type of light simply because the light from the flash surrounds and envelopes the subject.  As you move back even a few inches due to the use of a telephoto macro, the ring flash becomes more of a point source of light.  When that happens, the light looks harsher.  Shadows are darker and, as a result, there is a loss of detail.

Even with the softer light, due to the Inverse Square Law there is light fall off behind the frog or reptile.  If the background is just a few inches behind the animal, it will be darker than the subject (as you can see in the above image), and if the background is a foot or so away, it will become black.  Therefore, I use Photoshop to replace the background with a photo of out of focus foliage.  At the workshop, I have large prints of blurred foliage to solve the same problem  Sometimes, though, the ring flash makes a shadow on the background and that's where Photoshop must be used to replace it entirely.

I also use Photoshop to clone out the reflection from the ring flash in the eyes of the animals, and I replace it with a more natural looking catchlight.

In the pictures that accompany this blog, note how much detail you can see in the animals due to the soft light.  Even their ventral side is illuminated nicely, and in my opinion that’s the ideal.  The reason we want to photograph small subjects is to reveal their beautiful and intriguing detail.  If you have dark shadows in place of detail, the images won’t be nearly as captivating.

The next workshop I will conduct in St. Louis is scheduled for April 30, May 1, 2011.  Click here to see more images of these amazing animals.