I'm trying to figure out how the desire that animals/insects/birds be facing you rather than away from you fits with seeing the open wings of a butterfly.
Are wings up and the butterfly sideways or facing you better than open wings? If open wings are okay, then I guess it doesn't matter which way the butterfly is facing, since it's usually going to be away from you in order to see open wings?
If it looks good, shoot it. Butterfly photography is probably more about selective focus anyway. The background is often what makes or breaks a close-up photo. Sharp vs. soft/bokeh/focal length/f-stop. Certainly an art form and your chance to develop a style.
Either way is good, Barbara. To keep all of the wing(s) within the limits of the shallow depth of field common in close up photography, the plane of your sensor should be parallel to the plane of the wing, whether open or closed, i.e. shooting from the side for closed wings and from the top for open wings. For an open wing butterfly, the head can be up, down, to the side, or diagonal. An important thing for me is that both antennae be in sharp focus, but this is not always possible, in which case at least one antenna should be sharply in focus, preferable the near one.
You can include flowers or foliage as part of your composition.
But remember, rules are made to be broken. Other positioning can also be quite appealing, such as a head on shot. Be creative. If it looks good, it is good.
Discussion
2 repliesAre wings up and the butterfly sideways or facing you better than open wings? If open wings are okay, then I guess it doesn't matter which way the butterfly is facing, since it's usually going to be away from you in order to see open wings?
Any insight would be great. Thank you. :)
You can include flowers or foliage as part of your composition.
But remember, rules are made to be broken. Other positioning can also be quite appealing, such as a head on shot. Be creative. If it looks good, it is good.