Macro Photography
Tools and Techniques
Part #3
Taming Harsh Sunlight by Creating Shade
Distracting shadows, glare, and hot spots are all synonymous with natural light shooting when harsh sunlight is used as the primary source of illumination. These anomalies are apparent in all photographic situations. Fortunately though, for the macro photographer working within close proximity to his or her subject, there are solutions which can help overcome the effects of these challenging conditions.
A piece of non-translucent material, such a small square of cardboard, the brim of your cap, even part of your own body can be utilized to cast shade over the subject and its surroundings during exposure. Deliberately forcing shade can virtually eliminate all distracting shadows and hot spots.
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These two examples clearly demonstrate the advantages of manufacturing shade to combat the adversities of harsh light. The first photo was taken in bright sunlight, as it appeared.
In the second photo, after shade was cast over the entire frame. the shadows and hot spots were completely eliminated. The intimate detail of the ‘hopper and its leafy perch are more clearly defined.
As in all of photography though, there are trade-offs to consider. On the brightest of sunny days, this process can easily add up to four stops of exposure time, so the subject (and the camera) will have to be completely immobilized for what could likely become a multi-second exposure.
Later on, a Field Challenge will detail a proven method for supporting delicate plant stems with stabilizing devices to eliminate subject movement…as well as techniques to minimize the effects of camera-shake. These processes become essential elements to success any time long, natural light shutter speeds come into play.
In addition to longer shutter speeds, physically creating shade will necessitate an adjustment of the camera’s white balance setting.
In the two previous examples, the white balance was set manually to accurately record naked eye color renditions. Photographers who opt to keep their white balance permanently set to “Auto” will usually find that their digital equipment cannot accurately interpret the color temperature of shade without a little help. Adjusting the WB control to the “Shade” setting (@8000K) will usually warm things up.
During most conditions, even with the white balance at the Shade setting, the resulting exposures may still appear too cool (..too blue), or too warm (..with a yellow tinge). The intensity of the sunlight will determine how much WB adjustment above or below 8000K will be required to balance the shaded light to acceptable levels. The wiser photographer will test the effects of how his or her camera system interprets color temperatures, and will learn to feel comfortable setting the white balance manually if that need should arise.
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In this sequence of stills, a cooperative Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) proved to be a prime candidate to test the effectiveness of varying white balance settings. The first photograph was taken with a Daylight Setting in hazy sunlight as it appeared. The colors seem to be fairly accurate, naked-eye interpretations, but even though the light at the scene was partially diffused by haze, some distracting shadows and hot spots are evident.
In the second photo, after the skimmer had re-positioned to a different perch in the same light, shade was applied and the dragon was re-photographed using the Auto WB setting. The resulting photograph indicates how the Auto WB setting renders the scene with a slight bluish tinge.
In the final photograph, again in applied shade, a manual WB adjustment to 6670K eliminates the blue color and depicts a rendition similar to the daylight setting…but without the distracting hot spots and shadows.
With practice, a photographer can learn to “read the light”, and instinctively spin the white balance dial to a corresponding color temperature setting which will depict his or her shaded subject where it will appear most natural.
By far, the most challenging dilemma of physically creating shade befalls the intrepid insect photographer. It’s no secret that most bugs really hate the shade, so composition, focus, AND the setting of camera controls need to be performed with the subject in its original position in the sunlight. Then with the timer engaged, the camera controls can be adjusted and shade can be cast over the sun-bathing critter just before the timer runs out. It takes a lot of practice and field experience to learn exactly how many seconds of dark shade a particular species will tolerate and remain motionless before it decides to fly away or scurry to a sunnier spot.
The bright, reflective carapace of C. sexguttata helps to rank it among the most difficult bugs to photograph. These tiny beetles can be found basking and feeding only in the most sunlit areas of the forest. When we attempt to photograph their metallic green bodies in the sunlight, pure havoc is wreaked within our camera sensors. These guys are textbook candidates upon which to apply the forced shade technique.
This photo was taken with a macro lens on a bellows during a cool, sunny spring morning. The sun was extremely harsh, but it provided sufficient warmth to entice this particular beetle into securing a prime roost on a sunlit log.
When the lens was stopped down to the shooting aperture (f-16) and shade was applied, the resulting shutter speed was a whopping 4 seconds! Typically, these heat-sensitive little creatures will tolerate only a few brief seconds of shade before they hastily vacate the scene. Fortunately, this little guy hung around and remained motionless during the entire time the shutter remained open.
Most will agree that photographing extreme macro compositions in natural light can be challenging enough. Shading a subject...and deliberately adding shutter-time certainly adds to that challenge.
Some might argue..."Why not just increase the ISO to get a faster shutter speed?"
Sure, that's an option, but I'm of the opinion that the best overall image quality is attained by using the lowest ISO setting possible...particularly in extreme macro.
Most will agree that photographing extreme macro compositions in natural light can be challenging enough. Shading a subject...and deliberately adding shutter-time certainly adds to that challenge.
Some might argue..."Why not just increase the ISO to get a faster shutter speed?"
Sure, that's an option, but I'm of the opinion that the best overall image quality is attained by using the lowest ISO setting possible...particularly in extreme macro.
As mentioned, upcoming chapters will focus upon stabilization techniques to help control subject and camera movement during those multi-second exposures....as well as the benefits of utilizing those lower ISO settings.
© Bob Cammarata 2015
bobcammarata.blogspot.com
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