How to Photograph Bees in Nature ?
There are more than 19,000 species of bees in the world, also a challenging subject to photograph, Because they are Tiny and move fast.
Note : It is not about The Macro Photography.
General Study :
Have a general study of where bees live and how they live. Of course, you are not supposed to know all the details, but it is necessary to go to the right place at the right time for bees photography.
Know the behavior of bees, most of the honey bees that we see around the place where we live are not very sensitive to loud noises, humans and etc … ., therefore you can easily approach them even up to 20 cm.
Unfortunately, this is not true about the types of wild yellow bees ( Wasp, Yellow Jacket, Hornet … ) or honey bees that live in nature far from humans! (This is my personal experience)
Time and Location :
You can find out what kind of bee, likes what kind of flower, by a little reading of books, internet sources and by asking the local people of the place where you will go.
After having information about this, it is better to choose a suitable place for your photography in terms of intensity of light, shadow, keeping a safe distance from the bees.
If you go to the bees early in the morning before sunrise or shortly after sunrise, you can find some of them under the petals and small branches and leaves, either resting or preparing to start Again !
The Composition :
In this case, if you ask my definite and personal opinion, I don’t agree with the composition very much! The reason is that I have never been and will never be in your position or that of other photographers when taking pictures. So I don’t know exactly what position the photographer is in to be able to implement the composition that everyone observes in theory ! Maybe by applying the rule of thirds composition, the photo will really lose its beauty, so he/she will have to break the rule !.
But I try to respect the composition, as long as I don’t lose the beauty of the photo!
The Light :
And as for the light, maybe if our subject was not moving, such as a flower, tree or even a leaf, it can be said that it is easy to do your desired lighting and even use other auxiliary optical equipment. But because the bees is always struggling and does not have an exact place to sit, and also its flying path, so it is not possible to easily use the mentioned devices except in special circumstances!
If there are only a few flowers in the place and we know that the bee will necessarily sit on one of them, we can choose the right place and position to photograph the desired flower that the bee will come to, using suitable optical equipment (such as LED light If we don’t have good light, we can use a softbox, a reflector or use the existing ambient light ).We can multiply the beauty of the photo by spraying water on the petal, stem and even around it and by placing an LED light or a soft light source behind and around it.
Camera and lens :
I can say that we can use any camera, but we must consider what kind of quality of the final photo we need?
Based on personal experience, a camera with 16 to 32 megapixels can give excellent output.
I would like to remind you that less than 16MP will not give a pleasant output in large printed boards for close distances!
Regarding the lens, I can say that you can photograph bees with any lens you have, just know that for close-up photography, pay attention to the magnification and the minimum focusing distance of the lens!
Based on my personal experience, on crop sensor cameras with a crop factor of 1.5 and 1.6, selected lens should not be less than 135mm and the full frame should not be less than 90mm.
Of course, there are those who use a 50mm lens on a full frame camera to photograph flowers and bees!
I said above that you can use any lens depending on your desire and purpose of photography, but this is my and the most photographers suggestion.
If you have enough budget, you can use special macro lenses that have a ratio of at least 1:1, or even zoom lenses, or you can even use a Teleconverter, Macro and Close-up Filters on your lens, for example, from NiSi or Raynox brands for filters, And if the budget is not enough for these, you can use Extension Tubes on your lens.
Remember that the New Technologies used in the lens and camera in terms of speed and type of focus will also provide convenience in photography and help you greatly with your personal experience in photography!
Camera Settings :
None of the photographers can accurately tell you the specific settings, but based on my personal experience and the other photographers, I can suggest the following options regarding aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
First of all, in what mode should I photograph in the camera? Auto mode? Manual? Shutter priority and…
The answer is, It depends on your experience !.
I don’t remember to have used Auto mode in this style of photography. I mostly use the Aperture priority mode. There are some photographers who can easily change the numerical options of the camera in Manual mode, based on the existing conditions and take pictures!
Regarding the numerical value of the aperture, I must say that based on the lens you are using, you should know the value that gives you the best details ( The Sweet Spot : The sharpest aperture of your lens, known as the sweet spot, is located two to three f/stops from the widest aperture ). For example, if I use the aperture of 6.3 at 600mm, in the Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C lens, I will get less details, but in the Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 VC USD lens, this aperture number really gives high details even in the number of 3.3 ( How about the Sweet Spot !? ).
I suggest that, you use all the modes in different conditions of bee photography for a few hours and observe the output and whichever one has a better output, use that Mode !.
Regarding the shutter speed, if you have a good and fast focus, you can take a detailed photo of the bee sitting on the flower with a speed of 1/160 second, but if there is a little movement, it is better to use a speed of 1/300 second and more. For a flying bee, it should not be less than 1/1600 second. The stated conditions are for the Close-Up Photography, not a Macro Photography with a ratio of 1:1 or above.
Regarding the ISO numerical value, the range between 100 and 800 is ideal and it is recommended not to exceed 1600! ( And again, depending on your camera, you can choose higher ISO values. )
Shooting Mode :
I recommend continuous shutter with an active bee. With a stationary bee, you can use either continuous or single shot.
Focusing Mode :
In this case, it depends on your experience and speed, as well as the accuracy of the equipment you use. I use Autofocus depending on the conditions, but some photographers use Manual Focus !.
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