Work Your Subject

Late last week I was photographing Bumble Bees in the backyard when I spotted a beautiful red dragonfly hunting near the flower bed. First I took a documentary image of it just to capture an image of it #1. Then I moved closer and took a few more. I stopped and reviewed my images. They were from the side and while they were interesting enough I felt I could do better. The first change I made was to go to a wider F stop to blur out the background a little more #2. Next I positioned myself so that the front of the lens was parallel to the body of the dragonfly #3. This helps to ensure that more of the dragonfly would be in focus at a wider F stop. After that I stated paying attention to the background. I moved around watching the position of the dragonfly in relation to what was behind it. I kept working around until I found a spot where the dragonfly just popped from the image #4. Though I like all of the images especially #3, #4 really shows off the dragonflies wings and there are no distractions in the background. It really helps to work your subject from a variety of spots at different F stops. All images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens with an extension tube for close focusing. #TeamCanon God's love and blessings to all, chris