Photographing Butterflies

Each year I like to take a class or two to update my photography skills.  When I heard that there was a special class at The Butterfly House on capturing great shots of butterflies I was anxious to attend.  The class was held during the hours that the house was closed so that the photographers could use tripods and not disrupt the normal flow of guests.

On the day of the class it was a frigid 8 degrees outside.  The scene above is the frozen lake at the entrance to The Butterfly House.  I was looking forward to getting inside to the warm butterfly conservatory where the temperatures are kept in the 80's for the tropical butterflies.

Photography Tips

When the class started the instructor gathered us around for a few tips about photographing butterflies.  Before we entered the conservatory, he had us put a plastic bag over our camera lens and secure it with a rubber band.  This would help the camera become accustomed to the change in temperatures and prevent condensation on the lens.  We then entered the conservatory and gathered around for a few tips on photographing butterflies.

• Use a tripod
• Use a remote shutter release
• Set you white balance at cloudy
• Set your ISO at 400
• Use Aperture priority and start with a 5.6 aperture

After the instructor gave us these tips we removed the bags from our cameras and we were ready to begin our photography. Capturing a good butterfly photo requires a lot of patience.  I walked the path of the conservatory looking for a butterfly that was sitting with it's wings open, in a spot where it wasn't hidden in the foliage and where the light was good for a photograph.  Now that is a tall order! 

 

Photographing Blue Morpho  Butterflies

There were a lot of Blue Morpho butterflies flying around but very few that were sitting still.  Here are a few photos I was able to get of these beautiful blue butterflies.

The first butterfly was perched on a bench and stayed there for the longest time.  I sat on a bench across from it and set up my tripod.  It stayed there while I shot a whole series of photos and then went to let some of the other classmates know about this shot.  In the second shot the butterfly was back in among the foliage and in the shadows.  Our instructor used a reflector to shine light on the butterfly and I was able to capture this shot.  I love the way it really shows all the lines on the butterfly. The photo below shows a Blue Morpho butterfly with its wings closed.

 

More Tips from our Instructor

• Take your time finding the right shot
• Take notice of the background....look past your subject to see what else will be in your photo
• Shoot away from the light
• Use reflectors to bring light in to dark areas
• Don't expect every shot to be great...if you come away with just a couple good photos it will be a successful shoot.
  

 

Tropical Butterflies

The Butterfly House features more than 25 species of butterflies from around the world.  Here are a few of my other favorite shots from the photography class.  I especially like the second one with the transparent wings.

Zazzle Products from my Photos

Blue Morpho Butterfly by Butterflyblitz
See more Blue morpho butterfly Accent Pillows at zazzle.com

Blue Morpho Necklaces by Butterflyblitz
Look at other Blue Necklaces at zazzle.com

Morpho Beauty Poster by Butterflyblitz
See another framed artwork on Zazzle

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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