Photographing butterflies

Things to keep in mind

When photographing in close-up, the depth of field is very small. So in order to have your butterfly completely in focus, you need a small aperture. For butterflies that have their wings closed an aperture of F5.6 will do, but for butterflies that have their wings spread open, you might need an aperture of F10 and higher. If your camera has a depth of field preview button, use it to see how much of your subject is in focus.
You should also pay attention to your background. Try to avoid cluttered backgrounds. By simply changing the position of your tripod a little, you might avoid distracting objects in the background. Images that have a soft out of focus background, isolating the subject, have far more impact on the viewer.
I suggest you use manual focus when doing close-up photography. The narrow depth of field requires an extremely precise focus and having your camera focusing on the wrong part of your subject can completely ruin your shot.
Look for a good composition, generally avoid placing your subject in the middle but use the rule of thirds, your image will have far more impact on its viewers. If your camera has a live preview function, you can also use this to check your composition.
Finally take a few shots and check your histogram for correct exposure.
I find that butterflies lean themselves very well for experimenting with light. Step away from the standard image and take that same shot using backlighting, you might be surprised about the results.

Good luck

As you can read there are a few things to keep in mind. It is often very frustrating when you see a nice butterfly sitting on a colourful flower, you approach it very carefully, put your tripod and camera in position and when you are about to take the first shot it flies off. But if you have enough patience I can assure you that some rewarding images can be taken. Think outside the box and try to add a little more drama to your shots, by trying out different techniques. Don’t hesitate to photograph from different angles, in different light and you’ll soon notice that experimenting with all these elements will improve your pictures. I hope these basic tips can get you started, but don’t forget to be creative yourself.