Tips for phone-only insect photography for high schoolers

[broacher]

Last month I visited our local butterfly conservatory with my daughter and granddaughter/toddler to escape the winter blues a bit. In the commotion of packing up with a toddler in tow, somehow I forgot my macro camera on the table at home!

I decided to embrace the limitation=improvisation principle and see what I could pull off with just my phone. It was actually fun and a bit humbling. In any case, I shared some of my shots from this with the facility’s resident naturalist recently and she asked if she could use them for a presentation she was going to make to a high school group.

Specifically, she wanted to pitch the idea that they could get good shots of bugs at the conservatory, armed with just a phone’s camera.

That’s when I wondered if the readers here might have some suggestions to share too.

The biggest point I made was that the wall-mounted specimen collections of the place are fantastic for phones because they feature so many ‘mega-bugs’. Giant, exotic insects that don’t move make great subjects for the limited macro powers of most phone cameras.

What are some of your ideas/tips that might inspire teen minds into exploring phone-based photography?

Would love to hear them, thanks!

Here a couple from my visit:

I also took this last one (Java Fiddle Beetle) and did a quick little poster mock-up to show how you could use specimen shots for some creative fun with just a few simple edits.

[keeana]

for me, (i have only access to a cellphone for my bug pics) i find that the pictures come out a lot better if i take the pic without zooming in at all, and then crop the image in post. when i zoom before taking the picture, my phone tries to “upscale” the image to make up for the low resolution and it ends up hallucinating details. when i don’t zoom the images are actually pretty hq. i also flash every single bug i take a picture of regardless of whether they’re in the light or not and they come out better, except when they’re on a white shiny background like a tile, then the reflection of the flash confuses my cellphone and it doesn’t take in as much light.

[broacher]

I had ‘no more than a 2 times zoom’ on my tip list as well. It’s true about the upscaling AI detail artifacting. Most phone cams are optimized for people shooting and the algorithms don’t know what to do with bugs and such.

As for flash, I agree that it can be very helpful in most cases. The problem with it in the case I’m describing– taking shots of mounted specimens through the glass covers of the displays– is that reflections would kill the shot from most angles.

But it’s still a good idea for any shots they’re taking in the main exhibit area where all the giant morphos and such are fluttering about.

One tip (I learned here on the forum) for phone flash though is to cut tiny pieces of clear frosted tape and put maybe 2-4 layers of this on top of the flash area (without covering any lens areas, of course). This acts like a tiny flash diffuser and helps minimize what they call specular highlights which often ruin details.

Of course, not everyone will want to commit to doing this to their personal phone in fear of it compromising normal range shots. I have found that it rarely does anything but add quality to flash shots outside of the macro range because of the diffusion factor.

BTW, this works excellently on regular cameras with built-in pop-ups too! And as the tape can peel off again if needed in either pop-ups or phone flashes, it’s an easily reversible commitment. Sometimes you can find white, semi-opaque peel-off ‘highlight tabs’ in an office supply section that makes it even easier to temporarily add diffusion to a phone flash as it’s already stiffer than a layer of tape.

I was thinking of also suggesting that the conservatory presenter arrange to have a few little ‘practice’ tables set up where the students can test out settings and techniques. Maybe include a few colourful dead butterflies (there’s always lots of these around), a couple of framed under glass specimens, and perhaps a small, securely sealed tank with a live specimen or two. Hmm.

[ItsMeLucy]

This is funny to me because all of my photos are taken with my phone, first my old one, which was eight years old by life’s end, now my “new to me” one, which was three years old when I got it a year or so ago. I never thought of myself as representing that part of iNat users but I guess I do, and I am not likely to change because there are always many things money can be used for before cameras and honestly the nature, what I am seeing, interests me strongly more than the photography side.

Honestly I learn more about using my phone from my young adult kids than they do from me, so that is my best advice: find a young person to show you all the cool things the cameras in a phone can do now and then think how they best apply to your scenario. (At this point, for me, I just take the photos, sort of mechanically.)

[broacher]

Thanks for your input, Lucy. Very helpful!

The generational tech divide slid me into thinking about something I have no tabs on and that is the tech GENDER divide. When I was in my geek-nymph phase in high school, I was part of a very tiny group, and all guys. Then when the same tech we were playing with became more mainstream (more or less), it stalled in the gamer-realm first. Then finally, when things moved past the fledgling, quirky internet emergence, it suddenly became far more equalized. Which was great, IMO, except – the main reason tech has become so ubiquitous is that it reached a level of low-tech entry. Heck, even MY parents were on it!

But I don’t know how much of a dent interest in getting around the front curtains of user-friendly tech the younger generation is today, especially with women. It’s much better I think, but it’s still a relatively minor slice.

Cameras (phone and otherwise) have followed a very similar tech comfort projectory. Even top pro models now incorporate so many AI-driven auto-modes and enhancements, it must be tricky to meet the wide spectrum of user demands. That said, cellphone cams are probably the most reluctant devices to gain access to things that do a camera AI bypass.

Even for my own macro work, I use a relatively older (used, of course) but good quality camera and its almost always parked in manual mode as I have a manual lens and over time, I have learned to ‘read the room’ when it comes to f stops, ISOs, and flash levels much better than the auto modes give me. It took a year or so though to fine-tune things and I’m still learning!

From my professional career experience (graphic designer, 35 years), the most commonly difficult tech subject to teach anyone unfamiliar with imaging tech, remains the whole idea of optical resolution. How many pixels wide is that subject BEFORE you add digital assistance? After that, it’s probably the idea of depth-of-field and shutter speeds. All three areas are primary concerns of macro work in particular.

Proof is always in the pudding of course, but it’s become almost too easy to assume that the camera will always give you what you expect it should.

Anyhow, back to the high school class. Maybe limit the advice to as low-tech or as easy to try, suggestions and focus more on stuff like basic composition.

iNat IDers will roll eyeballs up when you bring up the subject of poor cropping as one of the most common beginner mistakes. Especially when users upload their full size 6000 pixel wide images and are surprised that you can’t zoom in to see the detail they’re seeing on their machines. Cropping to maixmize your detail is easy enough to describe, but it takes a little practice and understanding (wouldn’t a hovering small detail ‘loupe’ window on your submission screen that shows you a small preivew of what the image will look like at 100% in iNat be a nice addition?).

Lighting is fairly flexible or more so than it used to be with more sensitive sensors. But as its prioritized in most auto modes, it can kill detail with closeups as it will often shift the shutter to longer times resulting in blurring in the close range to compensate for poor lighting. Easy (?) fix? Add light. Reflective white cards, flash, handheld or head-mounted cheapy LED lights (though they have a hidden weakness too). But at least the tech to add lighting is flexible and workable once you start seeing the results.

Anyhow, sorry for thel long blob of tech pondering, but again, thanks for your input. It’s a long stretch back to my memories of high school days that you’re kind of a bridge, with frontline contacts. Thanks!

[jarvo]

This sounds a great project, I wish you every success. Hopefully your students will learn to love and respect insects and not to have any irrational fears of them.

A few tips from me (nothing technical):

• If you need to, practice using your phone to take macro shots using a small object on a table top. Practice holding the phone and pressing the shutter button/screen with one hand so that you can leave your other hand free whilst doing it.
• Think about where the insects might settle. If there are some flowers these may encourage insects as well as providing a nice backdrop.
• Insects such as ants may be attracted to a solution of sugar water. It’s probably best not to put honey down for insects. Wasps in particular will be attracted to this, but it risks passing on potential nasties (viral/bacterial infections).
• It may be possible to attract certain insects after dark using a UV Torch.
• A little plastic pot, like a yoghurt pot or similar, may be useful to temporarily hold an insect whilst photographing it.
• Wait for your subject to settle. The chances of getting a decent moving image are minimal.
• Approach your subject slowly and quietly. Don’t just lunge your phone in the direction of an insect and expect it to stay put. Some may, many won’t.
• Take an ‘insurance shot’ from a distance so that you know you’ve got a picture, then get closer. Use this method to get successively closer images.
• Think about where the light is coming from and avoid making shadows. Often these can be enough to scare an insect off - especially when they need to sun themselves to warm up. Even if they don’t, the shadows usually make for worse pictures.
• Remember that one of the toughest things about macro photography is that there’s a very shallow depth-of-focus. For this reason, you need to think very carefully about which part of the subject you want in sharpest focus. In the vast majority of animal photography it is the face, and the eye in particular, that we want to see the clearest. However there may sometimes be occasions when photographing insects when we want to focus on something else, maybe the wing of a butterfly or the carapace of a beetle.
• Please treat all insects with respect and with kindness. They are beautiful creatures and have their own lives to live.

[broacher]

Fantastic list! Many thanks. I will pass this along to my presenter friend. (I’m only supplying some sample shots)

[Thunderhead]

Use the selfie stick and timer to get closer
Video can help when something will not be still
Practice, play, have fun.
My photos are all iPhone.

[broacher]

@Thunderhead

Video can help when something will not be still

Good one! And if your phone has ‘super-slow speed’ as a video recording option (4k video is the best setting for this, if you have it) you stand a good chance of getting some really good shots.

A 4K video frame is more than enough for iNat submissions, and in fact, you can crop it in a fair bit and effectively magnify it for ID benefits in posting. I’m not sure about iPhones, but on my Samsung (Note 10+) you can simply open Gallery, find a video, press play, then long-press on the bottom row of icons to pop up the frame scroller which you can then use to scroll through the video. Find the frames you want to save as stills, and hit the little capture button just above the scrolling area on the left.

[ken_ohio]

Someone said, “practice, practice, practice”. So, I was thinking…kids like to have fun… How about getting some toy bugs and putting them around the house or yard? Then, tell your kids to go find them and take photos.

I also got this idea from our local nature centers that have little photos or little toy animals around the centers for kids to find. They get a sticker from the front desk if they find them all.

[mikeschinlaub]

I would say my level of technology skill is somewhere around yelling at the screen when it doesn’t do what I want.

On my android, I’ve discovered that you can control zoom better by pressing and holding the zoom level display and scrolling sideways. This helps when the phone doesn’t want to focus on the right thing, but you still have to phsically place the phone at the right distance too.

I thought there was something similar for focus, but I can’t find it.

There are too many different interface designs to advise on specifics. I don’t even know if that zoom control style is an android thing or a Samsung thing, or specifically a samsung galaxy thing.

[teellbee]

Perhaps someone with better information about the anatomy of insect eyes could answer this.

Is it comfortable and safe to use a flash on a live insect – considering their big complex eyes?

[teellbee]

I used to put insects into a little plastic boxes with a magnifier built into the lid. They sell these at kids science centers Or, I balanced a regular magnifier on the rim of the cup. Sometimes that helped me get a better picture.

I never had any luck with those macro attachment lenses for mobile phones. I don’t know why. I’ve seen people do nice things with them. But, inevitably, when I ask where they got their lens I’m told, ‘oh they don’t make this one anymore’.

Another technique I used to try (though I later developed reservations about it) was to put the insect in a specimen jar and put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes, so it slowed down. They almost always seemed to recover completely after some moments and take off normally when I let them go. But, I stopped doing that out of concern for their welfare.

Does anyone with an actual knowledge of insect anatomy think this chilling could have adverse consequences for the animal?

[swara_aves]

Here’s a tip given to me another fellow iNatter.. in case the phone camera can’t focus on the insect, point it towards a different and non living object, and then go back to the insect. I know it from experience that its far too frustrating when you’re trying to get a decent picture of the insect before it flies and the camera can’t focus!

[broacher]

Another thing that I advise for those who may not have a built-in ‘pro’ shooting mode on their phone camera app (and possibly are struggling with user tech overload}, is an app called Open Camera. I have it for my Android but I’m not sure if it’s in the Apple store.

It has a couple of neat features that benefit insect shooting:

• Along the side of the screen are two sliders stacked. The top, longer slide is for manual focus. Below that a simple zoom slider.
• You have an option to turn on Focus Peaking in rhe settings. This overlays bright yellow (or any color by going to settings) edge lines of what’s in focus as you shoot. It’s really helpful for getting the bug focus quickly.

For most insects, their size will demand you set the manual focus to the closest setting of your phone’s camera (in manual mode) and leave it there as you hunt.

Most bugs easily fit into the lowest focus distance of most phone cams so you might as will keep it there as a kind of default while hunting. This assumes you don’t use digital zoom, which is not advisable as it really doesn’t add any detail, only smooths and upsamples captured pixels with AI wizardly and most likely create a lot of weird false details.

Yes, some upsampling software can do a much better job than the phone’s camera app, but if you have access to that, you’ll get much better results if you start with a shot taken without any interference from the phone’s attempt to do the same. So don’t zoom past 100%.

[broacher]

@mikeschinlaub

I would say my level of technology skill is somewhere around yelling at the screen when it doesn’t do what I want.

Maybe surprisingly, this ‘skill’ never completely disappears no matter what level of technical expertise one achieves.

Maybe it switches to internal ‘yelling’ which has the advantage of not limiting your um… ‘vocabulary choices’ that might possibly traumatize any other nearby observers.

[sethshively]

I have gotten pretty good at dragonfly photography with only my iphone over time, after learning to sneak up on them while perched and move the phone forwards and backwards until I get the ideal focus. And in doing so I get to see the dragonflies a lot closer up in their natural habitat than I would with a long range camera

[broacher]

I do the same, but with my Sony-Laowa combo. Sometimes it’s moving 3 yards in 3 minutes. Good test of patience. Speaking of which, I say we drop this photog sidetalk and get back to the topic.

A way that I often use to gain an audio track is to switch to 4K video as I move in for a shot. Even for just the photos (as selected frames after shooting). Particularly for faster bugs and birds.

And 4k video clips for over/under capturing works pretty well on most phones, bridge cams and DSLRs and Mirrorless.

And most all have simple trim and save selected clip editing/saving built right into the device playback controls.

You’d also be surprised how much you miss and later find when scrolling through the vid playback looking for interesting frames. Plus, for phone shooters, there’s often a slowm-mo recording mode option or two.

Maybe only at HD rez, but perfectly fine enough size for iNat submissions. And lower rez vids almost always equals better low-light range and noise levels than full-rez still shooting as the chips optimize the vid file output from full size down to video size and averaging more surrounding pixel data as they downsample on the fly.

Or should I have said, on the ‘flies’?

[spiphany]

Get as close as possible to the subject. The biggest problem I see with insect photos on iNat is that they are taken from much too far away. Most insects (with the exception of some social hymenopterans) are not aggressive and are unlikely to want to harm you unless they feel directly threatened. Phone cameras are typically not good at taking detailed photos from any distance, with “distant” being much closer than one might think – I recommend well under a meter/a foot or two at most.

Consider using flash if indoors. A greenhouse may seem light to us, but it is not very light for a phone camera with a tiny sensor.

Waiting quietly by a blooming plant is often a good way to get photos of bees and butterflies and other flower visitors, because they are occupied with flower visitation and are more likely to stay still for photos. (I’ll note that I find bugs and beetles and other relatively slow-moving arthropods much less frustrating subjects for phone photography than bees, butterflies, or odonates.)

Avoid casting a shadow on the subject, as many insects will startle and the light metering of the camera is more likely to struggle when presented with a mixture of shadow and sun.

If capturing insects and photographing them through the container, please make sure the container is highly translucent and the camera is focused on the insect instead of the outside of the container. Some insects may be photographed in hand, but I don’t recommend doing this unless you are familiar with the insect in question and know whether this is safe (e.g., male bees can’t sting, but you have to know whether it is a male or not…). Captured specimens also do not generally make particularly interesting or aesthetically pleasing photos; this is more a strategy for photographing for ID.