Flutter speed

Mike Harris shows you how to capture beautiful butterfly close-ups without a tripod

- Mike Harris

When you read this tutorial peak butterfly season will be coming to an end, so we thought we'd help you make the most of the last few weeks by showing you how to capture vibrant close-up images of Britain's most magnificent insects. And of course, these skills are entirely transferable, so you can use them to photograph all manner of minibeasts throughout the rest of the year, too.

Lenses are an essential consideration when shooting close-ups. You'll need a true 1:1 macro lens like our 90mm f/2.8 to make your subject dominate the frame, but you can capture gorgeous close-up images of insects with telephoto lenses such as a 70-200mm f/2.8 or even a close-focusing kit lens like the Nikon AF-S DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II. If you're thinking of buying a macro lens but have a strict budget, don't discount a manual-focus only lens, either.

We photographed our silver-studded blue in a garden using manual focus throughout. Here's how to make sure that your close-ups as beautiful as a butterfly.

1 Tripod vs handheld

You can choose to capture close-ups of insects using a tripod or handheld. Tripods are more effective in the early morning or late evening, when butterflies are roosting and are much more likely to remain still. Shooting at this time will also afford you the best light. Our image was captured mid-morning, in overcast light, when the butterfly was busy feeding. For that reason, we chose to shoot handheld, so we could quickly reframe when the insect moved. Handheld shooting is also useful if a strong breeze keeps moving the insect's perch.

2 Manual focus