Focus stacking in macro photography - preparing insects
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- Опубликовано: 13 июн 2019
- A detailed summary of each step in the process of preparing insects for focus stacking. Topics include sourcing of specimens, preferred killing methods, preservation and storage, best practices for pinning/posing, cleaning, rehydrating, relaxing, and restoring your insects.The techniques are simple and do not require any special equipment, but the results are well worth the effort. This is the first of three videos on the subject of focus stacking for macro photography. Part two will focus on setting up your equipment for the sharpest possible images, and in part three we will go over the steps for editing and stacking your images in both Photoshop CC (2019) and Serene Stacker.
The powerful decontaminating fluid (a mixture of detergents, surfactants, alkaline salts, and stabilizers), referred to as "Decon-9" in this video, is actually Decon90 and is made by an English company (Decon), with headquarters in the southern town of Hove. Sorry for the missing "0".
For tons of additional information about macro photography, check out our website at www.allanwallsphotography.com, or listen to our photography podcast ("Shoot the Breeze") on iTunes.
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Allan, I would like to suggest that in a series, you use the same short descriptor at the beginning of the name. For instance: Focus Stacking Tutorial part 1 of 3, and then Focus Stacking Tutorial part 2 of 3, etc. after the short indexing portion you might add specific terms like "preparing insect" or "calculating step length", etc. Thank you for your work. You are an inspiration.
Thank you Allan for all these tips luckily there are people like you to share their experience with us again a big thank you
Ohhhhh another wonderful video!! So droll. Love ya to bits!!!!
Well done! Thank you. Love your sense of humor.
Thank you, that was very informative, I look forward to watching more of your videos.
Thanks Allan. I am just getting started with focus stacking and find your videos very helpful.
Thank you Kiley! I'm glad the videos are helpful. I also have some more detailed focus stacking articles on the "Blog" pages of my website (www.allanwallsphotography.com). Good luck and stick with it!
Hello, I just looked (discovered) you for the first time, thank you very much. I looked at your page and now I really only need one channel and that is you. I have only been involved in the insect hobby for a year, so someone with cheap and good tips are great😊😊
Dear Allan, what a great tutorial! Your humor makes it fun looking more then half an hour. And so very informative. Thank you so much! Regards from the Netherlands.
Thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying the videos!
that was brilliant Al thanks for sharing brother,xx
Great video. Thanks for sharing!
lots of info here Alan, thanks for sharing
Excellent information, thank you for sharing.
excellent video, great work , tahnsk a lot Allan
Very, very informative!
you are sharing all your knowledge which you got after years of experience without charging us a single penny thank you so much.
Great videos & i Learnt lots of things
It is my pleasure!
Brilliant thank you. Lots of great info and good demonstration. Subbed.
Cheers!
This is great!!
Great !!! Learnt lots of things. Thanks.
Thanks, Rifat!
What a great video. I'm feeling pretty dumb because I never considered them being dead and posed, so I've had some frustration in getting live shots. I've also had some irritable stinging critters who don't seem to enjoy their glamour shots. Can't wait to try this.
Very educative and funny. Thank you
Thanks You be "God Father off Macro Photography",All the inform are so helpful.
Hi Allan, just finished my first "Tease & Pin" on a German wasp... Now that was fun...
I found the foam board was tricky as it didn't hold the needle very secure, looking at it though your's looks thicker than mine...
Was using the packaging foam to put the pin into in front of the camera, on the rail, so went and grabbed that and it was soooooo much easier. Now waiting for rigor mortis to set in.
Loved your idea (in another vid) about using MDF as a base for the rail, started making the MkII focus rail yesterday, paint should now be dry so can commence the construction, hopefully ready tomorrow nicely in time for Rigor !
Keep up the good work my friend, I'm loving it, and relieving the boredom of lockdown too !
Hi Norman - This is what I love about macro photography - I get to relive all the excitement of discovery that I experienced over years of experimentation and innovation, by watching you guys take your own, unique journeys! And I continuously learn new and better ways to do things from all the great people in this little macro community of ours. It's a wonderful thing! Thank you!
was just thinking of what i could do indoors for the near future...very cool..and way harder than one thinks...the attention to detail...thanks for the video sir
Cheers David!
Hallo ik heb je nu net voor het eerst gekeken (ontdekt) super bedankt ik heb naar je pagina gekeken en hoef nu eigenlijk maar een kanaal te hebben en dat ben jij ik ben pas een jaar bezig met de insectehobby dus iemand met goedkopen en goede tips is super😊
Excellent video!
Thanks Lisa!
such amazing stuff you share inhere, thank u so much for that. gratitude from pakistan
Thanks Umar!
Thanx for sharing.
Thank you for so much information.How much magnification do you have on the magnification glass? I see I can buy then from 1.75 all the way up to 5x both not sure what would be best?
Hi Rune, I have switched to using a binocular dissecting microscope for clearer detail and I do most of my preparation at 10X. I think a nice large magnifying glass of 5X or higher should be plenty. Get one that has a stand, so you can keep your hands free, and one with lights is even better!
Hi Allan loving you're videos I'm learning loads thank you
My question sorry if its been asked before
So you've caught the insects pinned it soaked in alcohol then relaxed it dried it then start taking
photos what do you do with the insect after photographing it dose it have to go back into the alcohol or once it been prepared and dried is it preserved forever thanks again
Hi Allan, very informative. I loved it. I would struggle to buy Ethyl Acetate here in nz and wondering if there’s any thing else that could be used instead
I use fingernail polish remover. Works great.
Hi Allan, just finished watching this video, very informative. I have purchased some weevils and want to know whether I would still need to go through this process with pinning and soaking in alcohol? Also once you have taken the photos of the insects do you then return them again to a container with alcohol and then do the whole process of rehydrating with water if you wanted to use them a second time?
That same nikon packing foam
Came with my $12 bread toaster 😉
Well done - I admire your courage talking about killing despite the threat your daughter in law might watch the video…
Anyway, I thank you for showing this preparation for gorgeous pinselt pictures. It helps me too. Please continue (if you survive next meeting with your daughter in law)
Yes - this video must remain our secret - tell no one!
Brilliant
I'm new to focus stacking images of insects. After finally getting comfortable with a lighting set up, I am finding the hardest part seems to be posing the insects in natural looking stances. This video is exactly what I have been looking for. I can't wait to see more of your videos and photos! Allan, thank you so much for doing this! Very much appreciated!
Thanks Randy. I'm glad to hear that you are getting into macro and I agree that posing bugs can be a challenge. This video barely covered the tip of the iceberg. I will certainly follow your suggestion and take a deeper dive into this aspect of macro in future videos. Thanks again for getting in touch!
@@AllanWallsPhotography i really like your clear and honest approach. As a beginner i struggle with positioning small ants and mosquitos, is there any chance you can share your knowledge of positioning such small and fragile (thin legged) insects?
@@javierpg6289 Hi and thanks for your question. The really tiny bugs are challenging to position. I think I need to do a video on the subject, but for now I recommend you try the following... Make sure your insect is very dead! When freshly dispatched the tiny insect will contract over a period of several hours, causing motion blur. Once they have stopped contracting, dry them very carefully - I use little puffs of air from a lens cleaner. Don't use anything that might leave fibers behind (paper towels, etc). When completely dry, take a very small size insect pin (size 0 works well) and dip the very tip of the pin in regular superglue. Then very carefully hold the pin tip at about a 45 degree angle to the underside of the ant's abdominal segment (use the thorax for tiny flies) and try to hold it for several second until the glue sets. The less glue the better, and the faster it will set. Now, using another insect pin, the lens cleaning blower and a very tiny, very soft paintbrush, start to gently tease the limbs and antennae into position. You may need to use a tiny drop of relaxing fluid if the limbs are very stiff. The last thing is to use a big blob of BlueTack (or similar) pressed onto a small card, to hold the ball-end of pin, and very carefully angle the pin down towards the card until the ants feet are barely touching the card. Use the extra pin to nudge the limbs into position and then let it dry in that position for several hours. The limbs will set in position and then you can take you stack of shots and remove the pin in Photoshop. It is tedious, but well worth it.
Thank you, you made my day! A very informative and funny tutorial.
"I have not used shampoo for weeks, (pause) - years" 😂
Kind regards
J O
Nail varnish remover (acetone) does the job as well.
Extremely informative Allan. Thank you so much! But i do have a question: When do you prefer stacking in camera and when do you prefer using the sledge… (as you do in this video).
Hi Peter, I almost never use in-camera focus stacking, except when I am shooting a landscape and trying to keep the close foreground in sharp focus. My current camera body, the Nikon D850, does a good of job of "focus shift" shooting as they call it, but it is not useful at very short working distances. The reason for this is that the camera's focus increments are too long for macro work. Is when I am photographing an insect, like this wasp, I use a focusing rail and leave the camera's focus alone. This way I can accurately advance the camera, with focus locked, in steps as small 0.1mm, depending on my aperture size (DOF), of course. With an automated rail like the Cognysis StackShot, that distance can be reduced all the way to 2 micrometers, far beyond the camera's capabilities. Hope that helps!
It does Allan. Thank you so much for answering and keep up the great work!
Hi Allan (GREAT VIDIOS) I going to photograph a very large grasshopper "Giant Lubber Grasshopper" how long will the colors last in 91% alcohol?
I came across this looking for tutorials about Focus stacking. Insects are a favorite of mine, and am learning the right way to prepare them. You are a very good teacher, and I am looking forward to parts 2 & 3.
Thanks Kathy! I appreciate your kind comment!
If you need photo editing and stacking software. You might look into Affinity Photo.. It will also stack images.. Pretty good software for 50 bucks..
Being a lover of nature was my reason to get into macro photography. And the first thing talked about is killing insects.
What size are those insect pins? just found some here in NL in a shop that also sells dried insects but they have size 0 - 7 thought it says nr0 on the ones you had.
I use 00 pins most of the time, but I keep a stock of size 1 all the way down to size 0000, for really tiny stuff. The ones I use are Entochrysis Insect Pins that Amazon now carries amzn.to/3dgLErS
What is the dilution ratio that you use with Decon 90? Also thank you for your instruction videos.
I use it at about 10%, but you could get away with less to stretch it out. It doesn't take much.
Allan, great series! Thank you so much for the detailed information!! I did have a question: What do you use to kill the insects with
Hi Conny, I use ethyl acetate vapor. It is quick, sedating, relatively non-toxic to humans and pets. One thing to remember is that arachnids are somewhat tolerant of the effects and large spiders have a troubling way of coming back to life very suddenly and either walking off the set, if you are already photographing it, or scaring you half to death if you are giving him a bath.
Hello Allan, great video. Do you clean the insect before you pin it or when you take it out of the alcohol to shoot (or both) Thanks
Hi Ron, The short answer is yes, and yes. I clean them before preserving and again when I rehydrate them prior to shooting My workflow depends on a bunch of different factors, like size of subject, how dirty it is, how long it has been in alcohol, and so on. I have several videos that deal with the whole process of cleaning and posing subjects - this is good one to start with...ruclips.net/video/hBg1lCPEvlk/видео.html. Hope that helps!
@@AllanWallsPhotography Thanks Allan
I am glad that bug is just asleep.
Hi Allan!you are giving a verry usefull walktrough in the three video's on this subject.Love it!
I have a little question on a phrase at 24.32 about conservationg in alcohol "for as long as you want".
If I follow the procedure all the way,take a pictures series,and want to re-preserve an insect for later use do I putt it back into alcohol or just a little container to keep it dustfree?
Hi Yves, yes, my statement could be a bit misleading - you can keep some larger specimens for extended periods in alcohol and providing they are kept cool and dark and undisturbed, many will photograph remarkably well after even quite a long time. But all bets are off once you take it out, flush out the alcohol, clean, pose dry, photograph and replace it in alcohol. Every trip to the studio degrades the quality of the subject and while I have a couple of beetles that I still photograph after six or seven years, they are the exception. Small stuff, and especially the tiny things I like to photograph are not worth saving after photographing once. I do not recommend dry storage unless the insect is oven dried immediately after capture. This is how insect supply houses preserve their wares. The bugs are dry roasted and they can last a long, long time if kept away from moisture and UV. But to me they all look like dried insects - not the look I am usually going for.
@@AllanWallsPhotography Ah!of course,that makes sence.So for where i live it's harvesting insects most of the year and photograph them but keeping in mind that i hold some specimens in the alcohol until winter time before preparing them for a shoot(and retire them afterwards).Thanks alot!
Allen that Dr,s object 16:02 is dental probe .We use it to look for root canals. Glad to join your game . Dr.Farzin
Allan that is .Greetings from Iran.
Hahaha - well spotted Dr! Most of the equipment I use for preparing and staging small insects is refurbished surgical equipment that was retired from service at my hospital. Not sure how an endodontic reamer ended up in my toolbox!
@@AllanWallsPhotography a probe that is . Big Wink though !
And by the way are you a Doctor 😷 ?
@@drfarzinjazayeri9442 A retired general surgeon, yes.
😮
Never knew Hornets had 5 eyes😮😮😮
This helped a lot! Great video. I am going to give it a first try tomorrow. Just one question. I have a little container with alcohol and a spider inside untill tomorrow. Can i use the same container with the same alcohol for other insects? Or do i need to refill with fresh alcohol?
Thank you for all the good content.
Hi Deborah. I will use the same alcohol as long as it remains clear. Some creatures will badly stain the alcohol, and then the alcohol can stain fresh insects. I use very small containers, which I buy by the hundreds, so it is not unusual for me to use one pot per insect - but it isn't really necessary (just satisfies my OCD). Bottom line... if it stay clean, reuse it.
Allan Walls Photography Thank you! I tried to Google it but no luck there. I ordered more little containers but untill then I only have a few. Sounds good to use the same alcohol as long as it is clear. It is kind of a waist Also If you use fresh alcohol for each insect. Hope everything Goes well tomorrow.
@@deborahdeclercq9480 I just ordered a case of these little jars - they look perfect! www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-17073M-BL/Jars/Straight-Sided-Glass-Jars-1-oz-Black-Metal-Lid?pricode=WB0974&gadtype=pla&id=S-17073M-BL&gclid=Cj0KCQjwncT1BRDhARIsAOQF9LlpF99Idp22LL-95rhcclRbVKoGJsPqJc8cqRIFyqGM9ItxQhcD3OMaAqleEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
how long can they stay in the alcohol? i have one starting to discolor
It very much depends on the species and condition of the specimen when it was first preserved. I have stag beetles that are 4 years old and still look great. I also have smaller, softer specimens that only last for a few weeks. I put them in alcohol so I can keep them fresh until I get time to shoot them, but I always shoot them as soon as possible.
This is a great video session. Can you explain how to preserve and prepare lepidoptera caterpillars for macro photography.
Greetings Alaka - that is a very good question. Moth and butterfly caterpillars, and almost all insect larvae, are difficult to work with once they are dead. Unlike adult insects, they lack a hard, chitinous exoskeleton and decompose very, very quickly. They rapidly degrade in common preservatives, losing much of their color, and become too soft to handle within hours. There are some lab fixatives in which they may be preserved, but these are not commonly available. I recommend photographing larval forms while still alive, or very shortly after their demise. By the way, spiders also disintegrate rapidly and don't usually preserve well in alcohol. I hope this is helpful!
@@AllanWallsPhotography Thank you Allan for the reply. Caterpillars are not copperative models for photography and at least I find it difficult to get a shot where all segments are sharp. Focus stacking won't be possible without killing them.
@@alakabhagwat9795 Very true. The way I get around it is to use a small aperture and shoot as close to perpendicular as possible. With patience and plenty of luck you can avoid focus stacking and get almost everything in focus using this "side view" technique. Good luck!
Allan, great series! Thank you so much for the detailed information!! I did have a question: When I come across a dead insect... one that might have been dead for several days or more... who's legs have already retracted and are stiff... how do we repossession the legs and make them stay in place for the image creation?
OOPS... another question: You mentioned using superglue to pose legs. How do you remove the glue when we move the insect from the foam core board?
Hi Paul. Depending on the insect, I will usually use a relaxing container. It's just an airtight plastic box that I half fill with cotton wool that has been soaked in dilute white vinegar. I put the insect on a small square of acrylic (the cotton should not touch the insect) and place it on the cotton, in the box. Then I leave it somewhere warm for several hours to a couple of days, checking every now and again, until the limbs loosen up. If the insect has been dead a long time, in summer, it may never loosen and only fall apart. Keep a close eye on the insect as it may start to develop mold after a while.
The superglue question is a good one too. For insects that I am having a lot of trouble with, I will occasionally use a minute amount (the tip of a pin dipped in the glue) of superglue to hold a part to the card or to "freeze" a difficult joint in place. If I resort to glueing a foot to the card, I shoot the bug on the card. But if I use the glue on a joint, I make sure to position the bug so that the glue is hidden. I use so little that you usually won't see it anyway. Hope that helps! Thanks for the great questions!
I learned alot from this video, thank you.I'll start carrying a small container with rubbing alcohol. Can you suggest me a macro lens for Nikon z 6?
Hi Ski - I don't know if Nikon has made their 85mm f/3.5 for the Z cameras yet - but that was a great lens on the APSC DSLRs. The only other option is the Nikkor Z 50mm f2.8 which I hear is a great lens though I have never used it.
@@AllanWallsPhotography thanks, I'll check out the mentioned lenses.
Are you answering these comments? I sent you several times a request for training. Thanks.
Hello, I did't understand the stuff you used to kill the insects. (My English is not very well). Could you please write it in the answere>
Hi Peter, it is ethyl acetate (sometimes called ethyl ethanoate or ETAC), a very inexpensive solvent, but not available in all countries. Acetone can also be used, but it has a tendency to discolor insects and is even more volatile than ethyl acetate. Hope that helps!
🤔 a "surfactant" ???
I was taught in Chemistry a "adjuvant "...made water wetter" by reducing surface tension
A "surfactant"....is like paint or lysol spray?
Please clarify Alan?
Just starting out in this type of macro. Love the videos but really you should have included a hazard warning ⚠️. My first attempt at pinning resulted in me spinning yellow jacket on a pin as it wasn’t secured properly. The yellow jacket spun off the pin and bounced on the table before going down the back of my trousers where despite being dead it stung me on the ass. Lesson learned 😂😂
That might be the only insect-related misadventure yet to befall me. Yet, I say. If something like this shows up in a video, it is purely coincidence. Ahem.
Where i can sell insect photos?
Stock photography companies, prints through your own website, all the usual places. It would depend on the quality of the images, of course.
@@AllanWallsPhotography please tell me the name of website
@@informationsense4621 Try Shutterstock - I know they purchase images (submit.shutterstock.com/?language=en)
What size of insect pin do you recommend or use?
Hi Humberto and thanks for your question! I use an insect pin made by Entochrysis. The pins are coated in black enamel and I use size "0". I found them here... www.bugcollectors.com/store/products/498/Entochrysis-Insect-Mounting-Pins
They are a bit costly but worth it. Very, very fine and strong pins. Great for photography! Hope that helps.
Brilliant video. Wondering if water will re-hydrate the eyes? Often times I see - even after a short time after death - the compound eyes become "dimpled" or dehydrated; they lose their "convectness" (that's a word - trust me). Also, mould (or is it mold?) spores are not killed by alcohol. Alcohol is only effective on vegetative microorganisms - mould is both vegetative (mycelia) and non-vegetative (conidia with spores).
Thanks for kind words! Restoring eyes can be a real challenge, especially if the specimen has been dead a while. My go-to fix is to clean the insect a couple of times in cheap ultrasonic cleaner with slightly warm water and very small amount of OcyClean detergent (the one with the green lid). Sometimes that is enough, but if not I soak the insect for one hour in a small container. The soaking liquid is a 15% solution of potassium hydroxide with a few granules of the OxyClean detergent. Then I wash it again. I may have to do the KOH soak more than once. Be sure to rinse so that the KOH doesn't start to break down the insect. There is a powerful chemical, a mixture of detergent, surfactants, and strong alkali, called Decon90. It's used for radioactive decontamination. It is quite similar to my mixture but a lot more expensive (and you have to get it from a supplier in Europe). It's worth trying if you can get your hands on some. Avoid mold at all costs. Don't let bugs stay wet for too long. Once it gets into a specimen it is virtually impossible to get rid of it without destroying the specimen. Good luck!
I would worry if you take an interest in wedding photography.
Hahaha... no danger!
Or, you could buy cheap pins and dip them in black paint!
Ah! But you can't! It flakes off, exposing specular highlights that can ruin the shot - and it's illegal to paint pins - a federal crime - 20-years - hard time - be responsible - don't paint pins
@@AllanWallsPhotography it's illegal to paint pins????? 20 years? WOW! I guess for a second offense it would be a death sentence?
@@-WhizzBang- Yes. I joke a lot.
@@-WhizzBang- All kidding aside, I used to paint my pins, but that is not the reason I switched to these pins. The reason I use them is the length and thinness. They come in sizes down to "000", which really is getting close to a hair - I photograph a lot of creatures that are under 1mm, regular pins, especially with a layer of paint, are much too thick. Even the regular size ("0") are longer and thinner than regular pins, and that makes them ideal for what I use them for. And there is one last thing that I will mention, I use quite a few solvents in insect preparation, storage, etc., and many of the paints that I have tried dissolve in alcohol, ethyl acetate, and other chemicals. Some dissolve slowly - it looks good when you put the pinned insect in alcohol to shoot later, but when you come back, the alcohol, and the bug, are black. Enamel doesn't do that. But for most people, most of the time, your suggestion will work great, and it'll save you $10 on 100 insect pins. I apologize for not giving you a proper answer to your initial comment. Thanks for commenting, Allan
@@AllanWallsPhotography I just figured it would be easier to just paint them. But you have the experience with this. I am new to Macro Photography, I would love to take photos of insects like you do, but I don't know if I have the patience to prepare them. It just seems very tedious and difficult! But your videos are quite interesting! I have been playing around with Focus Stacking, which has produced some pretty cool results with stationary objects!
Hey, don't mind those who say "no killing". Some of them insects never think twice before attacking us!
I have stopped worrying about it - everybody kills insect, or pays someone else to do it - at least I'm making them look good!
Not good to kill for photos!!
No killing please
💀
Rather creepy, not the insects, but the fact that you're posing dead insects for photos, yeesh
Please delete this video....who gives the right?
That is so unethical.
Thanks Katty, I respect your opinion and am sorry if the content upset you, but I disagree with your premise. Photographing an already dead insect is a significant net benefit to society, in terms of the educational and artistic qualities of the image. It is, by definition, an ethical pursuit.