Light rings: I've seen some really great photos of insects on this site. Can you tell me if these photos when taken were done using the lighting source that fits around the lens? If...

Leon S Loc: Minnesota

I've seen some really great photos of insects on this site. Can you tell me if these photos when taken were done using the lighting source that fits around the lens? If not, why not.

tinusbum Loc: east texas

i think most ring lights are not bright enough,i have only tried 1 and it was a cheap one and not bright enough

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Many, if not most of us, have tried ringlights or ringflashes, and have settled on a large diffused softbox configuration.
To see our communal evolutionary progress, start with page 1: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-32754-1.html
To see where most of us are now, go to pages 4, 5, & 6: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-32754-4.html

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

I have several older ring/point lights from film days that attach to the front of the lens....I do use them a lot but I also have & use softboxes attached to a Nikon SB-600 speedlight. I also bought one of those LED ring lights (a cheap one with 48 LEDs). It wasn't powerful enough. That said, I have seen an LED unit that did give good results that a student of mine was using. Can't remember the name of the unit though. The drawbacks to the ringlights is that they are hard to diffuse & spectral highlights are harsh when shooting shiny insects. Softboxes cut down those highlights, but the added size can make it difficult to get up close enough to some insects without scaring them off. Thus , like many other things in life, what to use becomes a compromise.

Leon S Loc: Minnesota

Thank you my friends. I didn't realize just how much it would take to get the right kind of light to properly take a picture of a bug. Looks harder than taking pictures of a two year old stuffed with sugar. Since I have a couple of SB 600s I'm not fully using at the moment, I think I'll start with making myself a soft box and seeing how that goes. Sorry about not answering sooner. My wife shampooed the carpet around my computer and told me that if I walked on the carpet before it was done drying she would put my macro lens in a place that would make it hard for me to walk. So yes, the carpet is dry and I can still walk. Thanks for the insight. Leon

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Leon S wrote:

Thank you my friends. I didn't realize just how much it would take to get the right kind of light to properly take a picture of a bug. Looks harder than taking pictures of a two year old stuffed with sugar. Since I have a couple of SB-600s I'm not fully using at the moment, I think I'll start with making myself a soft box and seeing how that goes.

While they take awhile to arrive from China, many of the 6 X 8 softboxes on eBay will suffice and they are cheap. You will need to add supports at the seams to keep them from collapsing though. That's an easy & cheap DIY fix. Many ot the shooters in the True macro forum have made their own rigs too. Thay can look a bit tacky, but as long as they do the job, who cares ?

Lighting

When a light source comes mostly from one direction, shadows are created and these shadows give an appearance of depth which removes the 'flat' appearance. :-)

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Nikonian72 wrote:

Many, if not most of us, have tried ringlights or ringflashes, and have settled on a large diffused softbox configuration.
To see our communal evolutionary progress, start with page 1: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-32754-1.html
To see where most of us are now, go to pages 4, 5, & 6: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-32754-4.html

Excellent resources.
I've tried both. The relative power of the ring-lights as compared to a full-sized flash influences recycle time. This is hugely important to terms of "getting the shot". The other consideration which influences the quality of the lighting is that the larger size of the diffusion box (compared to ring light) relative to the size of the critter improves the quality of lighting immensely. Of course, one could get too big! ;-)

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Screamin Scott wrote:

. . . many of the 6 X 8 softboxes on eBay will suffice and they are cheap. You will need to add supports at the seams to keep them from collapsing though.

A FotoDiox 6x8-inch softbox diffuser sells for about $15 on eBay.
Here is the link for "stiffening" the softbox to retain its intended shape: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-184699-1.html

FotoDiox 6x8-inch softbox diffuser

davids999 Loc: Edinburgh, UK

Nikonian72 wrote:

Here is the link for "stiffening" the softbox to retain its intended shape: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-184699-1.html

Ah, that's useful. I have that diffuser but the light is restricted by it collapsing.