I got lucky and was able to photograph a bee while she was cleaning herself AND it turned out good too! To be honest, I didn't really notice what I captured until I reviewed the photo. I am pretty happy with it. But I am curious on how I could improve future macro shots... Well, if I get lucky and have the opportunity to photograph such a rare occurrence again.
Alas, this little group doesn't seem active, but since it was in my feed, and it's my nature to answer, you got what little knowledge I had. You might want to explore some of the other photography groups on Lemmy, or if you can stomach it's money-grabbing owners, Reddit.
On photo-stacking, it sounds like you already have gone farther than I ever did - tedious software, and less than fully steady hands limited me. But I have seen true wonders from those with steady hands and patience. Instead I mostly stick with birds :) /c/birding has some of my efforts.
On Aperture, you've got the idea - my commonest sin is not noticing I've plenty of light so could get more depth of focus by changing my aperture.
Flash is well worth getting into with macro work - it also allows for faster shots, not just better lighting, and second hand kit should be cheap.
Have you experimented with other focus modes - point or small area rather than whole screen. I find such modes really useful in cluttered shots - macro or just birds hiding in bushes.
Well, I am not active that often either (on Lemmy), but thanks for suggesting the other communities!
I already had a peek at your photos and they look gorgeous!
I just remembered what my issue with flashes were. Shutter wise, I can only go as low as 200, which is not optimal for my shaky hands (its not that bad, but I prefer to shoot at higher shutter).
I will give the other AF methods a shot.
Generally, thanks for the tips! :)
I seem to remember being bemused by how slow the shutter speed had to be to allow the flash. I seem to remember (and now's not the right time for me to check), the actual flash is really short duration as that's a property of the flash gun, but of course you have to be sure the flash occurs while the camera's shutter is open! If the flash is the sole significant source of light, rather than a fill in, the effective speed of the shot is therefore much faster.
Do check this before relying on it!