Ok all, I'm looking for some tips! I went ahead and got myself a new cam, I splurged on a Pentax Optio WPi. Mainly because I could not find the WP and I got the WPi at Wolf Camera for a pretty good price compared to other local places.

A little back ground...I used to have a Nikon Coolpix 995, it saw it's last shot after I tried getting it out on the river and dropping it in the water... :( Now a year later I'm back to owning a digi cam again, and this one's water proof so it's perfect for me.

I'd like to learn how to get some great fly shots of the flies I tie, I've got a tripod but am missing the part that screws in to the bottom of the cam, so I have not been able to utilize it yet. Does anyone know of an online tutorial on how to get nice fly shots? I'd love to learn! I'd like to start documenting the flies I tie on my own website.

Here's a poor attempt...for one I can't keep my hand still and for two, I'm not exactly sure how to manipulate the zoom to get it nice and clear.

Not bad really.

Try a darker back ground so that the camera will pick up on the light of the fly.

The tri-pod will help also.

I just picked an older model finepix slr digital on ebay that has all the works. It has a great super macro setting that allows focus from 1.5", so when I get around to it, I will post a few fly pics.

Great fishing camera you got there.

With a digital camera you will have much less to worry about than you would with film. You must have a tripod if you want sharp images. Get a piece of poster board in a medium shade of blue to use as a back ground; you want a flat finish as well. Use a slower shutter speed and if you have a macro feature on your camera then try that or use the zoom and move back. The beauty of Digital is what you can do after you have taken the picture. Picsa is a really good editing program from Google and it is free. [Picasa For the How- To try NYIP NYIP. In my opinion photography is almost as much fun as Fly Fishing

Sherpa..

Congrats on the new camera...now you can become obsessed with yet another hobby.

Paul Deiter has some excellant tips/set-up.
You can access his link here: http://homepage.mac.com/riverwader/tying/Personal24.html

Another good resource can be found here:
http://globalflyfisher.com/gallery/digitizing

Good Luck,
Don

Learn to use the macro feature on your camera. Switch the camera to the macro function (the instructions are in the manual) and focus on the subject by depressing the shutter button half way down. When the camera is focused, depress the shutter the rest of the way down. You wont be able to use the zoom when in the macro function.

DO NOT USE FLASH!!!

Lighting is also very important. Use as many lights as you can.

Backgrounds are important too.

Dont forget to use a tripod. It gets rid of the shakes.

A nice little studio like this from Ritz Camera would be nice:



Have fun.

Great topic, Alex...
...I just got an Olympus Stylus 800 & am trying to figure it out...
...actually pretty user friendly if you spend some time, but like you having some focus issues. It's gotta super macro & auto-focus, figured closer is better, but that ain't always true, backing up a 1/2" will allow a sharper, if smaller image, & mine has a setting for "cuisine" that heightens & sharpens colors & contrast, seems to work real well for flies. Seems like a white background, or anything besides a plain contrasting background confuses the auto-focus & you don't get as sharp an image. They're fun to play w/, but it's great to have someone help you get the most outta 'em, Thanks for the links, gentlemen...

A nice background color

OK pengo, you can invite me and my camera over, so I can learn how to run the thing. I bet the first thing you ell me is, "you need a tripod".

You name the place and I will be there, No the first thing you need is a camera

its a learning curve. Nice going Alex.

I tied that fly. I wish that I had taken the photo. Examples of the capability of my current setup are posted in the section on fly photos.

Important tips that I got from Hans include: use as much light as possible and from several angles; use all of the manual settings for focus, aperture and shutter speed; use the smallest aperture possible (probably f8) to get the greatest depth of field; and, if available, use the manual white balance feature. He also advised me that he shoots as close to the fly as possible (that's about 2 cm except for the larger patterns). I have two difficulties shooting quite that close. My camera, with a super macro feature, will shoot that close, but I often have to take two or three shots to make sure that one really is in focus. The other issue is that I like to photograph tying sequences and I need 5 to 6 cm between the lens and the hook to have any room to tie the fly.

EDIT, EDIT, EDIT...

as to both quantity and quality of the images. Reduce to the least quantity of images and total sharpness of image(s) to make your final image statement.

A minimal yet quality series of pics to demo the tying process, for example? Yes.

A bunch of pics showing the same thing but maybe from a whole bunch of unnecessary angles, for example? Nope.

iow, show only your best shot(s).

Oh, did I mention...

EDIT, EDIT, EDIT?

If I knew how to edit, I could probably improve my photos somewhat. All that was done to the following was to crop it and reduce it in size for posting.

Quick response. ( I plan on doing a little article on this very subject in the near future).

1. Always use a tripod.
2. I use three halogen lights that I purchased from Office Depot. They have small flexible arms so I can move them to the desired lighting position.
3. I use two lights from the front sides and one that lights from the top.
4. Go to a art store and buy some different colored paper backgrounds. I picked up some colored art paper and change out the backgrounds to fit the fly.
5. Zoom in to the best of the camera ability. Experiment with the different shutter speeds and aperature settings, if supported by the camera.
6. Use a photo editing tool to crop the image and make further adjustments.

I have the Optop WP. Obviously use the macro settings. Turn the flash off. Tripod helps. I use an old t-shirt in the color that I want. I put that shirt on a cardboard box that is about the right size to hold it up.

http://www.rockymtnfly.com/uploads/1137386...04_5_642990.jpg

This is a half finished yellow PMX. It didn't turn out to be as nice as I hoped so I scrapped the whole project. I will have to start over. I took this with the Optio. It's pretty decent considering the crappy lighting I have.

Anyone ever try putting a mirror under the fly (on the desk or bench surface) to bounce light upwards? That seems to be the angle where the light is lacking.

Paul Dieter uses some mirrors to illuminate the fly. The one thing that is important to consider is the access to the fly and vise. If you ever decide to do step by step tutorials, you really need something that isn't going to be 100% in the way.

Well, yes, cropping is one aspect of editing. One tweak that could be done with your pic is composing with the rule of thirds and fifths in mind.

That is, imagine a tic tac toe board. The lines are running in the third of the field up and down and across.
Placing the subject in the third or fifth of the picture is asymmetrical and, by its nature, more interesting to the eye than the formal symmetry of halves and quarters. The fly in your pic, the subject, is running through the horizontal middle, through the "half" line and, therefore, not as interesting to the eye as if it were placed in the third line.

Take a look at any pic in a magazine or clips in any movie and you'll see the rule of thirds and fifths in every one of them.

And the focal point of the subject pretty much always flows into the center of the pic, unless the photographer and/or the editor wants the focus to flow out of the center, say, the end of a sequence where fish is swimming away or downstream. then, the focal point is flowing away from the center.

As far as quantity editing is concerned, with digital cameras, lots of pics of the same thing can be done and then narrow down the images to the optimal number of remaining pics that get the point across. Lots of times the photographer leaves all or most of the pics taken when just a few get the point across in a much more interesting way.

Thanks for the additional explanation. My reference to editing had more to do with adjustments to the quality of the image after the picture has been taken.

Based on the conversations that I have had with Hans Weilenmann on this subject, I suspect the image that Flytire posted of the the flashback MFG is pretty much how that picture came off of Hans' camera. It might not even have been cropped. He told me that he is concerned about consistency from shot to shot. Thus, he pays a lot of attention to all of the settings prior to taking the first picture and then holds those settings throughout the series. If, instead, he were to rely on editing, he would not be able to hold the consistency from one photo to the next.

I stumbled across this post and thought what the heck, it may still be relevant to some five years on

John's comments are spot on. I prefer to put my effort into the setting up and snapping the picture.

There is no cropping, no fiddling with colors. The post processing consists of possibly brushing away an errant fiber here or there, and some mild sharpening. That is it.

Cheers,
Hans W

PS The image in this thread reflects the state of play at the time - I like to believe I do a better job at them these days