Help capturing a spider and web

[nck4222]

Hey guys, I bought my first camera (an Olympus e410, with a zuiko 14-42mm lens) a few days ago and have been learning how to use the manual settings.

I took a few pictures of this spider and web using the aperture priority setting. The aperture was set to 5.6 which was the biggest it allowed, and it set the shutter speed to 1/80. The lens was zoomed to 42mm, and the built-in flash was on auto. It also set the ISO to 100.

The problem is with the settings above the spider became whitewashed (as shown). I played around with the flash, setting it at various power levels but the a medium power level still gave a whitewashing effect to the spider. The low power levels were too dull and couldn't capture the web. I've linked to 2 examples.

What could I have done differently to get a better picture? I tried again the next morning thinking a dawn daylight would help but the camera wouldn't pick up the spider or web at all. I just got some closeups of a bush. Are there different settings I could've used? I'm sure better gear would have been helpful but I feel like I should be able to get better results with what I have. I also don't want to fix this with post-processing, I'd rather improve my shooting first. Any suggestions? I joined the forum today but I'll be browsing often and will be happy to help where I can.



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/...1806eda3_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3131/...aaed248d_o.jpg

(Let me know if there's anything wrong with my post. I think I followed the rules, 1 image of width 600px, linked to the others...)

EXIF
Date: 8/13/08
Shutter: 1/80
Aperture: F5.6
ISO: 100
Olympus e410 with 42mm zuiko lens
Built in flash

[sephira]

I know that some of my spider shots were easiest during dusk. The light from the sunset really helped to illuminate the web and the spider.

As far as the camera settings go, I'm just learning, so I probably wouldn't be able to help in that department.

This is one of my fav ones:




Sometimes I find that the flash is better just not used, like this one:




Hope this helps--at least a little!!!

[Vash]

From what I see in your picture there was no other light source so flash was the only way. Unless you have a macro flash unit, you can't hope for more on this shot.

The early morning light should have been sufficient I believe. Where you using autofocus maybe and the camera couldn't pick up the web? Try using manual focus and see if it helps. And also experiment with different morning times. Dawn is good (coloration and the rest) but you might need some stronger morning light.

Also I think this should go to the critique section.

[Chip]

Just a guess here, but possibly holding a white paper towel just in front of your flash might help. Doing so would both diffuse the flash and reduce the amount of light that gets to the spider.

Otherwise, it seems like this picutre is over-exposed. Perhaps experimenting with different lighting combinations would help: no flash at a different time of day; use a flash but with a faster shutter; no flash, but a higher ISO and bigger aperture (such as f2.8), etc. Maybe there's the right combination for this shot. Good luck!

[Kid_A]

You could also try taking the picture from different angles. Sometimes light does funny things, it may reflect off the web better from a slightly less direct angle.

[nck4222]

The spider rebuilt his web in a different location last night so maybe that will help as well. Also I found a couple more little guys doing some homemaking. Our garden seems to attract the little guys.

I can't believe I forgot about the manual focus. I guess it was a little too early in the morning for me when i was trying again =).

I'll try a faster shutter speed and a higher iso/bigger aperature settings and see if it helps at all, plus different angles. Someday I imagine I'll start getting in to more advanced gear like a macro flash but not yet.

Thanks for the help, I'll let you guys know how the second round comes out.

[Johnsohk]

If your camera shows a histogram use it to show if you are overexposed. Then bracket towards less exposure...
When in macro better to change to manual then a smaller aperture at same speed if over exposed as that way you get less exposure BUT more depth of field so more chance to be in focus.