There are exceptions, so do exercise good judgment on this. Refrain from putting subjects in unnatural environments just to take a good photo.

Avoid picking them up forcefully as their leg claws will cling on tight with no way of letting go and can get damaged in the process. While most beetles have hardened elytra on their backs, they have claws on their legs to help them cling on tightly to wherever they stand. Forcefully holding a subject’s leg to prevent it from moving can lead to permanent injuries to the subject. Attempting to handle them directly is strongly discouraged. It requires many years of training to be able to exert the precise force in handling any tiny subject without causing any injury or death. Be mindful that touching these subjects or stressing them may lead them to drop their precious prey and essential food for the week. Some spiders have to use up a lot of silk just to get 1 prey. In the wild, many living things only eat once in many days. I hope other macro photographers do not repeat the same mistakes and learn to make better judgment calls when out in the field. I am learning the importance of these mistakes through the hard way. Even my earlier macro workshops allowed participants to practise on subjects in captivity in the conservatory, where the handling was inappropriate.

In fact, many are written here today because of the personal experiences that I have had with them. This is a must-read for anyone starting out on nature macro photography.Īt some points of time in my macro journey, I have broken many of these guidelines myself and have come to regret the actions. Hopefully, this will allow more macro photographers to understand the importance of good ethics, and exercise good individual judgment about ethical and responsible behaviour in the field. I will explain more about this, as well as my personal views on this page. As a macro photographer, one would undoubtedly face the issue of ethics and responsibility in the field.

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