A few weeks ago I set out to photograph fireflies in my backyard. I learned a lot about what worked, what didn’t. In this post, I share my experiences and tips so you can create firefly images too.
Prepare
As with any photo shoot, preparation is important. Taking a bit of time to do some research, scout out photography locations, and gather your gear will help your firefly
photography shoot to be successful.
Also, you should prepare your mindset so you can approach firefly image creation without becoming disappointed. By this I mean that you should understand that firefly images are not typically created from one photo. You see, fireflies only flash a few times in each location. And often, there are only a few fireflies present in your frame at a time. So, instead of feeling pressure to capture tons of flashes in one frame, it is best to take many photos then create a composite image from the photos with the brightest firefly lights and most insects in them. With that in mind, let’s jump into how to prepare to photograph fireflies.
Do Your Research
Begin by conducting research on fireflies in your area. Use resources like the internet, books, naturalist forums, and photography groups to dig up information that will help you know where fireflies may live, what time of the year they are present, and anything else that could help you photograph them. You’ll be able to find some good information to use as a starting point, but there is no substitute for hands-on learning so, head outside and make some observations of your own too.
Scout Out Locations
Before you can even think about photographing fireflies you’ve got to locate some. Find areas away from lights, sit still for a few minutes, and watch for flashes.
I determined my shooting locations by spending a few evenings looking around my rural back yard and nearby nature parks. I watched for flashes, and then took note of what type of habitat they were hanging around in (such as near water, over a marsh, in a forested area, etc.). From this information, I decided to photograph in two areas where I noticed a large number of fireflies; my back yard and a local county park in the countryside.
Observe Fireflies’ Behavior
Next, you’ve got to examine the fireflies’ behavior. You should take note of where the fireflies are congregating. Areas with more flashes will create the best photos, but even areas with only a few flashes can produce great composite images.
In my yard, fireflies seemed to congregate in areas that were darker. They were often under trees, and around bushes. In the park, the fireflies appeared to congregate on the edges of cleared areas, but they stuck to the shadows more than venturing into the open clearings.
Also, pay attention to how the fireflies’ behavior changes throughout the night. That way, you’ll know where to target your photographs at what time of night.
I noticed that fireflies in my yard started out in the darker areas early in the evening, but as the sky blackened, they moved out into the more exposed areas of the yard. About two hours after sunset, when it was pitch black out, I noticed quite a few fireflies across the road from my yard in an open field instead of only in the previously shadowed areas.
Determine Best Shooting Times
Over a few nights, pay attention to the time when you begin seeing fireflies. Watch for the time of evening when you see a lot of fireflies all at once. Also, observe when their numbers begin to dwindle for the evening.
This information is important so you’ll have a window of time in which you’ll be most likely to successfully photograph fireflies. By having this information you’ll know what time you can begin photographing, and how long you’ll have to get your shots.
I discovered that the fireflies began flashing in my yard shortly after sunset, much before it became completely dark. I found it useful to start photographing early in the evening, as soon as fireflies began flashing, to give me more time to capture a great shot. If you choose to do that too, you can compensate for the extra ambient light by closing your aperture and dialing your exposure compensation down.
Gather Supplies
Now that you know where the fireflies are, and what time you should photograph them, it’s time to get your gear ready. You’ll need your basic photography gear, as well as a few specialized items to photograph fireflies. You’ll want:
- Camera
- The type of camera is your choice, but you must have the ability to set the shutter speed.
- Charged batteries
- Take at least two. It’s a bummer to have everything set up and be shooting away, only to run out of batteries.
- Large SD cards
- Go armed with more space than you think you’ll need. Trying to capture firefly flashed while they’re in your frame is tricky and attempting it can easily lead to hundreds of photos.
- Tripod
- Make sure it’s sturdy so you son’w have camera movement during long exposures.
- Remote shutter trigger
- Fro the method I describe below you’ll want a remote. You can use your camera’s self timer if you prefer, but read on to discover how the remote can help you fire the camera when fireflies are in your frame.
- Flashlight
- Preferable use on that you can change to red. This allows you to see to adjust things on your camera, but doesn’t mess up your night vision. You may also want a regular white light to illuminate your foreground in order to focus once it gets really dark.
- Mosquito deterrent
- This is really important to have in order for you to be able to enjoy your photographing experience if you don’t like being eaten by bugs! A combination of deterrents is best including wearing long sleeves, long pants, a hat, and natural insect repellent spray.
- An friend or fellow photographer
- It can take a long time to get enough shots with fireflies in them, so it’s nice to have someone to chat with. It’s also great to shoot with another photographer, especially when you’re trying new methods, as you can troubleshoot and compare techniques.
Photograph
Now it’s time to actually photograph fireflies! Remember, don’t get discouraged if you can’t get lots of flashes in one photo. Firefly images are often a composite image. So, just leave your camera pointed in the same direction and take lots of shots. Then, use post-processing to combine those photos and create one composite image with many firefly flashes.
Focusing
The best way to ensure you get an in-focus image is to focus on the foreground while it’s still light outside. To do this, set up your camera before it gets dark, focus on your foreground subject, and switch your lens to manual focus so the camera doesn’t try to re-focus later. Then, simply stick to shooting in the same spot for the evening.
You can also try focusing on the foreground with a flashlight once it becomes completely dark outside. To do this method set your camera and tripod up, shine a flashlight on your foreground subject, focus your camera using that light, then set your lens to manual focus so it doesn’t try to re-focus.
Trying to focus with a flashlight was only mildly successful for me. I originally attempted this method because I constantly felt like there were more fireflies in other places than where I was set up. So, I moved my camera all over, and tried, often unsuccessfully to focus in the dark. Unfortunately, I also noticed that when I turned on the flashlight to focus, it seemed to chase the fireflies away for a while. So, I’d move again and repeat the process of focusing, only to discover again that there were more fireflies in another location. This led to a never-ending-game of here’s a flash, there’s a flash, everywhere a flash-flash and you can imagine how infuriating that became.
The frustration of constantly moving and trying to refocus is why I recommend scouting locations a few nights before you want to shoot. That way, you’ll know where to expect the fireflies and you can get into position and stay there. The nights I did that were the nights I was able to capture most of the photos in this post.
Capturing Dim Light
Our eyes can see the dim light of fireflies a lot easier than a camera can. So, it’s best for your camera to be close to the fireflies as their light will appear brighter in the images.
This is another place where your research comes in handy. Target the areas where you know fireflies are from your observations, and set your camera up close to them. Set it back far enough that you have a wide area where the fireflies will be most likely to fly into your frame. This positioning may take some fine-tuning over a couple of nights of attempts, but just keep trying.
Firing
Fireflies can fly into your frame and back out quite quickly, and they may only flash a time or two while they’re in front of your camera. To maximize your chances of capturing those flashes it’s important to have control over when your camera begins firing.
That seems like a given, but a lot of people recommend setting your camera’s timer, depressing the button, then letting the camera fire continuously doing 3-5 second long exposures.
I tried that and was frustrated by the “random” nature of when my shutter was open versus closed. The fireflies would come into my frame, flash a few times, and go back out of the frame. I’d think I’d gotten the shot of them lit up only to review my photos and discover that the timing had been off and the shutter had been closed during those few critical moments. So, I decided to take more control and designed the method below.
To maintain better control, set your camera to continuous firing mode for 3-5 second exposures (this timing will vary based on the ambient light in the sky, and the light trail effect you want to create so try a few different lengths of shots and see what works). Instead of setting your timer though, utilize a remote to fire the camera. Sit behind the camera and watch for fireflies to enter the frame. When one comes into the frame press, and hold, the remote button. This will which cause your camera to fire continuous 3-5 second exposures. When the firefly leaves the frame, release the remote button and stop firing. I found this method to be MUCH more successful in capturing firefly flashes in my shots and I think you will too!
Additional Tips
Now you’ve got the basics down, but a few additional pointers will also help you successfully photograph fireflies.
Once you get your camera set up, be as still as possible. You’ll be surprised how many fireflies come close to you by remaining calm and virtually motionless.
Keep your lights off. If you can help it, avoid using a flashlight, keep your phone put away, and dim your camera screen. Fireflies are sensitive to light, so keeping the area dark will increase their desire to remain in that area.
Shooting multiple exposures as described in the firing method (as opposed to simply holding the shutter open the whole time the firefly was in the frame) helps to eliminate the problem of letting in too much light with a really long exposure shot. You can vary the length of time the shutter is open and see what works best for the lighting conditions you are working with.
There is a lot of information you’ll want to remember to photograph fireflies. That’s why I’ve created a How to Photograph Fireflies Guide that you can print out and take with you. Use it to record your observations in the research phase, check off items while packing your gear, and as a guide to focus and capture the dim light of fireflies. Download and print the How to Photograph Fireflies Guide.
When you photograph fireflies you should take many shots in one location, then create a composite image of the photos with the most and brightest firefly lights. This photos is an example of that.
Post Process
Now that you have your firefly photos, it’s time to post process them. Remember, a large part of creating a firefly image is using creating a composite image. I created a composite using Lightroom first, Photoshop next, then Lightroom again. Temporary Tourist has a wonderful tutorial for creating a composite image. She made hers by stacking shots of fireworks, but the technique she describes works for firefly photos too.
Start by selecting 5-10 of your firefly shots that each have a few firefly flashes captured in them. Open those photos in Lightroom, then follow along with Temporary Tourist’s tutorial to create a composite image.
Spreading the Word About Fireflies
Now that you have some awesome firefly images, what are you going to do with them? Well, you’re in a great position to use those photos to spread conservation messages! Through your research and observations to learn how to take photos of these insects, you know more than the average person about these special bugs.
So, you could use that knowledge to spread information and create an appreciation for nature amongst your friends and family. You could post your image on social media, and include some fun facts about lightning bugs, or talk about things you discovered during your time photographing them. These can spark conversations and get people interested in the outdoors. To get some more ideas about how firefly images, and the creation of those images, can inspire an appreciation of nature, read my own experience of photographing fireflies in my blog post “Appreciating Nature with Fireflies and a Camera.”
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Thanks for reading my post! I hope you found it useful, and you’re excited to get out and try the techniques.
Feel free to leave a comment on this post or contact me if you have questions. If you’d like to set up a firefly photography lesson, please email me at info@humanelementconservation.com.
