Butterfly Photography Tips with Images from Nikkor Z 180-600mm Lens

I had a few chances to photograph the monarch butterflies as they migrated south during the fall season. I visited my local parks to find and photograph them trying to get a variety of shots.

In this video I'll provide you with what I like to do to capture these butterflies, along with some tips and techniques I used with the Nikon Z 9 and Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 lens.

Monarch butterflies are listed as a Vulnerable Species right now, although some may say they are nearing the Endangered Species category as their numbers are decreasing every year. Regardless of the category, they are beautiful to photograph if you ever get a chance to see them in your neighbourhood.

I conclude the video with a slideshow of images that I took during my outings. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Have you ever tried photographing butterflies before? Let me know what you think.

I opted to omit the camera settings in the slideshow this time since the settings are all very similar to the other images in the video. I'm curious, in the future would you still want to see the camera settings within my slideshows?

To skip to various sections, use this TOC:

0:00 - Intro
1:20 - Vulnerable Species
2:12 - Where to find butterflies
4:20 - How to (pre)compose a shot
10:27 - Getting to eye level
11:53 - Using a telephoto lens
13:25 - Sun placement can affect images
14:50 - Optimal camera settings
18:08 - Slideshow of images
21:20 - Outro

Filmed on Nikon Z 8 with Z 24-120mm f/4
Mic: Rode Wireless Pro

Follow me on Instagram   / smaku  

View my website: https://www.smaku.com and https://www.takukumabe.com