Another Spider

Here's my second try at macro. I setup to try a stack of a flower but noticed this tiny spider so try for it instead. I had difficulty because the animal was shy so I had to turn the pot the plant it was on and then quickly snap before it ran to the other side of the flower petal

If there's a method to get insects to hold still, I've yet to learn it.

It really is up to the spider if it holds still.  If you can find one eating,  it is more likely to hold still.

here is a big spider [a huntsman], eating a smaller one..

Thanks for the tips and example. I know I have a very long way to go since this is all new to me. I hope I will have interesting subjects as autumn turns to winter. The spider in my OP was on a flower in my wife's greenhouse at about 85F or 30C and thus lively as can be.

I'll monitor this forum to see examples such as from deadfisheye to get subject ideas for winter snapping. At this point, I haven't a clue how I could have set up my subject spider to result in the close up of the feeding spider such as in that image.

This Australian huntsman spider moved into my house and spent time on the wall in a stairwell. They can move fast but this one stayed in the same place for a while. I fed it to encourage it to stay for a time. I photographed it with an Olympus 60mm macro and kenko 16 and 10 mm extension tubes with the Olympus em5 mk 3 camera resting on the wall beside it. But this kind of spider is big enough to get good pictures with 1to1 magnification. I used a colbor pl8r pocket fill light in the camera hot shoe to illuminate it in the quite dark space. This light comes with a diffuser and can be angled to use with macro pictures. But I didn't use the diffuser here. This camera came with a really nice small flash unit fl lm3 which is great for macros.  This camera has in camera photo stacking with this lens.

I am unsure how to operate flashes but do have a video light that would add to the overall illumination without adding any color cast. I think I'll try that one. Right now our cold weather has started in earnest so my subjects, for the most part, have vanished.

If I find a spider nesting inside, I'll see if I can follow your lead to accommodate it so I can get a decent snap.

Woody S wrote:

pcassel wrote:

If there's a method to get insects to hold still, I've yet to learn it.

I often refrigerate insects for anywhere from an hour to overnight before photographing and then releasing them, it works well with most insects although some warm up so fast it's not effective. However, the few spiders on which I tried that method were all killed so now I just have to be patient and chase them around the plant.

Interesting use of the passive voice, they "were all killed."--another way to say that, using the active voice, would be to write "I killed them all."