Learn your subject's behavior
Knowing your subjects when shooting dragonflies is very important; learning their behavior and habits will benefit you in the field and help you get those great images with clean backgrounds. Watch them in the field. Study how they react in their surroundings. Some species will seem to fly all the time, never landing and others will land and perch on dead plants, stems, tree branches on the ground, and some high up in trees. Study them and you see their behavior change as they mature. Some species will allow for very close approach while others seem to be very easily spooked, and slow movements are the best, as dragonflies have excellent eyesight.
Equipment
Know your equipment and its limits; if you have cameras or lenses with image stabilization built-in, use them to your advantage, otherwise with smaller apertures and slower shutter speeds, you should always use a tripod or monopod.
Finding subjects
Dragonflies are fast, skilled flyers and can cover huge distances in a very short time, so being a mile or two away from the nearest water is only a couple minutes flight for them. They can be found in open fields or along roadside ditches. When a species of dragonfly matures for mating, they will then be found closer to water, as they need water to lay their eggs.
Getting started
For getting started with shooting dragonflies, you can use almost any camera made as long as you have the correct lenses or camera with some macro capabilities. I recommend a tripod for stability, although cameras or lenses with image stabilization can allow many shots to be handheld. I prefer a long lens and extension tubes, as it allows a greater working distance from the subject, making it less likely to be scared off by your presence.
Long lenses
Long lens technique is what I use the most often with dragonflies. Almost any long (telephoto or zoom) lens with extension tubes will allow good subject size in the frame and a comfortable working distance from the subject with all but the smallest of dragonflies.
Macro
Macro lenses will allow you the most detailed images of dragonflies, but your technique and skill of approach will need to improve along with subjects that will cooperate. And your tripod will often disturb the subject.
AF Versus MF
AF or MF: I always use manual focus as it gives one better control over the area in focus. With MF, you can move the focus point to the area you want sharp. Auto focus on most cameras is highly accurate, but you lose control of the fine focus and you are letting the camera pick the focus point for you, which may not be the best choice.
Using Flash
Flash for dragonflies is an issue many will argue over; some will say the only way to shoot is without to keep the bright highlights out of the eyes. I feel images look better without flash, but flash, when used correctly with a diffuser and proper power setting can produce balanced lighting, especially when the sun is high and shadows can be harsh. Dragonflies like it hot, more sun the better it seems for them, but a lot of sweat for the photographer. Shooting at your flash's maximum sync speed with manual power settings will often give some great results in low light and on windy days. It can also be used to bring up details on an otherwise dark subject without bringing up background colors.
Making the best images
When shooting dragonflies, always get the first shot just to have that species on file. Then you need to work all the angles, as just an inch or two up or down can make a huge difference in the image, and the same with moving left or right. I prefer to shoot dragonflies with the head area showing, as that gives the dragonfly the most appeal. They do have some wonderful looking faces, with those huge eyes being a focal point. I feel wings are important to be sharp in species that have lots of wing colors or markings. Always experiment with aperture and DOF. Some shots will look great with the eyes sharp and the wings out of focus. Also, not all shots need to be frame filling with the subject. Sometimes an excellent compositional image can be made with the subject rather small in the frame.
High Speed sync on windy days
Wind is the nemesis of macro shooting. On windy days, I often utilize high speed flash synchronization which allows use of faster shutter speed with flash. With high speed sync, maximum flash output distance is greatly reduced, but that is usually not a problem with normal, relatively short working distances for dragonflies.
ISO speed and noise reduction
Your digital camera's higher ISO speeds will eliminate possible motion blur or camera shake if handholding but will add some unwanted noise in many cases. There are great noise reduction software programs that can reduce the noise levels and still keep details sharp. A noisy image is better then a blurred image, and I have not seen any software that can save a severely blurred image. Most noise can be reduced or removed completely.
The Ultimate Challenge - Flight Shooting
For some fun when in the field, try some in-flight shots. Some tips on getting those shots are to study the dragonfly and see if there is any pattern to its flight. Second is windy days are great for shooting them in-flight, as they tend to hover longer in one area. Pay attention to mating dragonflies, as many males will watch over the female they have mated with and may tend to stay in a smaller area where the female is laying eggs. Some dragonflies remain paired in-flight, and the male holds onto the female by the head with some appendages on its tail. Often other males will be close by looking for a chance to mate with the same female offering more in-flight shot possibilities.
AF Ring of Fire versus one AF point
Auto focus or manual focus as well as use of one or all AF points depend greatly on your camera's ability to acquire fast focus and the lens you are using. Most of the high end pro cameras are fast and can acquire focus on a dragonfly while in flight. I shoot manual as I do not have a pro camera, and I have a fairly good success ratio with in-flight shots. Timing and patience are very important, so don't give up. Experiment with handheld or tripod support, but I find most often tripod support is key when shooting manual focus, and handheld works nicely if you have a camera that can auto focus fast enough to keep up. Key to in-flight is observing your subjects behavior! The best time to use all AF points or the "ring of fire," as it is often called is when the background is uncluttered. With busy backgrounds, the camera tends to want to lock onto the background rather than the subject.
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