Ring flash lighting

I took this picture of a lemon hourglass frog from Costa Rica in my semi-annual frog and reptile workshop held in St. Louis. It’s a macro workshop, and I used a 50mm macro lens and a ring flash. I like this kind of lighting because it wraps around the tiny subjects in such a way that detail on both the dorsal and ventral surfaces is revealed. No dark shadows occur which would obscure the beautiful and fascinating color, patterns, and texture. My typical working distance is typically five to six inches. As the distance between the flash and the subject increases, the ring flash approaches a point source of light, making the illumination more harsh. With this particular frog, I also used an extension tube which enabled me to fill much of the frame with such a small animal. The small amphibian is about 3/4 of an inch in length. For an interesting effect, I added a watery reflection with the Photoshop plugin Flood. My settings were 1/200, f/32, and 200 ISO, and I hand held the shot. My next workshop is scheduled for June 13 -14, 2020.