Picture taking help request

[nursebee]

I came across a colony with multiple eggs in a cell cup today, a sign I take to be of a worker laying eggs that will go on to become drones. I brought the hive home to take some pictures but find that I am unable to get the photo to show the detail I want. I am using a Olympus Stylus 300 digital, I think it does 3x-5x. I set it on macro mode, highest resolution. White plastic foundation, 1-2 year wax meaning it was somewhat dark but not black. If the flash was on it made it made things too light. Flash off too dark. I tried shining a flashlight on it but no good. Am I trying the impossible with my camera?

[kawayanan]

I had some comb with eggs in it that I wanted to take a picture of and ran into the same problem as you. I ended up taking the comb out into direct sunlight so that I could do it without a flash but plenty of light. It ended up working ok. I would guess that your camera should be able to do it, its probably a matter of getting the right light.

[berkshire bee]

If your flash has an adjustable power level, you might try setting on 1/2 or 1/4. In the past, I've taped a frosted plastic cup over the flash to make the light weaker. Another possibility would be using a higher number f stop to let less light in. I'm not really familiar with that brand but those are things I can do with the pentax I have. Another possibility is without the flash in good light with a large lens opening (smaller number) like 2.8, but that limits your field of focus. One other thing I've done before to get more light on a small subject in the daytime is use a small mirror to reflect some sunlight onto the subject. Hope this is helpful. As a last resort, check the manual. They usually have a trouble shooting section for different situations. B.B.

[Troutsqueezer]

When you buy your next camera keep in mind that larger lenses let in more light.