15 of the Best Spider Photographs

Of all the small creatures in the world, none are so misunderstood as spiders. Here we look at how arachnids can lead to beautiful insect photography

‘Jumper Spider’ by Moayyad Atshan, exposure unknown

Images of insects, particularly in the genre of macro, are numerous. In the same way that the creatures of the ocean seem to us an alien species, those small subjects that live in our garden (and can often be found crawling around our homes) seem to come from another world. Though not strictly speaking insects – insects are defined by the fact they have six legs and three body parts – spiders are one of most fascinating and feared members of this miniature society.

One of the true powers of photography is in its ability to reveal the hidden beauty of any subject and that includes spiders. Photography allows us intimate access to small creatures such as spiders so we can begin to appreciate the breathtaking complexity of their eight-legged bodies and the webs the weave.

In this selection, we take a look at some of the best spider images from Photocrowd.

‘On the Net’ by Stojan Pirc, Nikon D810, 105mm, 1/60sec at f/22, ISO 100

‘Catcher’ by Q-lieb-in, Nikon 5200, 11-16mm, 1/160sec at f/9, ISO 100

Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi) – female by That Macro Guy, Canon EOS 7D, 100mm, 1/30sec at f/4, ISO 160

‘Zebra Jumping Spider’ by PSH, Canon EOS Rebel T2i, 28-70mm, 1/160sec at f/14, ISO 100

‘The Mask’ by Peter, Canon EOS 1DS Mark III, 24-105mm, 4/5sec at f/6.3, ISO 200

‘Bokeh and Beast’ by Kevin Childress, Nikon D800, 300mm, 1/250sec at f/13, ISO 320

‘Filières en Action’ by Bailly Michel, Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 100mm, 1/320sec at f/9, ISO 320

‘Garden Spider’ by Alan Smith, Canon EOS 70D, 60mm, 1/200sec at f/8, ISO 5000

‘Colorful Spider’ by Duc Tran, exposure unknown

‘Black or White?’ by David Chen, Nikon D700, 105mm, 1/250sec at f/13, ISO 100

‘The Jumping Spider’ by Irawan Subingar, Olympus E-M1, 60mm, 1/125sec at f/11, ISO 200

‘Leaves on the Line’ by Simon Hadleigh Sparks, Sony ILCE 6000

‘Spider’ by Cristian R Cacuci, Canon EOS 6D, 65mm, 1/200sec at f/16, ISO 400

‘Spider Web in the Sunset’ by Annette Häggblom, Canon EOS 70D, 100mm, 1/160sec at f/2.8, ISO 250

‘Hunters of Darkness III’ by Juraj Bencik, Nikon D850, 105mm, 1/800sec at f/3, ISO 100