Portrait of a Mantis

We build a tiny world on the table—moss, driftwood, glass green—and bring the camera close enough to meet a mantis eye to eye. Two small bendable lights come from either side, softening shadows so every antenna and spiked foreleg catches the light; the moss melts to bokeh behind. Macro as portraiture: not a bug on a leaf, but a small hunter posed, lit, and seen.