Normally, I try to avoid getting “butt shots” of insects, but sometimes that’s the only angle you can shoot ‘em from:
Ideally, you’d want to take a picture of a dragonfly from above, or from the side — so you can define the depth of field very precisely and get all of the bug (but little else) in focus. Of course, you’re not always that lucky — I normally wind up scaring off the dragonfly while trying to get into the “perfect” position.
In this case, I “settled” for a shot from almost directly behind the little guy — and even then, I had to zoom out to 300mm to get a decent close-up of him. Still, I’m happy that the wings and most of the body are in sharp focus (the tip of the tail is a bit blurred), and really like how the bokeh turned out. He’s resting on a reed next to a stream, and the water has sort of smeared out into a nice blue backdrop.
FWIW, I’ve been told this is a blue dasher dragonfly; I got his picture at the St. Louis Zoo in St. Louis, Missouri.
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