Tips for Developing Macro Photography Techniques
There are many ways of approaching macro digital photography. And, if you are new to macro photography, it is quite confusing for those learning how to take great macro shots.
Here are some macro photography tips to give you a greater insight into the art of taking close-ups of small things.
Exposure for Macro Photography
When taking macro photos you will need to think about the f-stop setting unless you are using a close-up lens. Even if you use you camera's automatic light metering which will adjust the exposure to account for light loss, you will still need to manually adjust your exposure settings to get the best results.
Macro Photography Lighting
A handheld flash is ideal when used a few inches from the subject. It lets you get a good field of depth and you can get down to below stop f-16 to get the clearest, sharpest results in your macro photography.
Lighting can be the most important part of your macro photography as it can be the difference between getting good macro photos and getting stunning photos.
Focus is Critical in Macro Photography
Camera focus and positioning is critical with a depth of field of only 1 mm, and a tripod does not necessarily allow you to focus from the angle you need to capture the depth of field of your subject. Many macro photographers use macro focusing rails that attach to the tripod. These are a rack and pinion setup that moves the camera backwards and forwards. Use the tripod to roughly position the camera and let the focusing rails take care of the fine positioning.
Use Macro Mode
Use the macro mode on your camera. I know this may seem really obvious but you would be surprised at how many people who have digital SLRs have not checked out the modes they have built in to their cameras. Usually a flower symbolizes macro mode and using this mode automatically tells your camera you want to focus more closely on the subject than usual. In macro mode the camera will choose a large aperture so the background is out of focus and your subject is sharp in the foreground of your macro shots.
It takes a lot of practice and learning from experience to get good macro photography photos, and if you try out some of these tips it will help you to develop your techniques as a macro photographer.
Macro Photography Equipment Tips
What is macro photography? Macro photography is the art of taking close-ups of small things and the subjects tend to become larger than life. It is the opposite of micro photography and often the subjects are things like a water droplet on the petal of a flower or a line of ladybirds as they go about their daily business.
What Camera to use for Macro Photography
You can get great results with just an ordinary point and shoot digital camera, but the serious macro photographer will want a single-lens reflex camera. You can attach special-purpose macro lenses and the viewfinder shows you what the end result will be on the sensor.
What is a Macro Lens?
It is easier to find a good quality single focus lens for macro photography than it is to find a good quality telephoto zoom lens. The best types of macro lenses have a ranging length of between 50 mm and 200 mm, and will focus continuously from infinity to 1:1.
A macro lens helical has floating elements to change the optical design to give good quality results in close-up macro photography. This is why you get beautiful, sharp images that are focused at all distances in macro photography photos.
So how do you choose a lens for macro photography? The same way you would choose a telephoto lens. You choose a macro lens to suit the purpose you want to use it for. For example, you may want to photograph that incredible butterfly perched on the edge of a pale pink rose petal early in the morning so you will need a 200 mm lens if you are going to capture it before it flies away. If your purpose is to compress the facial features of your subject then you will probably use a 105 mm lens over a short wide angle one.
Macro Photography Lighting
A handheld flash is handy for lighting your subjects and is powerful when used a few inches from the subject. Try using it on one side of the subject while someone holds up a white piece of paper on the other side as a reflector. This will give a harsh, stark effect.
For softer light, experiment with other material to diffuse the light from the flash, for example, colored gels.
If you have a fascination for capturing close-ups of small things then get out and experiment with different techniques for taking macro photographs, and see what amazing results you can get.
I mentioned earlier we were researching a macro photography report and when it was finished I would let you in on it. You can download it here and because you are a subscriber, you don't have to pay the price the general public pay (they pay $25). It is purely on the subject of macro photography and is over 30 pages ...
