Macro PhotographyI have a confession about macro photography. Before writing this series of articles - (scroll down to the bottom), I had not done any real close up photography since I first experimented with photography as a hobby when I was a boy. Wow, has that really changed! Working on this site about Digital Photography Tips has forced me into experimenting and discovering how much fun it is to play around with close-up photography. Just check out all of the photos and articles listed at the bottom of this intro page. It wasn't really super close up macro photography by definition. My father had a set of screw on close up filters for his Beseler Topcon SLR. These cameras were made before Canon or Nikon ever produced an SLR.
Most of my previous articles giving tips for taking digital photography were focused on portrait posing, rules of composition, lighting and photo exposure. I gave myself this macro photography assignment and only one hour to complete it. I had recently purchased a budget priced set of extension tubes made by Opteka.
I saved a lot of money by not buying an expensive macro lens or high quality extension tubes. I can get better quality photography with these extension tubes than I can with screw on filters. Articles giving tips on this type of photography always advise you to use a tripod. I took that advice for most of the images I captured. In this picture of the budding pink geranium, I needed the tripod to prevent getting a blurry picture. My shutter speed was 1/20 second even though I set my camera ISO to 800. I also took some pictures of butterflies using these extension tubes. They were quite busy moving from flower to flower on our butterfly bush. I didn't have enough time to set the tripod and focus on one flower with the hope that one would land and stay in the exact spot for more than a fraction of a second.
Of course flowers always make a great choice for subject matter. You still must consider your lighting and use good composition techniques to get great images. One of the biggest photo mistakes people make with close up photography is to get distracted by concentrating on the subject and they forget to look for an interesting way to compose it. Use the rule of thirds when you can; look for diagonal lines and remember to consider whether a horizontal or vertical composition works best.
These very small flies were busy working on reproduction activities and stayed still for this handheld, lay down-on-my-belly photo of the common dandelion. I used my Canon 20d DSLR with the extension tubes and my 85mm f-1.8 lens. Exposure was 1/500 sec at f-4 to freeze any motion caused by the warm summer breeze that day. Notice that at this close distance at f-4 the depth of field was very shallow. The fly's head was sharp, but the wing closest to the camera was slightly out of focus. Look around your environment for common subjects that might be very interesting for your close-up photography. There is an endless supply. Abstract Macro Photos. Using close-up photography to create abstract photos. Can you guess what the subject was in the original photograph? Want to make other viewers make guesses about your abstract macro photo? Artistic Macro Photos. Create macro photography art. Sample artistic photos and an opportunity for you to submit your macro photography art. Macro Photography Tips. If you'd like to read some more digital photography tips on this topic, try this article. Close-up Photography Technique. If you are interested in what close up photography equipment to use, read this article. Close-up Photography Equipment for advanced macro photographers. This includes bellows, reversing rings and several options for macro lighting equipment. Close Up Photography Lighting. To see some examples of great close up photography lighting technique, visit this gallery with comments. Macro Photo Ideas. Looking for inspiration on what to photograph with your macro photos. Here is some inspiration. More Macro Photo Ideas. Ideas from inside your home using common objects for interesting subjects. Close-up Photography for Beginners. Don't know where to start. Read this article for beginners on how to do close-up photography. Close-up Photography Tutorial. Illustrated tutorial with photos of a set-up for inside macro photography with a point and shoot camera and an external flash for equipment. Natural Lighting with your macro photography. Two illustrated photos and explanations of how they were taken. Indoor Lighting Tips. What is the best lighting for shooting macro photos of tiny translucent spheres inside? I accidentally got a cool photo because I made a mistake in lighting my photo. Plan your macro photos. Here are a few photo tips regarding the benefit of planning your macro photo shoot before you waste a lot of your valuable time. Remember to enjoy the process of discovering new techniques to improve your picture taking abilities. Develop a childlike curiosity and explore some of the other photo tips on this web site. Back from Macro Photography to Digital Photo Tips Home page |
When I originally researched taking close-ups, I considered screw on filters, extension tubes and macro lenses. I read many reviews on Amazon.com and other sites.
Taking pictures of ordinary objects at very small distances opens up a whole new world of picture taking opportunities.
Looking for some good macro photography ideas? Look no farther than your own backyard. I used the extension tubes described in the Macro Photography Techniques article listed below.