Macro Photography Made Easy |
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Written by Zoe Hellar
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Monday, 13 October 2008 |
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When buying macro lenses, you need to be careful. There are many lenses out there they are marked macro, however, for the best close imaged and personal photos that are at least 1/3 life size or larger you have to be sure that you do in fact have a macro lens.
Using a macro lens is is different to using a telephoto zoom lens, you will need to pay more care on focus, lighting, the movement of the subject, camera stability, and the depth of field.
Focus is very essential when using a macro lens. Many times the autofocus feature does not work properly with many subjects, so it is best to focus manually. Choose the part of the subject that you wish to focus on and use it as your main point. You may wish first to set the camera to the correct magnification level you desire and then move the entire camera, tripod and all closer to or farther away from the subject that you are photographing.
If you have the camera mounted on a tripod, sometimes it is useful to use a focusing rail. This will give you more control when moving the camera.
Camera stability can in fact be a very hard thing to accomplish especially if your subject is a butterfly or other insect that moves around a lot. If the subject is not moving around you can always use a tripod for the best effect, however, if the subject is moving the best way would be hand held. This way you can follow the subject and get in focus shots.
Lighting plays a major part when taking pictures with a macro lens. It is not always possible to get natural lighting on your subject, especially when we are talking about insects that enjoy nibbling on the underside of leaves and even your own camera may cast a shadow on your subject.
Flash can be used; however,be careful a bright flash may diminish the subject. The best thing to do is to purchase a ring flash. These let you to put the flash in the proper position, giving you enough light without overpowering. You can also use a softbox and cover the flash. This will help lessen the flash but allow you to have more light on the subject. You can invest in a flash that can be controlled if you normally take photos where you need extra light, but not bright flash. This way you can turn the flash down or up as needed.
Of course, subjects can move. If you are shooting very active insects or plants on a windy day, leave behind the tripod. You will never be able to get good shots with a stable camera, just go handheld.
Depth of field can be the biggest problem to overcome when using a macro lens. It can be very hard to get every point of those tiny insects in focus. The best way to overcome this problem is to ensure the film plane parallel to the subject. Be sure that you can see all of the subject including that both end points are in focus, head and tail.
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