Macro Photography is the process of capturing small details and tiny things, and I am personally quite in love with the practice. I often find myself lying on the forest floor or crouching precariously over a deep tide pool trying to get a closer look. Through macro photography, I’ve noticed more details in the natural world than ever before. The way fog collects in a spider web, looking like a bubble explosion, or the tiniest mushrooms perched on a mossy tree branch. It’s opened up a new world of wonder for me. In this post, I will give you some ideas about how to take macro photos and share my top tips on macro photography for beginners.
The Camera Setup
My setup is super simple. I use a 50mm 2.8 macro lens mounted on a basic SLR film camera– my trusty Pentax K1000– that allows for 1:1 magnification. There are also lenses available to help you achieve larger magnification if that’s your desired result. Additionally, my lens functions as a normal 50mm lens, so I can use it also as my daily lens; the macro is a bonus! Although macro lenses are great, you can also practice macro photography simply using your mobile phone, especially newer models with the built-in “macro” function.
5 Tips for Macro
If you are new to macro or curious about giving it a try, there are a few basic elements you’ll want to consider when creating your compositions. (These tips are intended for people who are taking handheld photos as opposed to using tripods.)
Be intentional about the subject/focal point.
Before you set up your frame, identify what you want the focus of your photo to be. For example, if you notice a beautiful flower, upon closer inspection you might notice its vivid color, the texture in the petals, or the intricate shapes of the flower’s center parts. Decide what part you want to focus on, and make sure to compose the frame so that this subject is what the viewer’s eye will be drawn to first. You can achieve this using basic compositional techniques, such as placement or scale. When focusing on your subject through your viewfinder, notice what else also comes into focus (or not). You can control this by either shifting your body or your camera settings, especially the aperture/f-stop. While a shallower aperture (lower f-stop) creates a smooth, blurry background that makes your subject pop, a wider aperture will give you a larger error margin and make more of the photo in focus.
Place your subject against a non-busy background.
Once identifying your subject, shift your angle and perspective around it to find which background best complements the subject. I either look for dark areas or areas without much pattern to be the background, which greatly helps my subject pop in the foreground. A busy background distracts the viewer and your overall image. If you can't avoid a busy background, try to at least find a background that is a contrasting color to your subject.
Pay attention to lighting.
Lighting can make or break your photo, depending on what you’re trying to achieve. Bright light can create bold texture, high contrast, and starburst effects. However, I’ve found that soft, natural lighting, such as shade or diffused light, aids in bringing out the most interesting and delicate details of a small subject.
Consider your perspective.
One of the most interesting things about macro photography is it gives us a chance to see things that we normally overlook and move right by in our day-to-day life. That being said, when creating an image of something tiny, consider how you can make the photo even more interesting by taking a photo from a perspective that is unusual. Maybe you try to get eye level to a tide pool crab or under a mushroom umbrella. Play with the perspective.
Be very still when taking the photo.
Even the slightest adjustment can shift your subject out of focus, especially you're in low light or have a shallow depth of field. I usually find a sturdy and comfortable stance or position before focusing on my subject a couple times and finding which composition best suits my vision. Once I’m happy with my composition, I take a slow inhale, exhale, and at the end of my exhale when I find stillness, I depress the shutter button. If you have bright light or are using a phone, this tip is not as applicable.
Most importantly, continue to practice until you discover what works best for you as you develop your own macro photography practice. While doing so, you might even find that time stops as your curiosity drives you to get lost in a world of tiny discoveries.
Visit my Macro Perspectives page to see a gallery of my macro photos, or purchase a set of Macro Postcards to share with your friends or hang as prints.
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