Macro Photography Tips

I enjoy macro photography so much. In fact, one of the reasons why I bought my first digital camera was to embark in macro photography. However, the photo quality from my first digital camera was a pain in a butt. From that experience, I learned that sometime, to get the best, we must use the best equipments. I’m not generalizing here….as I said before…sometime… and the best equipments are not necessarily expensive. You just have to read forums and ask a lot of questions to get the best equipments…and it also not necessarily a new one. Second hand equipments if you buy it properly from a good supplier or trustworthy online friend can turn your photo from dull to an eye catching masterpiece. My suggestion…try it before you buy it…be very skeptic bout 2nd hand equipments before you buy it and do ask a lot from the seller. Again I’m off the topic…so here are some tips for macro photography in which some of it were dug from the net/asking peoples and from my personal experience. 1. Know your subject The subject is very important to be understood because it will change the dynamic during your photograph session. For example, if you want to photograph an insect…normally you have to be more subtle in your move. A vigorous move will scare away the insect and off your subject go…for insect like in the picture, I will normally minimize my move. For subject like flower, it is easier to be photograph but bear in mind, flower also can move by wind or by you. To get a sharp photo, try to minimize your move and your lens. 2. Use tripod To minimize your lens movement especially if you use 60mm lens and above this is the forst thumb rule. At this zoom range, a subtle movement can spoil your picture especially if you hold the camera by your hand. This trick also applies if you use a compact camera. If for some reason you can’t find a tripod, use your imagination...for example use rock or tree branch to hold your camera. If that also is not an option, generally I will you a shutter speed faster than 1/250 for my 100mm lens. 3. Know your lens and camera A macro lens might act differently with a normal lens. For example, my Canon EF 100mm requires a minimum of 3 ft to achieve 1:1 life size. A 60mm or 90mm might require less distance to achieve this magnification. Besides that, a focal length also will help you to decide which lens is suitable for which subject. Personally I will suggest a 100 mm and above lens for photographing insect to ensure that the insect (moving objects) is not scared away. 50 to 50mm macro lens are generally good for flowers and still objects. However, this is not a 101 rule. Aa100 mm lens still can capture beautiful still picture with tripod and/or high shutter speed. If you know that you always work in low light, crank the aperture to 2.8, but remember at this large aperture, the depth of field will be limited. For compact camera, change the camera setting to macro. Usually, this option or switch will come with the flower sign on your camera. Most importantly, read the user manual. You will appreciate with what you buy. 4. For DSR users invest on a remote shutter release. Remote shutter release is important for macro photography because it will reduce camera shake even if you use a tripod. If you can’t grab on this device, use your build in camera timer. Don’t use the 2 seconds timer…use the 10 seconds. Why? Because your camera may need some time to be stabled. A subtle movement with a 100mm lens actually can create a big difference in term of picture sharpness. What I hate about timer is that I have to wait and most of the time, the subject especially moving subject will already gone. I have both cable remote shutter release and wireless shutter release. 5. Certain subject must be perfect Why? To reduce post processing works which sometimes require a lot of time and attention (In which I don’t have much…photography is only my hobby though…I’m a scientist ^_^). A flower for instance…you should only choose a flower according to your theme. A perfect flower should look fresh, feel fresh and taste fresh (if you can…hehe). Meaning to say…the color should be perfect, the petals must be in order and there are no holes on it. This is different if you really want to photograph a crooked flower….by all means….go for it. Remember, different photographer have different styles and themes. IF you want to photograph a crooked flower…photograph a perfect crooked flower. 6. Framing Normally I will frame my picture as perfect as I could. But leave some space for final edit. During editing, I will crop macro photo to bring up my subject. 7. Editing Sometimes, if you know how to work with editing software such as Photoshp or Apple Aperture, it will help you to bring out the subject to the viewer. Further sharpening can be done in these software. IF you want to start simple, go for Picasa. You can download it from Google and the best thing is…it’s free. I like the sharpening option in this software because it somehow did not over sharp my photos. However, I do personally think, Photoshop is the best to edit photos as it allows us to do basically anything. I’m writing these tips while waiting for my colleagues to finish for their presentation. It’s kind of a bit for this tips and a bit for their presentation…hehe… I'm still focus with their presentation, no doubt on that…huhu. I will write more about macro photography later. There are still some interesting points that I will try to highlight. Till then… Cheers.