Remove background distractions from your macro photography

jmeyer | Macro | Photography Tips | 21/08/2012 17:29pm

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Our first, cluttered image

Are you annoyed by cluttered backdrops spoiling your macro photography? Find out in three simple steps how you tidy up your close-ups and remove background distractions once and for all.

Tidy up the location
Close-up photography requires a lot of attention to backgrounds, because even the tiniest rogue element becomes a huge distraction in print. On location, physically clean up the area around your subject, removing any leaves or stalks.

Set a wide aperture
Select a fairly wide aperture to help keep the background blurred. At your lens’s closest focusing distance you’ll get away with a medium aperture of about f/8. If you’re focusing on a more distant subject, f/5.6 or wider is best to maximise background blur.

Perfect in Photoshop
If you didn’t do such a good job of checking the viewfinder before shooting, don’t panic. The easy fix in the digital darkroom is to crop out most of the background. If this isn’t possible, clone around your subject, taking samples from cleaner background areas.