Digital Camera World » Macro

Macro flower photography ideas: create fake dew drops to act as miniature lenses

jmeyer — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:00:26 +0000

When shooting macro photography, it’s often the small details that complete an image. And adding drops of water to your photo composition can serve to magnify the finer details of your subject for a striking effect. Here’s how it’s done.

Shiny raindrops add the finishing touch to macro flower shots, catching the eye and acting as miniature lenses that magnify the detail in leaves and petals.

There’s no need to wait for a downpour to achieve the look – you can recreate this effect without getting your camera wet.

You can find a floral subject in your local park or buy a potted one. A macro lens will let you get in really close and capture minute details in the flower’s petals, while maintaining a shallow depth of field for that dreamy macro feeling.

A tripod isn’t essential, but it will keep you steady and leave your hands free to create the effect you want. Use a watering can to create a falling rain effect, or mist petals with a hand sprayer for delicate dew drops.

How to create your own dew drops for macro photography

01 Set it up
Switch to Direct Sunlight White Balance mode if you’re not shooting on a sunny day, as this makes plants look fresher. Also, use a low ISO to ensure a crisp final image. A super-shallow depth of field that blurs out the background works best, so pick an aperture of f/5.6 or wider.

02 Perfectly composed
Position your flower against a clean background like a grassy lawn. (Pick up any leaves or twigs that might show up in the shot.) Stay parallel to the flower and use Live View to check how the shot is looking. Make sure you focus manually on the rain drops to get them pin-sharp.

03 A spoonful of sugar…
Add sugar to the water – this helps the droplets adhere to the flower’s leaves and petals and takes longer to dry, giving you more time to compose your picture. A watering can is brilliant for creating a falling rain effect, or you can use a hand sprayer to get a fine mist on petals.

DIY Photography Hacks: make a powerful macro lens with an empty toilet paper tube

jmeyer — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:00:50 +0000

We’ve covered a lot of clever techniques in our DIY Photography Hacks series, and this latest is one of our favourites – both because it’s so simple and the effects are amazing! In our quick tutorial below we show you how to use an empty toilet paper tube as an extension to transform your 50mm standard lens into a powerful macro lens.

A macro lens can be an expensive investment, especially as it’s a specialist lens that you might only use a few times a year.

However, if you want the close-up experience but don’t want the expense of buying a macro lens, it’s easy enough to create your own with a few household items, plus a standard prime lens – we used a Nikon 50mm f/1.4.

Please note that you will need to sacrifice a body cap for this project, but these are cheap to buy, at around £8/$8.

The key to this project is to flip the lens, putting the front element against the camera, then when you look through the viewfinder you’ll see everything has got much closer. Stick a tube in between camera and body and everything gets larger still.

Make a macro lens the DIY photography way

01 Make the extender
Cut the toilet roll tube to roughly 100mm, then tape a piece of neoprene inside to help cut out any light reflections. If you don’t have any black neoprene, black paper will also work. Take a body cap and carefully cut a hole in the front, then tape the tube securely to the body cap.

02 Attach the lens
When all is secure, attach the lens, reversed so that the front element goes into the tube, and tape into place. Mount the camera on a tripod and move the subject into focus. There’s a small lever on the back of the lens: move this to close down the aperture and secure with Blu-tack.

03 Take your shots
Set the camera to aperture-priority mode. The camera will say it has set itself to f/0. Next, set the self timer to avoid any shake or image blur while shooting, and take a few test images. Check the results and adjust the aperture lever with the Blu-tack as needed.

Extension tubes: how to shoot extreme close-ups without spending a fortune

jmeyer — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 23:01:51 +0000

Discover how to use extension tubes to shoot great close-up and macro photography without all the hefty costs.

If the warmer spring weather has got you itching to shoot macro photography but you don’t fancy forking out for a dedicated macro lens, using extension tubes may be the answer.

These hollow tubes fit between your existing lens and camera to enable it to focus much closer than before. And even if you get a macro lens later, you can still use the tubes. Combine them with macro lenses and you’ll get greater than life-size reproduction of tiny subjects.

Most independent manufacturers of extension tubes supply them as a set of three, each of a different size, but original camera manufacturers tend to sell them individually.

There are two main types of extension tube; those with the electronic connections to work fully automatically, and those without.

The latter are slower, because you have to set the exposure and focus manually, and only offer limited metering on most SLRs. But for less than £20 they offer a cheap route into macro photography.

Fully automatic tubes are much more convenient because they enable features such as metering and autofocus. They start at around £90, though.

How to use extension tubes

Attach the extension tube
The tube fits between the lens and camera, so you need to remove the lens. Attach the tube to the rear of the lens, then fit this combination onto the camera. The more tubes you attach, the closer you’ll focus.

Adjust your settings
Some tubes work automatically, but set the lens to manual focus – the camera will struggle to focus accurately at such close distances. Also, shoot in aperture priority mode for control over the depth of field.

Position the camera
With the camera set up, you can position it close to the subject. While you can handhold the camera in bright conditions, it’s good practice to use a tripod, to avoid shake and to enable you to frame and focus your shot more accurately.

Fine-tune the focus
Accurate focusing is critical with extension tubes. With the camera in position, fine-tune the focus by using the focus ring on the lens. Because the focusing range is reduced with the tube, you may need to move the camera backwards or forwards.

Best camera settings for macro photography

jmeyer — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 14:00:30 +0000

Are you struggling to get sharp macro photos even though you’re using a tripod? While every shot is different, there are some specific camera settings for macro photography that every photographer should use.

The depth of field is very tight in extreme close-up shooting, so it’s best to use a narrow aperture.

It’s often better to focus manually on exactly the point in the frame that you want to be in sharpest focus, so you don’t have to align one of the AF points and then swivel the camera afterwards.

Mirror bounce can also be a big problem in macro shooting, as you need the camera to remain absolutely still during the exposure.

Try using a flashgun to give more effective illumination, which will increase fine detail and contrast. A ringflash is better still, as this gives a nice, even lighting effect for close-ups, without any unwanted shadows.

1 Shooting mode
Use Aperture Priority or Manual shooting mode with a narrow aperture of around f/16. Very narrow apertures of around f/32 are likely to degrade sharpness, due to diffraction.

2 Manual focus
Switch to manual focus, then focus on the most critical point in the frame. If your camera has a magnified Live View option, use this for maximum focusing precision.

3 Exposure Delay
Most Nikon DSLRs have an Exposure Delay mode, which delays the shutter from opening for a second or more after the mirror flips up, giving the camera a chance to settle.

4 Mirror up
Most Canon DSLRs have Mirror Lock-up on the shooting menu or as a custom function. Use this in conjunction with a two-second self-timer delay, or with a remote controller.

Professional Photographer to the Rescue: close-up photography tips you can trust

jmeyer — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:00:36 +0000

In our latest Professional Photographer to the Rescue post, leading wildlife and nature photographer Heather Angel shows our apprentice essential camera tips and skills for taking close-up photography of insects and other small subjects.

Meet our professional photographer

Heather Angel has been one of the UK’s leading wildlife photographers for four decades, tackling subjects from blue whales to water fleas. Her two passions are China, which she’s visited 32 times, and macro photography. She’s just finished her 59th book, Digital Outdoor Photography: 101 Top Tips.

Meet our apprentice

Julie Richardson discovered photography four years ago, when she met her partner Dave. He was using an Olympus E-420, but since then they’ve both converted to Nikon DSLRs. Julie’s been bitten by the photo bug and has completed a darkroom course and BTEC in photography. She loves close-up photography.

Technique assessment

Was Julie’s camera set up properly for close-up photography of flighty subjects? Close-up photography and macro shots require a slightly different approach to everyday photographs.

To get your subjects sharp you need to eliminate any blur from camera or subject movement, and be super accurate with your focusing – your normal focus mode might not be the best choice.

Raise the ISO
Julie had her camera set to ISO100, for best quality. However, because we were shooting in overcast daylight that was weakened even further as it came through the butterfly house’s roof, Heather suggested ISO800.

The quality she’d get from her Nikon D5100 at this ISO would still be good, and the faster shutter speeds of about 1/250 sec cut the risk of camera-shake or blur from the subject moving. These are both big causes of out-of-focus areas in macro shots.

Set the right focus points
Julie had her camera set to Auto-area AF mode, in which the camera chooses a part of the scene to focus on (usually what’s nearest to the camera).

Heather advised her to switch to Single-point AF mode, because then she could control exactly what the camera focused on. If necessary she could select a different AF point with the navigational controller if the subject wasn’t central. With close-up photography you need fine focus control.

PAGE 1: Meet our professional photographer and apprentice
PAGE 2: Close-up photography tips from our professional photographer
PAGE 3: Final tips from our professional photographer
PAGE 4: Our professional photographer’s recommended gear
PAGE 5: Shot of the Day

Take stunning pictures of ice this winter

jmeyer — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 01:00:23 +0000

Looking for winter photo ideas. Find out how to take stunning macro pictures of ice this winter, with tips from shooting to photo editing.

When the temperature drops, the outside world gets a new lease of life, which brings endless opportunities for macro photography – particularly pictures of ice.

Fallen leaves frozen in puddles of textured ice are a favourite – get up early on frosty mornings and you’ll be blessed with good light.

But what if the weather’s too mild for frost or you live in a warm climate? Even better! You can take total control of your subjects and cultivate your own macro pictures of ice in plastic containers by adding some water and popping them in the freezer – just remember to fill your frame when you shoot.

Essential gear for macro pictures of ice formations

Tripod
Essential for shake-free close-ups. Using a tripod will make it easier to focus, especially if you want a very shallow depth of field.

Flexible head
Don’t let your tripod hold you back. Invest in a good quality tripod head that enables you to easily and quickly change your position, so you can experiment.

Macro lens
If you really want to photograph the world in close-up, invest in a good macro lens. A ratio of 1:1 is best but 1:2 is still very close. Extension tubes are a cheaper option, but they are a bit more of a fiddle than a proper macro lens.

PAGE 1: Essential gear for macro pictures of ice formations
PAGE 2: Ideas for creative pictures of ice
PAGE 3: Processing your pictures of ice

Pictures of ferns: master your plant photography skills with this one subject

jmeyer — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 14:00:17 +0000

You don’t have to be a botanist to enjoy pictures of ferns. The ancient plants are strikingly beautiful and a wonder to photograph.

From Anna Atkins’ beautiful 19th-century photograms and Karl Blossfeldt’s botanical studies, to contemporary digital pictures of ferns by modern shooters, many amateur up through famous photographers have been seduced by the alluring magnificence of ferns.

The beautiful spirals and patterns of a newly unfolding fern can also be found in other areas of the natural world, such as the spiral of a nautilus shell.

These spiral patterns are also reflected in the golden mean – and these in turn are referenced in the basic principles of photo composition that we all use in our everyday photography.

Good fern specimens can be found just about anywhere, but by far the best place to start looking for them is in shady, moist woodland landscapes.

As with all good plant photography, you will need to get to know your subject well and look for angles and compositions that reveal its true character.

Here, we’ll show you some great techniques that will help you capture striking pictures of ferns for yourself.

Get it right in-camera
Use a tripod and cable release to avoid camera shake. A macro lens will enable you to get up close and it’ll be easier to focus in Manual mode. Select a wide aperture (f/2.8) to blur the background, and shoot in raw.

Control the light
To take our images, we used a home-made reflector (a piece of white card covered in foil) to bounce what light there was onto the subject. An off-camera flash connected via a cable can also be effective.

In the digital darkroom
We shot in raw format to maximise the image quality. We worked hard to create a good file, so there wasn’t too much post-processing. Using Adobe Camera Raw, we fine-tuned the white balance and boosted the contrast.

Garden macro photography: tips for shooting stunning pictures at home

jmeyer — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 01:00:53 +0000

Image copyright Mark Hamblin

Macro photography opens up a whole new world of opportunities for capturing eye-catching images, and late summer on into early autumn is a great time to get up close to your subjects.

The real bonus is that you don’t have to go far to find interesting subjects. You can spend hours photographing flowers, plants and mini-beasts in the smallest of gardens, and once you’ve got your eye in there will be no shortage of subject matter to focus on.

The ideal kit for garden macro photography is a specialist macro lens with a focal length of around 50mm to 200mm, but there are a couple of cheap and very effective alternatives.

Extension rings contain no optics, but are simply hollow tubes that fit between the camera and the lens, which enable the lens to focus much closer and therefore increase magnification. Extension rings come in various sizes, and used in combination with a short telephoto lens will get you close to the action.

You could also use close-up filters, which screw on to the front of the lens to allow closer focusing. Image quality may be reduced, but these filters are still a great way to get started with macro photography.

Macro work requires very precise control over focusing, composition, framing and lighting. Small adjustments in camera position can make a big difference to the picture, so you should always use a tripod.

It is possible to handhold the camera, and in some cases it can be an advantage to do so – when slowly approaching a resting insect, for example – but in most cases a solid support is a real help when it comes to framing and fine-tuning focus and composition.

The quality of the lighting is also crucial. Soft, overcast light is often best, because it lowers contrast, reducing harsh shadows and bright highlights that can mask detail in the subject.

Backlighting is also effective for semi-translucent subjects when photographed against a dark background, as in  our striking opening shot.

But avoid strong, direct light, because this will only wash-out colour. Instead, modify the sunlight by using a white translucent diffuser, which will cast a softer light over the subject for more natural results.

Perhaps the most important aspect of macro photography is accurate focusing. When shooting close-ups, the amount of the subject that will be in sharp focus, even at small apertures (when depth of field is greatest) will still be very shallow.

Any focusing errors will therefore be obvious in the resulting picture and will undoubtedly ruin the shot.

Narrow your focus
For the majority of macro shots you should aim to focus on the most important part of the subject, such as the eye of an insect or the part of a flower that is most interesting.

Don’t get too hung up on having the whole of the subject in focus. Instead, try shooting at your lens’s maximum aperture (such as f/4).

This will create a very narrow depth of field so that only a small part of the subject is in focus. This is great for shooting flowers, creating a beautiful ‘dreamy’ soft-focus effect and a blending of colours.

For the best results, work close to the subject, too, because this reduces the depth of field further and exaggerates the blur.

PAGE 1: Camera craft and lighting
PAGE 2: 3 ways to improve close-up photos
PAGE 3: Why you should switch to macro mode
PAGE 4: Tips for increasing the quality of your macro photos

DIY Photography Hacks: make a macro studio with paper and table lamps

jmeyer — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:00:37 +0000

In our latest DIY Photography Hacks post we appeal to macro lovers everywhere and show you how to make a simple tabletop studio from paper and lamps.

With macro, you don’t need lots of fancy equipment for good indoor lighting. Cheap table lamps can make great macro studio lights, and a roll of poster paper is a perfect background.

Constant lighting from bulbs, rather than flash, works best, because you can see results as they happen, and bulbs are a powerful directional light source.

The bulbs won’t be daylight-balanced, so use custom white balance to set the colour temperature (you can fine-tune it later in Photoshop). Coloured gels work wonders too, so read on…

01 Watt the world needs now…
Buy two energy-saving bulbs of varying power, such as a 12W and a 20W. These are ideal for creating a mini pro studio setup, with the most powerful light acting as a key light and the other as a fill.

02 Everything just gelled
Cut some coloured gels from some cheap A5 document wallets. Simply cut a square slightly larger than the lamp diameter from the largest side of the wallet.

03 Bulldog spirit
You’ll need to fix the gels onto the lamps slightly proud of the hot bulb to avoid melting. Clamp two small bulldog clips to each side of the lamp rim and slot the coloured gel between the clip handles.

04 Get on a roll
To obtain a neutral background, get some poster paper, or even old wallpaper, and roll it out on a tabletop. Fix one end to a wall and drape the other end across the tabletop.

05 Shoot the fruit
Experiment by placing the lamps at varying distances from your subject. Of course, you don’t have to use the coloured gels, but they’re great for injecting background colour as well as subtle tints.

06 The final cut
With a balanced and powerful macro setup, perfect studio lighting can be achieved. Balance the colour by shooting using a custom white balance in-camera, or fine-tune the raw file in Photoshop.

Remove background distractions from your macro photography

jmeyer — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:29:08 +0000

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.

Our 'fixed' background