Information Addicts

Macro photography can be a very rewarding pastime, and the best thing is, you don’t need expensive kit or even travel miles to do it.

With a little ingenuity, a bit of technical advice, and a digital compact camera, you can create some very stunning, and creative images, with objects from around your home and garden.
So roll up your sleeves, get out your digital compact camera, and follow me as I take you step by step to create some striking and fascinating macro images.

Actually, before we start, I would like to show you some beautiful  macro photographs from the brilliant website - Smashing Magazine.
Most of the photos shown on Smashing Magazine have been taken using a dedicated macro lens, however they are both revealing and inspiring, and I hope it gives you some ideas for your subject.

Now back to the tutorial.

1. Equipment you will need:

• A digital compact camera that has a macro mode (most digital compacts have this mode), the Canon Powershot G10 is one of my favorite compact cameras for macro photography.

• A tripod

• A table

• An A2 or larger piece of white or coloured card for the background, which can be bought from your local art shop.

• You could also use a large white or coloured piece of material, from a craft shop or even a table cloth, make sure it has no creases in it (use an iron).

• You could also use a light box, or light tent as some photographers like to call them. You can purchase them from most photography shops, Amazon, or better still make your own. Take a look here for step by step instructions.

2. Find your subject. You can use anything from a single flower, to a bunch of keys, photographed close up they can look fascinating and intriguing.

Image by Jeff Poskanzer

3. Lighting. I find diffused lighting the best, as direct sunlight can be to harsh, but it depends on the affect you are after. For best results, place your table close to a large window, and arrange your subject on the table, so the light is coming from one side to get directional lighting, as this will accentuate the form of your subject. Place the card or material behind your subject.
Note: If you are going to use a piece of card for your background, prop it up with some books (make sure you cannot see the books), or rest the card against a wall on the table.
If you are going to use material for the background, you could drape it over a box, and then place your subject in front of it.

4. Place the tripod in front of your table and subject, and attach the camera, this will avoid camera shake, and allow you to take sharper photos. It doesn’t matter whether you use a full size tripod, or a Mini tripod just as long as you can get close up your subject.
Adjust the camera so it is around the same height or slightly higher than your subject.

Image by Luza

5. Camera settings. Turn on the self timer, as this will also avoid any camera shake when you press the shutter button. Select the AV (Aperture Priority) mode, and choose a low ISO value (100 is a good starter point). Also for the best image quality, choose a high quality JPEG, or Raw mode if you know how to use it. You won’t be using flash so you can switch it off.
Note: If you want as much of the subject as sharp as possible then choose a small aperture (large number, F5.6 or more).

6. Fill the frame. Set your camera to macro mode (usually symbolized by a flower), this allows you to focus close up on your subject. Use the zoom, or move your camera closer to your subject to get as much of the image in frame as possible.
Note: Carefully choose where you focus on your subject, for flowers, focus on the centre to start with, for other subjects focus on the main point of interest. I find it best to use manual focusing, if your camera has this option use it. If you’re not sure how to use manual focusing take a look at your manual.

Photo by aussiegal

7. And finally.. Press the shutter button and review it on the LCD screen. If you find the image is to light or dark, use the exposure compensation setting to manually override the cameras default settings, and take the photo again.
Use a positive value to brighten the image and a negative one to darken it.
If you are not sure how to use the exposure compensation settings then take a look at your camera manual.

Remember to experiment, try the light at different angles, choose a large or smaller AV setting, and a slower or faster ISO rating, etc.

That about sums it up,  give macro photograph a try, and let me know how you get on.

Most of all just have fun.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Photo Tips and Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.