Macro Photography Tips and Techniques

So a couple of things to be aware of when you're hearing about macro photography and the different lenses that are out there, you'll see that some lenses are 1:1, and some lenses are 1:2. So if you look at this photograph, you can see that this photograph is 1:1. I've gone full frame with the 200 millimeter getting as close as I possibly can to the subject and still get it in focus. And see how it fills the frame? Now I'm gonna put on the 105, and if you look at the 105 and I get as close as I possibly can to it, with the 105, maximum distance, maximum frame.

Look at the difference here. So you can see you've got a 1:1 and a 1:2, and those are the different ratios that you hear about macro photography and how they approach your subject matter from a focal length perspective. So when dealing with that, and we're looking at things like depth of field. Depth of field is a very, very important part of macro photography. There are gonna be times when you need it, there are gonna be times when you don't need it but the one thing that's always critical is that there's very little of it.

And when you get really close to a subject like that your depth of field just shrinks. So it's really hard to get something sharp from the beginning of the frame, to the end of the frame. And so even if you go to like EF 40 which some of these lenses, macro lenses will do you're not really increasing it for you're going to see the flowers and what have you in the background and the very tip of the leaf that you're shooting. If you're shooting a flower in the foreground it doesn't work that way. And so be aware of that and it becomes a compositional tool for you as well.

But when I think about depth of field the considerations that I have, I think more than anything else is what can I shoot without getting a soft photo based on movement? So my depth of field oftentimes is determined by that movement. It can become a compositional tool but if I'm shooting flowers outside and they're moving just the slightest amount believe me, folks, if you're shooting at a quarter second, a half a second or one second and then you can even see movement it's going to be a soft photograph. So you either have to increase your depth of field by opening up or decrease your depth of field by opening up and allowing more light in so you can use a faster shutter speed or you have to ramp up your ISO in order to acquire a higher shutter speed to stop that action. So really be conscientious of that especially when you're dealing with the 200 macro versus the 105 macro that increased focal length of magnification even accentuates even more how much movement you get.

So you have to be careful about that. So then when it comes to focus, if something's moving and you're on auto-focus and with that great magnification if you're on auto-focus and the plant is just moving just a little bit the auto-focus is gonna keep fighting. So I have oftentimes found that it's easier to take it off of auto-focus and put it on manual, manually focused. And I'm on my tripod on something it's not moving very much it gives me a greater sense of control. I can really hone right in on my spot and get that shot.

And knowing that my focus is going to be exactly where I see it rather than having to wait for it, to go back and forth with auto-focus and potentially lose the shot. So composition with macro. It's the same set of guidelines and rules and instincts that use in anything else. It's just that you're closer to everything. And, you know, I look at this as I'm always trying to get the most pleasing composition in close-up photography, just like I do in any other type of photography that I'm doing.

I very rarely put anything for example, right smack in the center of the shot. One of the things that you can use as a compositional tool in macro photography is the depth of field is so compressed that you can use that knowing that your eye goes to the sharpest and the brightest spot in every photograph first. Where do you position the brightest and the sharpest spots in that photograph in order to get it? You know, a flower that's got a round curve to it, for example with dewdrops on one of the petals. If you focus on the petals at four or five petals in, and allow the rest of them to fall off you simplified your composition, your focus is going to one spot and it may be way to the left or it may be way to the right.

You've got an insect on a leaf. It could be way to the left, way to the right. Find ways to make the composition interesting even though it's macro photography and don't be afraid to do that the components of depth of field, composition, light, all of these qualities go into the making of a macro photograph just like they do on any of the kind of landscape shot. You have portrait shot that you want to make. All of these things are basically the same.

It's photography. So don't be intimidated by that. Create and compose like you normally would. When you consider what focus does for macro photography, use that focus and you're going to see when you're in close on a subject when you change the focus, you're going to watch the focus just track throughout the shot. And there's going to be one spot in that shot where the composition all comes together remembering that you can be left or right, top or bottom, doesn't have to be centered which of course is kind of a boring way to, you know compose shots but allow that focus to really define where it is, keeping in mind, you know, the highlights and the sharp spots where your eye goes first in the photograph.

You can utilize that concept and being able to find the best ways to take pictures.