Macro or close-up photography is endlessly captivating and can give in rewarding and unique results. With it’s emphasize on detail, pattern and texture, one can see all of the minute niceties of the subject, magnified to beyond life size such as a close encounter with a caterpillar, seed of a yellow sun flower and a lot more. It has lot of scope for creativity but to get the best results it must be approached correctly, here are some tips for shooting great macro shots.
Select best lens option- Every camera has a close focus distance, which means closest the object of focus can be to the lens, blurring the background and keeping the subject in focus. While shooting macro, the most common mistake done by novice photographers is they focus right up to the close focus distance. This pushes the limit of where a lens can focus thus resulting in less sharp images. A camera lens work like a human eye, if you keep the subject too close to your eye, you will not be able to focus, a lens works the same way.
Use a Tripod- When shooting fine details of the subject it is very important, that your camera be kept still else image will appear blurry. Using a tripod, can get you rid of any camera shake and give you more flexibility to experiment with different settings without losing your composition.
Aperture- Aperture makes a huge difference when shooting macro photography. Many cameras do not allow much flexibility with the aperture once in macro mode. The general rule is, one should select a larger aperture to get a shallow depth of field, bringing a tiny fraction of your subject in focus, with everything else blurred. On the other hand, to bring more of your subject in focus, you need to select a smaller aperture.
Composition- To make compelling macro shots make sure you image has main point of interest and set that focal point in a smart position in your shot, to draw viewer’s attention. You can dramatically change the appearance of your image by where you choose to focus. Always select a subtle and simple background for your main subject so that it does not distracts the attention.
Use of Flash- It is usually impractical to make use of your built- in camera flash when shooting macro as it gives you limited control of your flash. The best bet for doing macro photography with flash is the ring flash. It goes around the lens, providing a diffused light source when used close to the subject.
Select best lens option- Every camera has a close focus distance, which means closest the object of focus can be to the lens, blurring the background and keeping the subject in focus. While shooting macro, the most common mistake done by novice photographers is they focus right up to the close focus distance. This pushes the limit of where a lens can focus thus resulting in less sharp images. A camera lens work like a human eye, if you keep the subject too close to your eye, you will not be able to focus, a lens works the same way.
Use a Tripod- When shooting fine details of the subject it is very important, that your camera be kept still else image will appear blurry. Using a tripod, can get you rid of any camera shake and give you more flexibility to experiment with different settings without losing your composition.
Aperture- Aperture makes a huge difference when shooting macro photography. Many cameras do not allow much flexibility with the aperture once in macro mode. The general rule is, one should select a larger aperture to get a shallow depth of field, bringing a tiny fraction of your subject in focus, with everything else blurred. On the other hand, to bring more of your subject in focus, you need to select a smaller aperture.
Composition- To make compelling macro shots make sure you image has main point of interest and set that focal point in a smart position in your shot, to draw viewer’s attention. You can dramatically change the appearance of your image by where you choose to focus. Always select a subtle and simple background for your main subject so that it does not distracts the attention.
Use of Flash- It is usually impractical to make use of your built- in camera flash when shooting macro as it gives you limited control of your flash. The best bet for doing macro photography with flash is the ring flash. It goes around the lens, providing a diffused light source when used close to the subject.