🚀 go-pugleaf

Apart from landscape photography I also have a passion for macro
photography too. It is such a diverse subject and covers such a wide
variety of topics that there will be something that will appeal to
every photographer out there.
The great thing about this subject is that it can be practised easily
indoors at home so you are not always relying on the weather as you
are with landscape photography.
I want to share with you some of the tips I have learned through
practice and trial and error so that you can avoid some frustration
and making the same mistakes I did. I will first briefly cover
equipment and then focus (excuse the pun!) on the various techniques
that I use.
Equipment
Close up lenses - This is by far the cheapest option but also offers
the poorest optical quality. If you are unsure about whether you will
do macro photography on a regular basis then this is a good way of
finding out.
These lenses are usually very cheap at around '20.00 or $30.00 and
normally come in sets of three. They simply screw onto the end of your
lens like normal filters do and are like putting a magnifying glass in
front of the lens.
Extension tubes - A bit more expensive for generic ones and alot more
expensive for branded ones, and in some cases they can cost as much as
a mid range lens!
These are simply tubes that sit between the camera body and the lens
increasing the minimum focusing distance of your lens. Again these
also normally come in sets of three to allow you to choose the amount
of magnification you are getting. The electrical contacts may also be
present to allow the autofocus on your lens to still operate, but in
the majority of cases autofocus has a really hard time with macro
subjects so manual focusing is the preferred option.
There are two main advantages with extension tubes over close up
lenses:
1. Optical quality is solely down to the lens you are using since
there are no lenses or glass in the extension tube. 2. Massive
magnification can be achieved, even more so than with a dedicated
macro lens.
Dedicated Macro Lens - If you are serious about your macro photography
then this is the way to go. A good dedicated macro lens should give at
least a 1:1 ratio meaning that objects will appear life size on the
sensor, will focus down to only a few centimeters and offer excellent
optical quality and fast apertures particularly if it is a prime
(fixed focal length) lens.
Of course dedicated macro lenses are not only just for macro
photography, they also make excellent portrait lenses and good short
range telephoto lenses on the longer focal length ones.
Remote release - For all the above methods I would highly recommend
that you invest in some sort of remote release, either cable or
wireless. With the high magnifications your are shooting at pressing
the shutter release button can be enough to introduce camera shake and
ruin the shot. A cable release can be bought for only a few pounds or
dollars so there is really no excuse for not having one!
Focusing
Due to the small distances involved and very narrow depth of field I
would only recommend that you only ever use manual focusing. Autofocus
can work to a degree but you will only get frustrated as the autofocus
locks, unlocks, hunts, locks, unlocks, hunts...... you get the idea!
Also due to the extremely narrow depth of field at short distances the
autofocus may look like it has locked where you want it. It is not
until you look at the image on your computer that you see that it
actually locked slightly in front or behind where you wanted it!
If you are shooting outdoors and it is not too windy then I would
suggest using a tripod and enabling live view on your camera. Live
view is a real godsend for macro. It can be difficult to tell through
the view finder alone if you are correctly focused, so I usually
enable live view then zoom in, then readjust the focus. It is amazing
how many times you think you have the focus spot on until you enable
live view and zoom in only to see it is off slightly! I would also
recommend that you use mirror lockup to minimise any vibrations from
the mirror swinging up out the way when you are actually taking the
shot.
If you are shooting indoors and you are using a Canon camera then I
highly recommend you make use of the utility remote control software
that comes with it. This allows you to use the PC or Mac screen as
live view with real time aperture preview, zoom and shooting! An
excellent tool for the macro or still life photographer! Other camera
manufacturers also offer this feature so check yours for details.
In situations where a tripod and/or live view is not suitable such as
outdoors in less than calm conditions and where you need to use higher
shutter speeds, you can use the rocking method for focusing. This is
done by roughly setting the focus manually then you rock backwards and
forwards gently while looking through the view finder until you think
you have sharp focus. A good tip here is to put your camera in to high
speed shooting mode then fire off a few frames as you move backwards
and forwards. A kind of rough a ready focus bracketing! I use this
method frequently and it ensures you get at least one sharp image from
each burst of shots.
Depth of Field
The amount of depth of field available to you at close focusing
distances is extremely limited compared to what you have with other
forms of photography. At fast apertures of f2.8 you may only have a
couple of millimeters and even at f16 this may only extend to a
centimeter or two depending on how close you are and the level of
magnification used. A word of warning here, do not be tempted to use
apertures over f16 to extend the depth of field. Diffraction of light
at small apertures still applies to macro photography as it does to
landscape photography. Image sharpness in macro images is of upmost
importance, some say even more so that in landscape images so it is
not worth compromising your images in this way.
Filters
When it comes to filters for macro photography, apart from a skylight
or UV filter which I keep on all my lenses all the time for
protection, the only filter I use frequently is a polarising filter.
As in landscape photography these will deepen and saturate colors
particularly if you shoot outdoors on sunny says. They will also
remove reflections from non-metallic surfaces so if you are shooting
wet or dew covered objects or water droplets and you want to keep the
reflections in these then do not use the polariser! You also need to
remember that using the polariser will also reduce your shutter speed
by one or two stops so make sure its use is not making your shutter
speed too low if you are shooting handheld. One last point - a
polarising filter is the only filter that cannot be simulated in
Photoshop!

The Fastest Way To Master Photoshop - http://www.photoshopoed.tk/