An overview of
macro
photography
Brian McCormick
Eastwood Photographic Society
4th February 2016
Areas we’ll be covering
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What is macro photography?
What can you shoot in macro?
Kit to use?
Composition of images
Focussing
Top tips for macro photography
Focus stacking demonstration
Definition
• Macro photography is extreme close up
photography, usually of very small objects
where the subject of the photograph is
recorded on the sensor at life size or
greater.
• A real macro lens is capable of shooting in
life size, i.e. 1:1 magnification.
What about close up
photography?
Macro photography is close up
photography
BUT
Close up photography isn’t
necessarily macro photography
Close up photography
• Photographing objects such as flowers,
fungi or insects which fill the frame
• This can be achieved using many lenses
• The macro setting on telephoto lenses,
bridge and compact cameras allows close
up photography, not true macro
photography
Close up
photography –
telephoto lens
Macro
photography –
macro lens
What can you photograph?
• Insects and flowers are very common
subjects
• Water droplets are another good subject
• Plenty of objects in your house to
photograph
• Lego figures, cutlery and musical
instruments are all good for macro work
Nikon D600 (full frame)
ISO 100
F 16, 2 sec tripod,
natural light, 15 cm
focal distance
Practising macro work
• Important to get used to how your camera
and lens works for macro photography
• Learn about minimum focussing distances
using still objects
• Be comfortable with what your equipment
can and can’t do before going out into a
field
ISO 100
105mm Macro Lens
Nikon D600
F 6.3 1/160 sec
Composition of images
• Over and above all technical
considerations in macro photography, the
photograph still needs to composed
correctly
• Rule of thirds, leading lines, space for
insects to move into are all still important
fundamentals
Sharp, but not
composed very
well
Sharp and well
composed, but
cropped in too
ISO 100
Nikon D300
F9 1/320 sec
105mm Macro
What kit to use?
• Close up photography will give you decent
results with DSLR telephoto lenses, bridge
cameras and decent compact cameras
• True macro photography can only be
achieved with dedicated macro lenses
• The camera bodies aren’t quite so
important, good images can be achieved
with entry level DSLRs
Leading Macro Lenses
• Four lenses coming up, all are true macro
lenses and produce 1:1 magnification
• The Nikon, Canon and Sigma all have a
form of image stabilisation on them
• The maximum wide aperture on all of them
is f 2.8, and can be used with full frame or
cropped sensor cameras
The leading macro lenses on the market currently
Nikon 105mm AF-S VR
Micro-Nikkor f/2.8G
approx £659
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L
Macro IS USM
approx £619
More leading macro lenses on the market currently
Sigma 105mm f/2.8
Macro OS HSM various
fits, approx £379
Sony 100mm f/2.8 D,
approx £529
Other lenses with macro
facilities
• Many lenses claim to have a macro
facility, the Sigma 70-300mm f4.5-5.6
being one.
• It retails at around £150 these days, and is
a decent all round telephoto lens
• This produces a magnification of 1:2,
meaning an image on a sensor is half the
size of it in real life
Extension Tubes
• Extension tubes are hollow items which
allow you to get closer to your subject
• Two types of extension tubes you can buy:
1. Least expensive, just tubes that connect to
your camera but don’t connect electrically to
your camera (under £20).
2. A bit more expensive – tubes which do
connect to your camera electrically. (£30£40)
Extension Tubes – Pros and Cons
• The manual, cheaper extension tubes
can’t control aperture, so the aperture of
the lens is locked to the most open
position unless controlled on the lens itself
• The more expensive ones allow control
over aperture and autofocus (if needed)
• It’s well worth paying a wee bit extra for
the ones that maintain electrical
connections
Extension Tubes – Pros and Cons
• Extension tubes work best with short focal
length lenses
• If you buy a pack of extension tubes they
allow you to get even larger magnification
• However there is usually some light loss,
so changing ISO or shutter speed to
compensate will be necessary
Ring Flash
• Attaches to the front of the lens with a
controller on the hot shoe
• These range from inexpensive to very
expensive (£30 to £300)
• Smaller inexpensive ones, under £100,
are perfectly sufficient for macro
photography
Benefits of Ring Flashes
• Ring flashes are used because their size
is often smaller and manageable
• They spread light evenly to light up
shadows of close up subjects
• The ring light mimics the effect of a soft
box
• Works best in scientific and medical fields
Macro Photography
ring flash
Fashion Photography
ring flash
Focussing in macro photography
• Best way to get sharp images is to use a
tripod
• Fine for static subjects, not always ideal
for moving subjects
• Usually best to use manual focus as you
can specify exactly the point of focus you
would like
Depth of field
• Depth of field in macro photography is
very shallow
• For example, using a cropped frame
DSLR, 105mm lens and f/11 for a subject
at 30 cm (1 ft), depth of field is only ¼ of a
centimetre!!
• Using a full frame camera, depth of field is
1/3 of a centimetre!!
Top Tips for Macro Photography
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Choose the best lens you can afford
Choose apertures that maximise DOF
Use fill flash
Use a tripod where possible
Carefully select the point of focus
Be wary of the backgrounds
Final Thoughts
• It takes practice to get good macro shots
• Good kit helps, but it’s not all about having
top end equipment.
• Give it a go, there are plenty of
opportunities
Questions and
Focus Stacking
Demonstration