SLIDE SHOW NO 1 SHEET
What we will be covering tonight
What is true macro : Many lenses say that they are macro but unless they go 1: 1 or life size
they only have close up capabilities
Macro photography :
Means from life size up to 25 times life size
Close up : This is anything from 1:10 reproduction ratio up to life size
On a full frame sensor a subject 36mm long will fill the frame at 1:1 life size
Half life size: Using a 36mm extension tube
Diffraction:
Using very small apertures will degrade the quality of your pictures as examples
You must do tests to see what the optimum apertures are with your macro lens
D.O.F tables hand outs available
D.O.F. examples
A New world: Going in close brings you into a fascinating new world (examples)
Backgrounds (distracting and none distracting): examples
Cricket using flash as a fill in: this is after water droplets picture
Using flash as the total exposure :
ant on stem
Types of flash guns: using a dedicated macro flash kit the Canon mT24ex and the options
Using ring flash
Live view mode and the benefits:
Real time
Enables you to take pictures in awkward positions
Picture Without magnification
The view can be magnified 5 or 10 times to aid critical manual focusing
(examples)
Exposure can be checked
Live view depth of field preview:
It can be checked with an accurate view of what d.o.f you will get in the final image. This system
is better than the optical view finder as it does not darken when the aperture is selected
Normal live view:
This is always seen at full aperture of the lens in use. Examples of live view with d.o.f button held
in and various apertures selected
5 times live view with d.o.f preview at f8, next at f22
Studio macro photography can be viewed through an external monitor
Switch to live view and you obtain mirror lock up, and less chance of camera
shake
Field craft
Get up early in the morning when the wind is at its least and temperatures are lower
Assemble all your gear when you arrive at your destination ready for action
Early in the morning when temperatures are lower is the best time to get closer to insects and
wildlife. They can also have dew on them to give the subject more impact, be patience their wellbeing comes first. Watch and follow your subject, move slowly and gradually get closer and don’t
cast your shadow on the subject. If their condition is poor don’t bother to take the shot. It is
crucial that you check the background before you take the picture
Unless a record shot is required
Study your subject
Choose the right clothes ie camouflage clothing helps to blend in
Using bait to attract your subject (example) fly on pear
Equipment
To obtain sharp images excellent technique is required. If you are using flash then in theory you do
not need a tripod as 1/50,000th of a second there is no chance of camera shake
But the subject can move during your flash duration ie 1/200 of a second. But still use a tripod
whenever possible as your slight movement can take your subject out of the depth of field area
The easiest way
Almost point and shoot macro photography is possible with modern ETTL flash set ups just set
your aperture to f22 for a good d.o.f and the shutter speed to the maximum flash/ camera synch
speed 1/125th – 1/250thsec and shoot away
Macro lenses
Various ones available as examples
50mm example
100mm example
180/200mm example
If your budget is small then a close up lens that screws on the front of you main lens
could be the answer. They come in various strengths, you can focus much closer, they are easy to
carry and use and you do no lose any light
Example of various close up lenses – comparison with normal lens and with a close up
lens attached
Reverse a lens
For high magnification but you do loose normal functions - reverse lens adaptor required but
quality is good
Stacked lens
Examples
50mm standard prime screwed on to the front of a 125mm prime, example of pictures taken with
stack lenses
Extension tubes
The lens needs to move further away from the sensor in order to focus closer, an extension tube
can be the answer and will increase magnification example. As well as makers own, independent
sets of extension tubes are available that maintain most camera functions and are a lot cheaper
and can be used with almost no loss of quality as there are no glass elements
Bellows
Can give you higher reproduction ratios normally up to 22x life size and are continuously variable
but they are not practical out in the field and are normally for studio work
Extenders
These can be used to increase magnification a two times convertor on a 100mm 1:1 macro lens
becomes an effective 200mm 2:1 or 2 times life size macro lens but an f2.8 aperture becomes 5.6
and you lose 2 stops of light and quality is degraded slightly
Canon mpe 65mm f2.8 1 to 5 times macro lens with example and picture focus
stacked made up of 16 pictures combined
Manfrotto micro positioning plate.
This is used for accurate focusing in the studio for
extreme close ups but could be used in the field but with extreme care (if you want to see one I
can show you at the end of the presentation or half time)
2 can be bolted together for forward and sideways adjustments (example as
picture)
Picture shown to show picture stacking
Hand holding a camera: If you do hand hold a camera
doing close up work shutter speed is
critical to stop the effects of camera shake with 100mm macro lens on 1.6 cropped factor camera
would be give you an effective 160mm lens to hand hold I would suggest a 1/320 sec
How not to hold a camera – picture example
Use a tripod unless it is not practical – this will decrease the possibility of camera shake
but will not stop your subject movement
Getting down and dirty – this is often include to get down to do low level photography but
this can be offset by using an angle finder – example and picture
Now you need a tripod head (examples) – quick release assembles and plates
Use a cable release whenever possible to help prevent camera shake – this
gives you the choice when to take the picture unlike a self timer
If time first pictures of birds taken in back garden from shed hide
Any questions