Photography shows us the world around us. Using a telephoto lens gives us a close up view of things we could normally not get near enough to appreciate in it finer detail. Macro photography enables us to see the finer details that are near but too small to be appreciated.
Taking pictures of small objects can be a specialization or just another addition to your photo repertoire. Be warned that taking pictures of and then being able to see things that are not visible to the naked eye can become addictive.
Macro photography can cover an endless array of subjects. While the most common is nature – taking pictures that show the details of a frog’s eye or a fly’s head – other forms of macro photography look at inanimate objects and bring our hidden features of textures. The most important part of macro photography is having the right lens. While a variety of lenses are available, the most common are of the 50 to 100mm range. Macro lenses are expensive and many beginners start with the more economical option of using a set of close up lenses. A set of close up lenses will have varying degrees of diopters or magnification such as +1, +2 and so on. Depending on the make, lenses can be “stacked” – one fitted on another. A +1 added to a +3 will give a magnification of +4. These are good for learning the tricks of photographing small objects, but will not be able to match the image quality that a dedicated macro lens will provide. It is possible to use a telephoto lens fro macro photography, but only a macro lens will allow for completely accurate focusing and clarity of image.
When taking macros, your depth-of–field is limited. The get the best results and effects you need to keep a tight focus on the most interesting part of the subject, or the impact of the image will be lost.
When using a macro lens, movement, either of the subject or the camera is a major problem. Even the slightest camera wobble, that would not be apparent in normal photographs can, when a macro lens is used, look like the earth is moving under the photographer’s feet. The best option, although not always possible, especially when photographing animals, is to use a tripod. Many photographers with what they think are steady hands, who never use tripods, think they can do without one. Or at least they think so until the see their first blurred macro image.
The other issue is that of subject movement. Since the subject is magnified, even the slightest twitch can cause a blur. There’s not much you can do outdoors except try for the best balance of shutter speed and aperture. Indoors, a strobe can be used to freeze movement. If a strobe is being used, the light should be indirect and bounced off a reflector to provide a softer illumination effect.
Besides the issue of subject movement, macro photography is the same as any other kind. Macro lenses have no impact on exposure and so no compensation is required.
Many amateur photographers’ shy away from trying their hand at macro photography thinking that it is far to technical for them. In fact it is not so except of the aspect of getting close to a living creature to take the macro photo and there is nothing that cannot be learned by trial and error.
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