FREE DIGITAL MACRO & CLOSE-UP PDF

Ross Hoddinott | 192 pages | 01 May 2015 | AE Publications | 9781907708763 | English | Lewes, United Kingdom How to Capture Close Ups of Small Objects: The Art of Macro Photography - Photonify

Close-up photos of flowers can make for interesting colours and shapes. There is something magical about seeing a subject up close and personal. This opens up a whole new world of options for you as a photographer. Close-up photography, or macro photography, can be a very rewarding form of photographic expression. The great thing about it is that you can do this from your basement at home, if necessary. Of course you can, and should, go outdoors too and setup shots in a forest or at the sea, but you can also setup shots of everyday subjects and shoot them up close. Think of an old watch, a flower or even some food items that could be shot on your kitchen table. Sometimes beginners are put off by this aspect and assume they need specialist skills to make close-up images. This is not necessarily true. Like any other aspect of photography, you need to understand how your works, and work within the limits of the equipment you have. Do you NEED to have a Digital Macro & Close-up Photography lens? In short, no. There are a few other cheaper options that you can experiment with before investing in a macro lens. Sometimes overexposing or underexposing can add to the image. This sounds obvious, but try it. Set your camera up on a , choose a subject anything will do really and get your camera Digital Macro & Close-up Photography close to the subject. Switch your camera to Manual . You can try , but generally you will be able to focus a little closer on manual focus. If you are using manual focus, the tripod will be important. There is nothing worse than trying to get Digital Macro & Close-up Photography subject in focus when you are off balance, or you keep moving, so use the tripod. Once you have your subject in clear focus, look at the composition, just as you would with any other image. Use the various composition guidelines to put your image together and take the shot. This is just the beginning, you will find that you will make minor adjustments and shoot another shot and so on. I find that when I do close-up or macro photography I get lost in this small world of intimate details. When you look through the viewfinder, try and visualize it as a small world or a small landscape scene. Pretty soon you will find that you will be totally swept up in it and that is the fun part. Getting in close will help to isolate the subject and throw the background out of focus. You can use almost any lens to make close-up images. Bear in mind that each lens has a minimum focusing distance. Telephoto lenses will have a longer minimum focusing distance, while medium range lenses mm will have a closer focusing distance. Also, a macro lens has a magnification ratio of So if your subject is 20mm in size Digital Macro & Close-up Photography it is captured as 20mm on the Digital Macro & Close-up Photography, that means it has a 1 :1 ratio. Some lenses can only reproduce aorratio which means that the subject will be half the size Digital Macro & Close-up Photography less, on the sensor, relative to the size of the subject. I would suggest that you try close-up photography with the range of lenses you have. See which one works best. Prime lenses are usually a good place to start as they Digital Macro & Close-up Photography great clarity and sharpness. Once you feel that you are limited by your lenses or that you think macro photography is a genre you want to expand on, only Digital Macro & Close-up Photography consider buying a macro lens. The beauty of close-up photography is that — when one properly, a shot of a cup of coffee can be fascinating. Suddenly the pattern in the latte cream looks amazing, the bubbles and cup shape become very intriguing. We very rarely look at everyday subjects up close and when we do, they can be really interesting. The same is true for flowers, an aged piece of wood, electronic goods, even a knife and fork, just about anything can become a subject for macro photography. Some of the more challenging subjects are those that move. Subjects like insects, flowers, leaves, grasses and any other subject that is outdoors. For these, you will need more patience and better timing. Photographing a close up of a flower on a windy day will be really Digital Macro & Close-up Photography. If you want to do macro photography outdoors, maybe start off doing it on a windless day or in a sheltered area. Alternatively, you could go and buy some cut flowers and set them up in a vase, setup the shot and take a few images. The controlled environment of the flowers in a vase will make things much easier. Insects are even more challenging. They sit still for very short periods and move very quickly. The name of the game to get good insect macro shots, is to be patient. To get some honeybee images in the past, I have set up my camera on a flower and attached my cable release. I then manually focused the lens to the flower and simply waited until a bee or another insect was in the right place and snapped off a few shots. Generally one in ten shots were Digital Macro & Close-up Photography and I was pretty happy with that, but they take time and Digital Macro & Close-up Photography. Be patient and setup your shot beforehand when photographing insects. I found that I really enjoyed close-up photography. Once I got into it, I spent many hours trying to get some unusual images of flowers or insects. You may find this too. Get your tripod, cable release, choice of lens and set up a scene either indoors or outdoors. Get in a close as you can and start working with Digital Macro & Close-up Photography scene. Change your until you are happy with what is in focus and what is out of focus. If you are using a macro lens, be careful about shooting with a very shallow depth of field. Experiment with different exposures, sometimes a slightly Digital Macro & Close-up Photography macro scene can look good, so play around with that. Above all, have some fun. Use it as an exercise in learning more about photography, and try and get some dynamic images too! In a future article, I will go into more details about settings and modes. A close-up of a poppy flower, the details are what is mesmerising! Best Macro Photography (11 Great Cams in ) If you want to try something new with your photography, consider taking up macro photography. Macro photography is the art of taking close-up pictures of small items and making them appear larger-than-life. Here are some macro photography tips to apply to help you get started. Without question, close-up photography is a fascinating pursuit that will make you look at the world in a new way. Digital Macro & Close-up Photography can start by taking macro photos in your own home or by visiting a nearby park, woods, lake, or beach. There are truly endless macro photography ideas to explore. Fortunately, taking close-up photos is an accessible type of photography for beginners. In fact, you can even pursue iPhone macro photography or use a simple . All you need is a macro photography app or an add-on lens. You can find apps and lenses that work with Android devices, too. This can let you explore the small world of insect macro photography, as well as plants, minerals, and much more. Also, you can explore the basics Digital Macro & Close-up Photography shooting macro with a point-and-shoot camera. You can use inexpensive close-up filters that increase the focusing distance of your lens and let you get closer to your subjects. These entry-level options can be a great starting point, but a mirrorless or DSLR camera will deliver better results. Digital Macro & Close-up Photography you gain Digital Macro & Close-up Photography experience, you may want to do some research to decide on the best camera for macro photography that meets your needs. At first, you may not need a dedicated macro lens, though you may want to invest in one when your skills improve. In truth, the macro photography equipment you need to get started is minimal. If you know how your camera works, you can work within those constraints and make some initial forays for macro photography. Working through a few tutorials or taking a focused macro photography course might be beneficial, too. When people think of macro photography, close- up shots of the natural world come to mind. Many people have seen an image of small insects or extreme close-up photography that reveals the texture and details on a leaf or flower. These images with close-up views of natural objects will always be popular. You can experiment with macro flower photography in spring or snowflake macro photography in winter. Even everyday objects, like a pen Digital Macro & Close-up Photography a coffee cup, can look extraordinary in close-up photography. You may see textures and patterns you never knew existed. Take a look around your home for inspiration. What about experimenting with macro images of electronic equipment? Why not try out macro food photography? If you need more ideas, look for macro photography Digital Macro & Close-up Photography online. You may feel inspired by a macro photographer who focuses on abstract macro photography. Or, you may find urban macro photography fascinating. Brainstorm all the potential directions you could pursue. When shooting macro photography, you want to get as close to your subject as possible. With manual focus, you can usually focus a bit more Digital Macro & Close-up Photography on your subject. For this reason, experienced photographers often cite a tripod as the most crucial tool in their macro photography kit. What are the qualities of the best tripod for macro photography? Also, look for a tripod that lets you adjust leg angles independently to give you maximum flexibility. Ability to make height adjustments and portability are other vital considerations. While a macro lens can be a great asset, you can capture beautiful macro photography with Digital Macro & Close-up Photography types of lenses. You do need to be familiar with the concept of to get the best results. For all lenses, the focal length is the distance between the lens and the on your camera when the subject is in focus. Usually, focal length is measured in millimeters or centimeters. Focal length is significant because it determines the proper working distance between you and your subject. Typically, standard lenses that come with many modern entry-level DSLR or mirrorless cameras have a focal length of 14 mm to 42 mm or 18 mm to 55 mm. You can start with mirrorless or DSLR macro photography or try a with a 50 mm focal length. Macro lenses come in a range of focal lengths—including 50 mm, mm, and mm. As you can see, the longer focal length offered by macro lenses let you be further away from a subject and still capture it in clear focus. This can be especially valuable when capturing pictures of insects or other living creatures that may be skittish if you get too close. Longer focal lengths can be essential if you want to pursue extreme macro photography. Another critical point to know about macro lenses is that they can focus at magnification. What does this mean? At that magnification, the lens can produce an image on your camera sensor that is the actual size of the subject. With a little research, you can find many choices for a dedicated Canon or Nikon macro lens. To Digital Macro & Close-up Photography the looks you want in your macro photography, you will need to control both and speed. If you are shooting a close-up of a moving subject in a busy background, opt for a faster and wider aperture setting. This empowers you to freeze motion while creating a shallow depth of field and blurred-out background. However, if you want to capture some elements of the background and a moving subject, keep the shutter speed fast but choose a smaller aperture. You can also create motion blur with a slow shutter speed and corresponding aperture setting. And you may need to adjust both aperture and shutter speed to account for natural or artificial light in your shooting environment. This will help you take better macro photos. With macro photography, you are often shooting with a narrow focal plane and fast shutter speed. When Digital Macro & Close-up Photography a , you Digital Macro & Close-up Photography want to use a . With a diffuser, you can increase the size of the light coming from your flash and make it softer. This will help you capture the natural of your subject and help reduce any harsh shadows. You should know how to adjust ISO, shutter speed, and aperture manually to create the correct exposure in every macro . What makes good macro photography stand out? Experienced macro photographers know how to apply proper composition techniques to the close-up photos. Rely on good portrait composition practices—such as using a shallow depth of field in these scenarios. You can think of small scenes and close-ups of plants or objects as a mini- landscape. Look for intriguing patterns, colors, and details that add strong visual interest. Apply the and golden ratio when positioning items in your composition. All the composition skills you gain in your other pursuits are still relevant when you learn how to do macro photography. In fact, the macro photography gear needed at first is quite minimal. You should definitely consider a tripod to avoid shaking the camera. There are many ways to learn about this unique photography niche. Look around online. You Digital Macro & Close-up Photography discover good examples of everything from artistic macro photography to macro flowers and insect pictures. Uses these sources as inspiration for your photography project ideas. You can take macro photography classes or read through a macro photography tutorial. And you need to apply your composition Digital Macro & Close-up Photography to make the most of your forays into close-up photography. Where will your macro picture ideas and inspiration lead you? You could test out macro water photography and capture close-ups of bubbles on Digital Macro & Close-up Photography surface of a stream. Or, you could try macro eye photography and take detailed shots of the eyes of humans or animals. Understanding macro photography can open up so many adventures in your photography life. A few pieces of equipment and an abundance of creative ideas are all you need to explore the unseen small worlds that exist all around you! Your email address will not be published. Photography Tips March 18, Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Best close-up filters in | Digital Camera World

Macro cameras have really come into their own recently. They allow inexperienced photographers to pick up a system and start photographing immediately. You will realise that macro photography depends entirely on the lensand not the camera. Pro macro photographers tend to choose lenses that are capable of far more than magnification. In this article, you will see point-and-shoot systems, mirrorless cameras and DSLRs. Each one of them has benefits and drawbacks for macro. Each camera type has specific uses in macro photography. They are the best cameras for the enthusiast macro photographer. Product links on ExpertPhotography are referral links. If you use one of these and buy something we make a little bit of money. Need more info? See how it all works here. Macro photography, according to the most technical definition, is photographing subjects at or higher magnification. However, even slightly lower magnification values, up tocan have a very dramatic visual effect. This is called close-up photography. Generally, close-up and macro photography are interchangeably used terms. While not fully correct, this is fine. You might ask: why do we even compare apples and oranges? But actually, there is. In macro photography, there are often small margins between camera types. You might be able to achieve better results with a capable compact camera than an average DSLR. Macro capabilities are almost entirely down to the lens. Fancy specs, such as 4K video or ground-breaking autofocus are no priority. Maybe with lava. This is the equivalent of 25mm— mm. It is a great tool for macro photography, as the macro mode lets you focus from 1cm to infinity. BSI stands for backside Digital Macro & Close-up Photography image Digital Macro & Close-up Photography, which essentially lets more light through the sensor architecture. It tends to produce cleaner image files and produce better Digital Macro & Close-up Photography in low light conditions. The lens is a wide zoom, ranging from 24mm — m. No viewfinder, so all composition comes through the LCD screen. Digital Macro & Close-up Photography lens comes with vibration reduction, perfect for unintended blur from camera shake. The best thing about this little system are the built-in lights. Just in case you are blocking the natural Digital Macro & Close-up Photography due to being so close to your subject. The focus starts at 1cm, so being close to your subject is a must. The megapixel, one-inch image sensor is capable of capturing some outstanding macro photos. This allows you to fine-tune your focus after the shot has been taken. For macro, however, use manual focus and try to nail it perfectly on the scene. You can use either live view on Digital Macro & Close-up Photography back screen, or the electronic viewfinder for this. The lens coupled with this camera is very capable. It is a 24mmmm equivalent , with electronic zoom, not manual. The lens will focus from around 3 cm at the wide-angle setting and from 72 cm at the telephoto end. This camera also has WiFi capabilities, sending your images to your phone immediately. One handy tip, take extra batteries! This extra playroom translates to keeping your ISO low, giving you the highest quality images. This is a point- and-shoot camera that lets you use , allowing a cleaner and crisper image with attention on the depth of field. The lens is a Leica DC Vario-Elmar 30x zoom lens with a focal length range of an equivalent mm. It can Digital Macro & Close-up Photography from 50cm to infinity in its normal mode, and macro mode focuses from 3cm to all the way to infinity. These cameras are intuitive to use and very responsive, making the photo experience much better. This is the case with the T6i kit, too. It can be moved to give you the best angle for taking close-ups of all the small things. Live view autofocus performance is great, although you might choose to use manual focus for closer macro shots. This camera gives you great value for your money. The mm kit lens, while not able to provide life-size macro images, lets you quite close. With a set of inexpensive extension tubes, it can be transformed into a proper macro lens. The fairly large, APS-C-sized sensor will nicely capture the depth and detail coming from the lens. All this promises great image quality. On this camera, the lenses are interchangeable, not fixed. So, if you already have a set of Canon lenses, they will work here well, too. This kit is, in essence, the Nikon counterpart of the previous camera. The resolution of its sensor is 24MP, enough for pretty much everything, but not overwhelmingly too much. The mm kit lens coming with this Digital Macro & Close-up Photography lets you focus as close as 25cm from your subject. Keep in mind that this value is measured from the sensor. Your working distance will be much smaller, around 10cm. Instead, the magnification is around But I would argue that this setup will still give better images than the compact cameras further up that, on paper, let you much closer. Its macro capabilities are still really impressive, and worth mentioning on this list. Colours and details are outstanding, as is the user experience. With the press of a button, you can activate the macro Digital Macro & Close-up Photography. It will allow the lens to extend further out from the housing and focus as close as 6cm from the lens. It gives you almost life-size magnification, with fantastic image quality. A touchscreen and a snappy autofocus system allow macro photography to be Digital Macro & Close-up Photography with autofocus, a rare experience. If you value a portable camera over the highest possible versatility of a DSLR, this is your choice. The 40mm dedicated macro lens is a fantastic option to accompany it. It has every professional feature you can ask for, including dual card support, dedicated buttons for many functions, dual control dials, and more. Its colour reproduction is awesome, its images are detailed. Its ISO and autofocus performance are class-leading. The 21MP sensor will faithfully capture everything coming from the lens, leading to exceptional image quality. If you want more, extension tubes are an option. And they are more effective than usual because of the relatively short focal length. This is probably as great as you can get on the Nikon side. It really is a wonder to use and to look at the results afterwards. You can use it for basically any Digital Macro & Close-up Photography of photography and get stunning results with the right lenses. We love it. And its stabilisation system is a game-changer, allowing for impressive handheld macro photos. These are the best cameras for macro photography, in our opinion. But the most important component of the best macro photos is the photographer, who puts their soul and skills into photography. Take your time to weigh features that each camera offers and choose the one that fits your needs best. If you have the option, also try them in person. One of the best ways to decide on your camera choice is a hands-on experience. Want to learn more about different macro photography techniques? Why not check out our course Macro Magic next! We also have great articles on choosing more macro accessoriesor shooting with a macro lens. Leaving your camera on its default settings will produce blurry results. Gear Macro Related course: Macro Magic. Share with friends Share. Show Comments 4 Hide Comments. Related Articles. Abstract flower photography is a style that doesn't reveal everything. It demands a closer look to be understood.