Building on the basics of Shutter, Aperture and ISO to control Exposure.
Hi <<First Name>>,
Did you get to shoot some good Black and White pics last month? You could post them to https://www.facebook.com/iStudioPix/ Maybe? I don’t know if we need to be “Friends” to do that.
This month we are going to explore Macro or Closeup photography. What is the difference? Technically Macro photography renders an image on the camera sensor (or film) that is life-size or bigger, while Closeup photos are those that appear as if you had your eyeball next to the subject or were using a magnifying glass.
Tug-of-war.
With macro photography Depth-of-Field (DOF) is unforgiving, very shallow. You should work to get the aperture to f/8 or higher. The effect of that is that you will need more light for a correct exposure. You will not be able to do this indoors using natural light. To do that, your aperture will need to be more open - f.2.8 -ish. Then your DOF is compromised. None-the-less, I’m sure that you can adjust these two values to make something happen.
Lighting.
You could always move your subject to a brightly lit area or close to a window on a sunny day. Try using a piece of white poster-board to reflect the window light back to the subject on the other side to avoid dark or hot spots. What definitely will not work is camera mounted flash. Maybe if you had a deflector pointing down taped on to the camera flash you could get by.
Strong window light casts shadows on the opposite side.
If you are going to use flash, it needs to be off the camera either by using a remote trigger or extension cord (these are relatively inexpensive - around $15). Another way of lighting the subject is a regular house lamp or even a flashlight. These sources may be too direct and leave lots of shadows though. In that case, try diffusing the light with tissue paper to soften it up a bit.
Equipment.
The point of this gear is that it lets you focus closer to the subject than your lens’ natural focus range. Unless you are going to do macro photography 100% of the time or professionally, I doubt that you will want to spend the bucks on a dedicated macro lens. So what are the options then?
Filters - probably the least expensive way out. They work well, but add another layer of glass between the sensor and the subject. These are measured in diopter strength of +1, +2 and +4. A set of three will cost you around $80. These can be stacked as +1 and +2 will yield +3 and so forth.
Another drawback to filters is that they are for a specific lens diameter, so if you are changing lenses to a different diameter, you will need another set or use adapter rings.
But wait, there's more. If you hand-hold them you can use them with your smart phone camera.
Extension Tubes sit between the camera and the lens, essentially pushing the lens forward and changing the focal plane. These have to fit your camera mount. These are measured in how far away they push out the lens in mm - mine are 13mm, 21mm and 31mm. These will also run you about $80. The benefit is that you can experiment with different lenses and don’t add layers of glass. They are also stackable.
In a pinch, there is an old trick where you take the lens off the camera, turn it around and hand-hold it on the body.
Lastly, let’s not forget a tripod. Camera movement is exaggerated with the decreased focal plane. You will / should use a stable platform. Since these subjects are small, I use a mini-tripod.
Using a telephoto lens or a 2x converter will allow you to ‘magnify’ the subject giving it the appearance of macro photography. It is not a bad thing. I have gotten wonderful shots using this technique. Same rules as above still apply.
Other gotchas.
Auto focus is a bit of a problem. You could do two things. One is to go to manual focus and live view. This works pretty good on static subjects. The other is to pre-focus near where your subject is and move the camera back and forth the get the correct focus. On a moving subject, like a bug, this is the best technique. Since exposure is also an issue, you could try exposure bracketing. Refer to my prior newsletter where I covered this.
Lastly, Some cameras have a Macro mode [looks like a little flower]. this mode is different in dSLRs and point-and-shoot cameras. In dSLRs, it does not allow for closer focusing than the natural minimum focal plan of the lens. In fact, I fail to see the value of this mode other than it may affect the DOF more optimally. In point-and-shoot cameras, I believe that the lens is actually adjusted to allow for closer focusing.
Less is more.
Use macro or close up to isolate a subject. Try to keep the background uncluttered.
Good luck and have fun.
Was this helpful? Is there something that you want to hear about? Send me a note and I'll try to get the topic developed.
Cheers,
Michael
Coming in April will be the spring class at Manchester High School.
You will learn the basics of photography, including camera controls, how to compose a good image, the making of tack-sharp photos, practical lighting applications, and much more. We will review camera controls available in most dSLRs. They control Shutter, Aperture and ISO. Also, other things that affect camera operations. If you have a point-and-shoot camera and want to learn these features to make a buying choice you will learn a lot, but your hands-on participation will be limited.
Bring your digital camera (with instruction booklet) to class. Also bring photos you have taken saved as JPGs on a flash drive.
Topics covered:
Modes on the dial (Letting the camera do it), Exposure (Getting the right balance), Shutter speed (Freeze / Blur), Aperture (Depth of Field), Controls (On the camera, On the lens), Tethering and WiFi, Other Settings: Bracketing / HDR, Lenses, Lighting, Composition, Media storage, Gear, Care, Post Processing, Sharing
There are assignments from class-to-class:
Day-1 - Take Freeze Motion, Blur and Pan motion shots
Day-2 - Take shallow and deep depth of field shots
Day-3 - Take bracketed exposure shots
Day-4 - Take back-lit, side-lit shots
Day-5 - Take Zoom and Macro shots
Day-6 - No assignment, they can sign up for my monthly news-letter for more exercises.
These photography tips newsletters are free. I do take quite a bit of time to prepare them though and if you would be so kind as to once in a while donate a couple of bucks for the cause it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.
