MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY 101 - Shooters Photography Club

MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY 101

May 2019   Shooters Photography Club

Required Equipment

Dedicated Macro Lens, ranging from 30mm to 200mm (best but most
expensive option) Tokina.jpg
Normal zoom or Prime Lens with extension tubes (reduced cost while
maintaining decent quality) Extension-Tubes.jpg
Raynox magnifying lens (good quality but can be more expensive then
extension tubes) Raynox.jpg Raynox-2.jpg
Macro lens filters (relatively inexpensive but inferior quality images, not
recommended) Macrofilters.jpg
Reversing ring (very inexpensive, decent quality if used with a fast prime
lens, but requires focus stacking) Macro reverse ring.bmp
A Crop Sensor Camera will produce a more magnified image, anywhere from
1.5 to 2 x that of a Full Frame Camera
The above equipment can be used independently or in combination to
increase magnification.

Optional Accessories
Tripod is recommended when doing table top Macro to reduce camera shake
and out of focus conditions
On Camera Flash (Ring Flash) when shooting out in field where light
availability is poor Macro ring flash.jpg
Small Flash Lights (LED suggested, recommended)
A Macro Rail (optional) is great to move the focal plane into focus macro
rail.jpg
Remote Shutter Release to reduce camera shake shutter release_.jpg
Reflectors to direct lighting optional
Plastic sheet if planning to get down on your knees
Some form of clamping mechanism to hold subject from moving in the wind
Spray bottle for water droplets etc.
Artificial background material for additional color and or contrast

Technique
When shooting indoors (tabletop), suggest tripod with studio lighting, with
subject held in place by clamps or other method to prevent movement
When shooting outside without a tripod, move the camera in and out rather
than using the focus ring to bring the subject into focus. Also suggested to
move the subject rather then the camera into focus.
Shoot in manual focus because Auto Focus will always search for subject and
give false readings. If you move the camera or the subject in and out, you do
not need to focus the camera.
It is best to ensure that your lens is parallel to the subject to increase the
depth of focus. However it may not be the best composition unless you are
photographing something flat.
When photographing flowers it is best to use some form of a clamp to reduce
the flower moving with the wind. Create your own design fixed to your tripod.
Shoot in burst mode at 5-6 F.P.S. to ensure that at least one image is in focus

Techniques continued

Shoot at a higher shutter speed so that the burst mode is not delayed (ex. a 1
sec shutter speed would only give you one image in burst mode)
 On bright sunny days it is suggested to bump up the ISO to achieve faster
shutter speeds without experiencing grain, however know your camera’s
limitations by doing test photos to determine the maximum acceptable ISO
If you plan to shoot insects, go out early in the morning as they are less
active in the early mornings. For Butterflies, go out later in the day to see
where they are setting for the night, then return the next morning as they will
not have moved and you will be able to photograph without worrying about
the subject moving. This will give you ample time to set up on a tripod for
better results
When shooting insects (bees), you may need to shoot with a high shutter
speed (over 1/500 sec.) to reduce motion blur. In this case you may need to
increase ISO and shoot in burst mode. Practice this method ahead of time to
be prepared when you need to perform your shot.

Additional Techniques
The longer the lens used in shooting insects the better because any
movement will scare the subject and will result in a loss of shot.
Consider using a plastic sheet or knee pads on early mornings where dew
may be present. It is important to be comfortable when doing Macro.
You may be required to stack images, this is easy on a table top but not so
easy out in the field, hand held. However with a solid camera grip and steady
hand it is possible. You will need to auto align images in post processing, in
Photoshop or other types of photo editing software.
Consider downloading a software such as DigiCam for Helicon remote or
other dedicated camera specific macro focus stacking software to help editing
your images. Most software are free to download, however the dedicated
Camera specific software (like the one I use ControlMyNikon) are not free.
Consider a dedicated focus stacking software such as Zerene Stacker

Using Extension Tubes
   Know your minimum focus distances (see chart below)

                                                                                                      Min. wide angle lens that
                                                                                                      can be used with extension
                                                                                                      tubes is a 28-30 mm lens

The above chart shows the minimum focus distances for lenses using extension tubes, your lenses may perform different then those shown

Camera and Lens Combinations
     Full Frame verses Crop Sensor Cameras                                  (all photo’s shown are without focus stacking)

100mm Crop Sensor         100mm Full Frame            100mm Crop & Full Frame w/ext. tubes           50mm w/reverse ring, full frame & crop sensor

50mm w/reverse ring & ext. tubes full & crop sensor                                                     300mm full frame with & without ext. tubes

                                                       300mm crop sensor with & without ext. tubes

Effect of aperture on D.O.F.
The following photos taken at true or flat focal plane at various apertures

Taken @ f/3.8                 Taken @ f/16          Focus stacked (2) images

Effects of aperture on D.O.F. (cont.)
The following photo’s were not taken on a flat focal plane
D.O.F. is drastically reduced and depending on the background you may have a Bokeh or
messy back ground. Shooting stopped down and focus stacked is a preferred method here.

 shot at f/4.8        shot at f/11        shot at f/22         shot at f/32     stacked (4) images
                             ▪
                                                                                   Zerene Stacker

The above example shows the limited D.O.F. when shooting Macro up close and the need to stack multiple
photographs. A photo like the one above would normally require 25 to 30 stacked photographs.

Sample Macro Photographs
 Pic -1Pictures\red&blue.jpg
 Pic-2Pictures\B&W.jpg
 Pic-3Pictures\B-Fly-1.jpg                           Disclaimer
 Pic-4Pictures\B-Fly-2.jpg          Several of the photo’s attached were taken by other
 Pic-5Pictures\B-Fly-3.jpg          photographers on the internet and are not my property.
 Pic-6Pictures\B-Fly-4.jpg          These were placed only to show you what can be
 Pic-7Pictures\black wine.jpg       achieved with proper techniques, equipment, practice and
 Pic-8Pictures\Blue drop.jpg        determination. Several of my photo’s also included.
 Pic-9Pictures\Blueflower.jpg
 Pic-10Pictures\D-Fly.jpg
 Pic-11Pictures\eye.jpg
 Pic-12Pictures\Orange.jpg
 Pic-13Pictures\Purple&yellow.jpg
 Pic-14Pictures\Purple.jpg
 Pic-15Pictures\red rose.jpg
 Pic-16Pictures\red wine.jpg
                                     Last suggestion take lots of photos and
 Pic-17Pictures\black wine.jpg
                                     have fun, remember it’s not “what you see,
 Pic-18Pictures\Vette.jpg            but how YOU see it”.
 Pic-19Pictures\Yellow&red.jpg