Help on taking better close up pictures
- This topic has 6 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated Feb 8, 2008 at 6:46 am by
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I have had this discussion with a few of you before regarding macro lens photography for photographing flies. I appreciate the information and the willingness to let me borrow your lenses to practice, I will probably take someone up on that offer. In the meantime, does anyone know of a good resource or book that discusses the principles of macro photography and depth field and lighting as they relate to shots like flies and detailed bench work? For example, I just posted a picture of some flies on the fly tying section (Epoxy Coloring Trick). I was trying to show a detailed picture of “color” in the epoxy on size 8 hooks with epoxy heads. The whole point of the picture is to show color detail but I found it very hard to capture what I wanted with my Nikon/VR 18-200 lens in any mode including A mode with multiple aperture setting and lighting techniques. Are there any hints or tricks to doing this a standard lens setup or do you just need to get a macro lense and background box setup?
Macro… for static objects sigma makes a super cheap little 28-70 or something like that.. it does a great job as a starter macro.. probably $50 on ebay…
Im not aware of any single macro resource with an emphasis on fly tying. If Zach doesn’t mind the plug you might want to check out Troutnuts website, he may have some tutorials and tips.
Macro potography is certainly not an aspect one picks up right away, it’s certainly not my strength. To add to or reinforce some of Labratis points I’ll add the following. DoF and lighting are probably the two most important considerations. At the risk of stating what you may already know starting with DoF its razor thin, especially if using a 1:1 lens. Many makers (notably sigma) market lenses as being “macro” which arent really macro lenses in the classic definition (1:1), but rather they are lenses that allow for close focusing.
for example using a 180mm Macro
at its MFD even at f/16 your effective DoF is going to be less than 1/5th of an inch. At two feet and f/22 the DoF is 1/10th of an inch.read razor thin.
Using your lens for example zoomed to 200mm which sems to have a MFD of 1.6 feet and from 3ft your looking at about a DoF of 7/10ths an inch.
DoF calculator
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.htmlWhere am I going with this?
Its going to almost impossible to get a single entire #8 hook within your DoF if your close to the MFD even at f/22 without focus stacking. You can back off creating more DoF, but that comes at a cost of reduced detail. Just for informational purposes I struggle to get #18s (with hackles) entirely within the DoFSecondly unless your under very bright lighting shooting between f/16 and f/22 is going to kneecap your Shutter Speeds. A good Tripod with either a cable release or self timer is virtually a must.
From looking at the photo light is definately not on your side. If you really want to do this type of shooting you might want to consider a DIY light box or a commercially available one.
Some glass options you can consider might be Sigmas 105mm f2.8 macro, a set of tubes or Nikons close focus adapter (basically a filter). Keep in mind tht anything that allows you get closer to the subject like tubes or a close focus filter will have greater impact on your DoF.
Neal. Several good points have already been mentioned.
As far as resources, most of the techniques will apply across the board to whatever your subject matter is. A good starting point is John Shaw’s Closeups in Nature. I’ve also picked up info from short chapters in several books, seminars and forum discussions. I see there are several new books out on digital macro photography now.
Most lenses will not let you focus close enough, BUT many of these can be used for close-up and even macro photography with the addition of extension tubes or even tele-converters. I’ve seen some stunning close-ups made with a 50mm lens and an extension tube or two.
Lightening is important as labrati mentioned and you will need to work out some kind of bracket and ball head to get your flash out over the end of the lens and close to the work. TTL metering makes it easier. Try manual exposure mode at 1/250 with a smaller aperture and the flash on high sync mode. The flash will calculate the exposure then for you.
Depth of field issues in close up work are a constant learning experience for me.
Have fun exploring!
I know this is not exactly what you’re after here since your main gear is a DSLR, but thought I’d mention that this is one area where many small point-and-shoot digital cameras actually offer some advantages over DSLRs – at least when using normal lenses and techniques.
Many P&S cameras can focus down to 1cm from the subject – yes – the lens is 1cm from the subject!
You guys are awesome, thanks for the detailed replies. All my reading and practice must be paying off because I was actually able to understand about half of the information mentioned above, ha. Seriously, these are great notes to print out and read and research. Also, I am going to borrow a macro/lighting setup and practice practice practice some more. I am also starting to realize the importance of mm and white balance.
I agree with the lighting and lens comments above. Might add that flash/strobe help to freeze subjects and will aid in the focus details. If you choose to go this route, less ambient light is very important. Grey cards are GREAT for WB, as mentioned.
I know this may seem a bit overboard but I shot these test shots with the Nikon 105mm 2.8 VR macro and several strobes.
1/80 f40 ISO400
1/250 f20 ISO125
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