Technique Archive
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Using a reflector to boost natural light.
Posted on September 19, 2010 | No CommentsA useful and cheap accessory that can aid in some macro work is a reflector. This can be bought, made out of tin foil on cardboard (my first was like that), or acquired free from a magazine – as my current one was from Amatuer Photographer last year. The reflector... -
Stacking Macro Photographs in Photoshop CS5
Posted on September 17, 2010 | No CommentsI’ve recently been experimenting stacking macro shots in various stacking tools. I intend to add some tutorials on some of them over the next few weeks. I’ll start with one that I’ve recently been using to stack some shots together (usually only 2 or 3 at the moment, but there’s... -
Taking Daphnia
Posted on April 26, 2010 | 4 CommentsI took some shots of some “water fleas” or Daphnia on Sunday. I purchased some live Daphnia from a local aquarium centre for the whopping sum of 99p. I then extracted one of the Daphnia with a pipet in a tiny water drop and then placed it on a microscope... -
Experimenting with Flash
Posted on February 5, 2010 | No CommentsI always enjoy photographing fungi and mushrooms in the Autumn months. Last Autumn (2009) I decided to experiment with two things in the macro field, that I had not greatly tried with fungi before. First I decided to shoot more wide open shots with less depth of field (though not... -
Macro and Lighting
Posted on November 29, 2009 | No CommentsLighting is as important in Macro-photography as it is in any other type, and as we increase magnification, then controlling and adding your own light sources become important too. I’ll start with the simplest form of lighting, that of natural light. If you can use this and get good sharp... -
Thinking about Composition
Posted on November 5, 2009 | No CommentsCommonly when starting out taking macro pictures, people forget about composition of the picture. I think this is a fairly natural thing to do, I certainly was guilty of it at the start, as the “WOW! look at that!” effect takes place of getting those smaller things in detail in... -
Focal Lengths
Posted on November 5, 2009 | 2 CommentsWhat’s the difference between a 60mm macro lens and a 100mm one ? Well the answer is focal length, essentially that’s the working distance on the lens, so with a 60mm lens you need to be about 60mm from the subject to achieve a macro ratio of 1:1 or life... -
Focusing Rail
Posted on October 29, 2009 | No CommentsIf you use a tripod to take macro shots, then you’ll know that getting the exact spot to position your tripod is not always easy. Additionally if you are taking an image at high magnification then getting the focus sharp can also be a problem. A useful piece of equipment... -
How should I get started taking Macro photos ?
Posted on October 28, 2009 | 2 CommentsThis is a question that I commonly see asked on internet forums, especially when people see a good shot and want to try out macro themselves. Whilst it’s easy to say go and get a macro lens, this I feel is not the best answer, unless the person you’re recommending... -
Macro Focusing
Posted on October 19, 2009 | No CommentsFocusing with macro equipment is something that is best done manually. On some occasions you may be able to use auto-focus to get the results you want, but mostly using it will cause you lens to hunt around as it tries to find the item you are focusing on or...