It is almost impossible for us to notice many small creatures around us or in nature. Sometimes, even though many small details in daily life do not attract our attention and we do not see them often, they can actually contain very exciting snapshots. Photography is a passionate art that enables these small and special moments and details to become immortal. In this passionate field of art, especially macro photography enables small details to turn into magnificent images. There are many equipment that must be used, that is, a photographer must have.
How to Do Macro Photography?
The word macro is a concept used in every field, from the world of science to the world of art, and means very large or very distant. In photography, macro photography is the process of photographing an object by showing it in very close-up detail. For example, you can see the body details of an ant that you have never noticed in green nature in a clear photo, thanks to macro photographers.
Although details are the colouring details of daily life, photographs reveal the most interesting and hidden aspects of these details. While doing macro photography, artists work especially on flowers, small objects and insect species. One of the important areas where macro photography is used is actually microscopic studies, and on the other hand, this system is used in crime scene investigations to obtain forensic evidence. The equipment needed for shooting is much higher than the cameras you traditionally use.
In fact, although the cameras you use in daily life also have a macro mode, thanks to this mode, you can take very simple close-up shots without taking in too many details. Professional macro photography is the process of shooting at a high magnification by clearly approaching the object to a distance of almost 1 cm.
In macro photography, the photo is taken with a magnification of 1:1 or sometimes even higher. In order to achieve a shooting quality, changes and higher equipment are required at every point, from the lens to the lens and other equipment found in a standard camera. While it is especially important to use sunlight for illumination during shooting, shadow can have a very negative effect on photo quality. In this sense, even the camera flash used is preferred as a macro flash. Many different technical details are used during shooting, such as a tripod, so that the camera can shake, shake or remain still for seconds to capture a moment.
What are the Techniques in Macro Photography?
If you have a beginner or professional level camera, you can use this opportunity to set up your own macro mechanism and now do macro photography. In this respect, you will first need to obtain a macro lens and obtain a magnification ratio of 1:1. Afterwards, you can make the photo sizes closer to reality by obtaining a closer focal distance by using close-up style filters.
What Equipment is used for Macro Photography?
Since a very high magnification ratio is required in macro photography, the lenses need to be changed. However, as the lens grows, the amount of light entering the lens becomes less and the area narrows, causing light problems to arise. While the light becomes insufficient after narrowing the aperture, macro photography requires special lighting equipment, flashes, and much other equipment such as a tripod as we mentioned before.
When performing macro photography, you can achieve better results by taking advantage of daylight as much as possible and taking into account shadow and light angle details. However, since glare or shadow may sometimes occur depending on the location of the object, cardboard is used when shooting, such as a reflector or flash. It may even be necessary to use macro flashes that spread light in a circular manner, taking into account the shadows that the shining light may create.
Macro Photography Lenses
One of the most important equipment you will need for macro photography will be a new lens for your camera. It is possible to shoot directly with these lenses, called macro lenses, or with additional equipment that can be attached to the existing lens. Some professional macro lenses that you can use as examples in this regard can be considered.
- Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro USM Lens
- Nikon 180mm f/2.8 D IF-ED Macro Lens
- Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM APO Macro Lens
Although macro photography studies are generally done indoors, sometimes you may need to shoot outdoors, especially if you want to shoot with living things in their natural environment. While it is comfortable not to encounter a disadvantage such as wind in indoor areas, it is important to be able to control the light outdoors, as even a very light wind in open areas will prevent the photo from being clear. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the aperture correctly.
As we mentioned before, the depth of field becomes smaller in macro lenses compared to classical lenses in cameras. You can choose to use the aperture setting at f/22 to enlarge this depth. Because this focus setting is used very frequently in close-focus photographs and is among the best choices to keep the object in focus. Even at higher numbers, a much larger portion of the photograph remains indoors.
Macro Photography Flash Equipment
Light is the most important detail when doing macro photography indoors or outdoors. During shooting, the light should be taken evenly from every point and the photo should be obtained without glare or shadow. For this reason, the most used flash type in terms of macro photography is the ring flash product, which creates circular lighting. This flash system provides an even light distribution for the subject being shot.
Extension Tubes and Bellows in Macro Photography
While you can do macro photography when you use macro lenses on digital cameras, you can also use metal extension tubes made of hollow metal for standard lenses. These equipment are produced for people who want to turn their existing lens into a macro lens in a more economical way, instead of buying a macro lens. Another piece of equipment is the bellows system, which actually works in a similar way to the extension tube and provides the opportunity to adjust the extension distance by moving on its own rail. Since bellows are much more bulky than extension tubes, they are generally preferred in indoor studios.
Macro Photography Lenses
You can consider the zoom lens option as a very economical way to make your lens usable for macro photography. These lenses are attached to the front of the lens with a filter-like structure and function like a magnifying glass because they are economical. In order to increase the magnification rate, you can choose to use 2 lenses or 3 lenses.
Phones That Can Do Macro Photography
Phones have started to take an important place in our lives in recent years for professional photography. In fact, although they produce very good quality shots, a good photographer always relies on his camera and photography with a phone can only be seen as a simple hobby. However, today there are also smart devices that have a truly professional lens and take photo quality to the next level with their digital features. Today, well-known brands in the market, such as the world-famous Huawei or iPhone, produce quality photographs on their new generation phones that can show the finest details of a flower at the closest distance.
See you in the next post,
Anil UZUN