Despite having a vast world in front of us, there are still hundreds of macro realms that pique our curiosity and desire for exploration. Often showcased in documentaries, the macro world, capturing our attention from the smallest to the largest, also becomes the subject of photography.

When we think of macro photography, images of flowers, animals, and insects may come to mind, as these are commonly associated with this genre. However, I don’t want you to think that macro photography is limited to these subjects. The macro world consists of a series of photographs capturing the often unnoticed and overlooked details of our surroundings.

Everyday paths we traverse, trees under which we wait for buses, or a curious cat on the street can all become subjects of macro photography. Macro photography sheds light on worlds we might not see or explore but would love to examine, acting as a spotlight that reveals the beauty of small worlds. Particularly intriguing for young people and adventure enthusiasts, macro photography produces masterful images.

To understand what to do and what not to do when delving into the exploration of the macro world, I conducted extensive research based on the experiences of professionals in this field. I learned that mastering fundamental techniques is essential for successful macro photography, as details that often catch the eye become prominent in these shots.

Therefore, if you’re interested in trying your hand at macro photography, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with basic techniques and pay attention to effective composition rules.

So, what techniques should one employ when embarking on the exploration of small worlds? Is macro photography as vibrant and energetic as it appears? What key points should you keep in mind? Here are my recommendations for all these questions…

Close-Up Techniques

Close-up techniques, commonly used in various photography genres, including macro photography, emphasize the prominence of the subject in photographs. Close-up photography involves capturing a subject or object up close, and when it comes to macro photography, the use of macro lenses becomes crucial. Macro lenses enable close-up shots with a clear focus on the foreground details while creating a blurred background.

Close-up techniques in macro photography can be outlined as follows:

• Objects or subjects used in macro photography are often smaller than their actual size. For example, capturing a large elephant in real life allows you to focus on depth, lighting, and other details. However, in macro photography, you may encounter a tiny elephant, perhaps the size of a fingertip. Therefore, it’s essential to choose lenses suitable for macro photography or activate the macro zoom feature when using digital devices.
• In macro shots, achieving sharpness is crucial. Both the subject and the background should be well-focused. To achieve this, it’s important to ensure that the object and the camera or lens are parallel. 
• When the object and the camera are not parallel, distortions may occur in the background.
• In macro shots, the object should be at the forefront, and the depth of the background should be accurately adjusted.
• To highlight the subject in macro photography, it’s important to keep the background as simple as possible. A crowded background complicates macro shots, and the subject may get lost.

In macro photography, paying more attention to avoiding hand tremors or instability in the device is necessary. Compared to other types of shots, macro shots require more focus on minimizing vibrations.

Focus Distance And Depth

Focus distance and depth are crucial factors in macro photography that bring out the quality of shots. Paying attention to focus distance helps in adjusting the depth.

Therefore, it’s essential to understand that focus distance and depth are interconnected factors. For example, when capturing a daisy, having a very close focus distance makes the daisy appear more detailed. However, as the depth behind the daisy decreases, the shot may lose naturalness and appear closer to the flower.

When adjusting focus distance and depth in macro photography:

• When capturing macro shots from distant locations, using the zoom feature extensively reduces the depth. This diminishes the quality of the background, resulting in low-resolution and irregular photographs.
• Getting too close to the subject reduces depth while increasing focus on the object’s details. However, this may lead to a decrease in the depth of the background.
• Setting a wide aperture in macro photography also reduces depth. As the aperture widens, the details of the object become clearer. Simultaneously, the background gains sharpness and reflects the desired depth. However, it’s crucial to ensure that the background is not overly complex. For instance, when capturing a fly, a high aperture setting will make all the fly’s features clear. At the same time, the background, featuring accepted green leaves, gains clarity. In this depth-creating image, the fly stands out as the main subject, and if other creatures in the background become more prominent than the fly, a mistake is made in macro photography, and the depth eliminates quality.

When adjusting focus distance and depth, selecting plain backgrounds and choosing backgrounds with contrasting tones make the adjustment easier. In some cases, background tones may be similar to the object’s tones. In such situations, it may be necessary to keep the background depth somewhat in the background.

Natural Light’s Role In The Micro World

Natural light is a fantastic detail that highlights the beauty of the micro world. Offering clarity and grandeur that artificial light cannot provide, natural light is essential in macro photography, especially in nature shots. In macro photography, using light from the correct angles is crucial. Harsh natural light can destroy details in a photograph.

Conversely, minimal natural light may cause details to appear dark. Therefore, in macro photography, it’s essential to utilize soft and illuminating natural light. The so-called soft light refers to the light during sunrise and sunset when the sun is just emerging or slowly beginning to set. Noon or evening hours may prevent the use of natural light in macro shots and lead to a decrease in quality.

In macro photography, relying solely on natural light is not enough. If there are elements hindering the arrival of light in the background, these obstacles need to be eliminated. For example, when capturing a tiny ladybug in a green area and the leaves cast shadows on the ladybug, it may be necessary to step aside or prune the leaves.

 

See you in the next post,

Anil UZUN