Macro Photography
DEFINITION : Taking a close up picture of small things, making a small item appear larger by filling the photo frame at ratio's of 1:10 to 1:1 and sometimes greater; using a specialized lens or adapters to achieve this goal.
Welcome to the world of "small". Macro photography is at the opposite end of what most people use their camera's for. On average, scenery and wildlife are being captured in stunning images that evoke either the large scale of the world or the beauty of an animal or thing in it's environment. Macro photography eliminates that environment and zooms into the fine detail, giving a unique perspective to what we see and perceive of an object, sometimes to the extent of making the object abstract and unidentifiable.
When taking Macro images you can use a specialized lens ( called a macro or micro lens), extension tubes, reversing rings, coupling rings or bellows. All of these methods will give the same results but the final decision of which method you use to achieve your images comes down mainly to cost.
Macro / Micro Lens:
A Macro lens is specifically designed for close-up work and can often achieve higher magnification than life size, enabling photography of the smallest insects, snowflakes, and other minuscule objects. Any lens which can capture images at a 1:1 ratio is essentially a macro. Macro lenses come in varying sizes - from 50mm to 200mm or greater. This size difference does not usually allow a smaller ratio but rather it allows you to be farther away from the subject which is significant if you wish to photograph a living creature that may not appreciate a camera lens right on top of them. While typically "micro" refers to images captured through a microscope some lens makers refer to their macro lenses as "micro".
Extension Tubes:
Round hollow tubes which contain no optical elements but are used between your camera and lens to create distance between the image plane and the lens. By "extending" your lens away from the camera it allows you to move inside the minimum focusing distance of the lens and allows your lens to focus on objects that it would not normally be able to at that distance ( ie. on a Nikon 70-300mm lens the minimum focusing distance is 5ft /1.5m but by adding extension tubes, you can get within 1ft to 6" of an object and still be able to focus - this varies depending on how many extension tubes you put on the lens). Extension tubes are typically sold in groups of 3, some may not have electrical contacts thus disabling the automatic control of the lens, and they will always reduce the amount of light reaching the film plane usually by approximately 2 stops if all 3 are used.
Reversing Rings:
These rings allow the connection of a lens to the camera body backwards, and by doing so, "reverses" the functioning of the lens. With a lens mounted on a camera in the normal position, the image of a large object is reduced in size so that it can be recorded on the sensor or film. When the lens is mounted in reverse, the opposite happens, small objects are recorded at life-size or enlarged. In a reversed lens there is no connection between the lens and the camera again disabling the automatic control of the lens.
Coupling Rings:
Coupling Rings are adapters with a male filter thread on each side. They allow you to connect two lenses by their filter mounts. The lens that is furthest from the camera is mounted in reverse and acts as a powerful close-up lens. The lens attached to the camera must be the one with the longest focal length. The magnification power is the ratio of the 2 focal lengths ie: the longest possible focal length on the primary lens (i.e. 300) and the smallest possible focal length on the secondary lens (i.e. 18). The ratio is 300 / 18 = 16.67
Bellows:
Extension bellows fit between the camera and the lens, and provide a variable extension. Special lenses (known as bellows macro lenses or lens heads) are available without focusing mounts, designed for use on bellows. These tend to be expensive and are not as easy to use as the other methods.
So now you that you are more familiar with the equipment, what else do you need to know?
Here are some key pointers for those who don't fully understand macro photography:
Click on an image below to view samples from HHCC members :
Welcome to the world of "small". Macro photography is at the opposite end of what most people use their camera's for. On average, scenery and wildlife are being captured in stunning images that evoke either the large scale of the world or the beauty of an animal or thing in it's environment. Macro photography eliminates that environment and zooms into the fine detail, giving a unique perspective to what we see and perceive of an object, sometimes to the extent of making the object abstract and unidentifiable.
When taking Macro images you can use a specialized lens ( called a macro or micro lens), extension tubes, reversing rings, coupling rings or bellows. All of these methods will give the same results but the final decision of which method you use to achieve your images comes down mainly to cost.
Macro / Micro Lens:
A Macro lens is specifically designed for close-up work and can often achieve higher magnification than life size, enabling photography of the smallest insects, snowflakes, and other minuscule objects. Any lens which can capture images at a 1:1 ratio is essentially a macro. Macro lenses come in varying sizes - from 50mm to 200mm or greater. This size difference does not usually allow a smaller ratio but rather it allows you to be farther away from the subject which is significant if you wish to photograph a living creature that may not appreciate a camera lens right on top of them. While typically "micro" refers to images captured through a microscope some lens makers refer to their macro lenses as "micro".
Extension Tubes:
Round hollow tubes which contain no optical elements but are used between your camera and lens to create distance between the image plane and the lens. By "extending" your lens away from the camera it allows you to move inside the minimum focusing distance of the lens and allows your lens to focus on objects that it would not normally be able to at that distance ( ie. on a Nikon 70-300mm lens the minimum focusing distance is 5ft /1.5m but by adding extension tubes, you can get within 1ft to 6" of an object and still be able to focus - this varies depending on how many extension tubes you put on the lens). Extension tubes are typically sold in groups of 3, some may not have electrical contacts thus disabling the automatic control of the lens, and they will always reduce the amount of light reaching the film plane usually by approximately 2 stops if all 3 are used.
Reversing Rings:
These rings allow the connection of a lens to the camera body backwards, and by doing so, "reverses" the functioning of the lens. With a lens mounted on a camera in the normal position, the image of a large object is reduced in size so that it can be recorded on the sensor or film. When the lens is mounted in reverse, the opposite happens, small objects are recorded at life-size or enlarged. In a reversed lens there is no connection between the lens and the camera again disabling the automatic control of the lens.
Coupling Rings:
Coupling Rings are adapters with a male filter thread on each side. They allow you to connect two lenses by their filter mounts. The lens that is furthest from the camera is mounted in reverse and acts as a powerful close-up lens. The lens attached to the camera must be the one with the longest focal length. The magnification power is the ratio of the 2 focal lengths ie: the longest possible focal length on the primary lens (i.e. 300) and the smallest possible focal length on the secondary lens (i.e. 18). The ratio is 300 / 18 = 16.67
Bellows:
Extension bellows fit between the camera and the lens, and provide a variable extension. Special lenses (known as bellows macro lenses or lens heads) are available without focusing mounts, designed for use on bellows. These tend to be expensive and are not as easy to use as the other methods.
So now you that you are more familiar with the equipment, what else do you need to know?
Here are some key pointers for those who don't fully understand macro photography:
- Macro lenses give a flat perspective and as such are meant to be used when the camera and the object are on the same plane ( parallel). The depth of field (DOF) is typically very small and introducing any kind of angle into the mix will only make it smaller.
- Diffraction becomes a huge factor when using a macro lens. As you stop down the aperture on a lens the light passing through tends to diffract, reducing sharpness, though DOF is increased. So F22 will NOT be an ideal aperture for Macro work - settings in the mid range ( F8-11) are usually ideal.
- Vibration or movement is NOT your friend. Remember to turn OFF the lens vibration reduction (VR) anytime your camera is on a tripod. You can also lock up your mirror or use exposure delay modes. Try to work in an environment where wind can be eliminated. This will greatly increase your ability to get a sharp image.
- Because you are so close to the object, your depth of field is usually a small sliver within the overall image. When you see macro photographs of bugs or items completely in focus from front to back, the ONLY way to achieve this in macro photography is to image stack ( but that is a whole different tutorial).
- One final word of advice is to use a good sturdy tripod. Also, if you don't have access to a focusing rail (which allow you to move the camera in small increments to achieve better focus), it is always best to set your camera up using manual focus at the desired focus point ( 1:1 or 1:2 etc) and move the object being photographed around until it is where you need it.
Click on an image below to view samples from HHCC members :
