Photography Techniques: Macro

by Christopher O’Donnell

Macro photography is a unique style, which requires a specialized technique in order to capture what you want – lighting, focusing, and composition are all a bit different here.

With that in mind, I’ve put together a few key areas of macro that you should be aware of – all foundational knowledge you need to know in order to capture the perfect macro image.

Composing Background Blur

Working on the macro level means that you’ll almost always have a blurred background – the hyperfocal distance is much more dramatic here, so although there isn’t much physical distance between your background and main subject, it’ll be thrown way out of focus – even when using smaller apertures.

Although you’ll have this great isolation of your main focal point and your environment, you still need to consider your background and whether or not it compliments your image – the amount of bokeh and shapes your background consists of will make a huge difference on your final image.

Also consider readjusting your aperture for your background – wider to blur it more, and smaller to make objects more identifiable. There is no cookie-cutter rule to this as each situation is different – in some photos, you may want to focus in on the background a bit since it has elements that compliment your main subject (like in the image below), and in others you may want to use a wider aperture to completely blur out your environment.

Photo by Giovanni Orlando

Manual Focus

When you’re photographing with a macro lens, it’s quite difficult to use autofocus since if you’re off by any margin, your focus will not be where you want it to be. In other words, your front-to-back focus has a very small range and your autofocus probably won’t hunt correctly.

Auto focus on the macro scale is extremely delicate, which is why manual focus is often preferred. There’s one difference though – instead of manually adjusting your focus ring, move your head closer or further away from your subject to pinpoint your focus. This is more accurate than using your focus ring and will allow you to really make sure your depth of field is how you want it to be.

Lighting

The issue with macro photography is that you’re usually dealing with a very low-light environment – for example, shooting the center of a flower covered in leaves is quite difficult to do without additional light.

Also, you’ll usually be shooting at a not-so-wide aperture since your depth of field is so shallow when working on the macro level. Oftentimes, you’ll find yourself shooting at f/8 or above in order to get your main image in focus, which requires a slower shutter speed.

With this in mind, lighting your subject is extremely important to macro photography – thankfully, you have several options to assist you.

Ring Lights
Macro ring lights are widely used and are extremely helpful with lighting your subject. Essentially, you’re attaching a ring of soft light around your lens which will help illuminate your immediate foreground. This works almost like a portable light box, giving you even and pleasing light without being overly dramatic. For those darkened environments, ring lights can throw light exactly where you need it.

Reflectors
Instead of bringing in additional lights, you can always use the light around you. If you’re photographing in the outdoors, you should consider using reflectors to direct sunlight onto your subjects – acting as a fill light to shadow sides. This can bring a whole new element to you image, and pretty much anything can act as a reflector – tin foil for a dramatic spotlight feel, or even your own body can reflect sunlight in a soft, complimentary way.

Photo by John Morgan

Photo by Nick Wheeler

Macro Filters

If you’re not in the market for an expensive, dedicated macro lens, you can purchase a macro filter that can attach to an existing lens. When I started with macro photography, I purchased the 50mm f/1.8 and a macro filter – both for under $200. With that set up, I was able to produce an award-winning image published in Outdoor Photographer Magazine.

Photo by Christopher O’Donnell

So as you can see, there are many different techniques you can use when shooting macro – and this guide is definitely not all-inclusive. The best way to develop your own macro style is to learn from professionals – decide on what you like, and what you can live without. As long as you keep developing your skill, you’ll fall into a unique workflow that allows you to produce stunning macro imagery.

Christopher O'Donnell
Read more great articles by Christopher O’Donnell on his website or follow him on Facebook and Twitter. You can also add him on Google+ and 500px.

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3 Comments

Rob Cox. OAM said:

Hi Chris, I’m just starting to experiment with macro, it’s amazing once when you get into it, I appreciate your article and the tips, I started with the EF 50 1.8 and an old macro filter I purchased around 20 years ago and it worked, now looking forward to an EF100F2.8l is usm hybrid. In for a penny in for a pound as they say. Once again keep up the great work, I look forward to your next tip, Rob
Balu said:

Super macro clicks… The cryon rainbow does not attract much..
But others are wonderfull…
The photo by Christopher O’Donnell is superb…

Click the below link to see some of my clicks.
http://baluskt.blogspot.com/2011/07/monsoon-in-kerala-clicks-1.html
haileykong 533 said:

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