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50 Beautiful Examples of Macro Photography

July 7, 2019 · Steph Nelson

Macro photography brings out the beauty of details. It can transform everyday subjects into fascinating works of art, overlooked by the naked eye. And this beauty is open for any kind of photographer to capture. You don’t need to be a professional photographer or have years of experience. All you need is a good macro lens and some practice.

Of course, reading a quick tutorial can help ease your learning process. Here’s a brief introduction to macro photography, which will give you all the foundational knowledge you need to get started.

Other than familiarizing yourself with the technique, it helps to choose interesting subjects to begin with. A lot of subjects work well with macro photography, but some look especially beautiful and are therefore popular among macro photographers. Here are some excellent subjects to start off with.

Great Subjects for Macro Photography

We’ve narrowed down the top 5 subjects for macro images, in no particular order. Jump down to the subject that interests you or scroll through them all for a wave of macro inspiration!

  • Flowers
  • Water Drops (Dew, Rain, Etc.)
  • Insects, Spiders, and Snails
  • Food
  • Household Objects

Flowers

Flowers are such a popular subject in general that it can be hard to find a unique angle or perspective that’s different from the rest. Macro photography can give you that uniqueness while also highlighting the flower’s beauty.

Taking a close-up of a flower can really bring out its vibrant color and graceful shape. As long as you keep the background plain and minimal (or omit it entirely), there will be no distractions, so the viewer can focus on appreciating the flower’s details.

Steven Scott – White Yellow Blue
Steven Scott - White flower

Steven Scott – Shades of red and pink
Steven Scott - macro flower red and pink

Steven Scott – Yellow Petals Dark center
Steven Scott - Macro Yellow Flower Petals

Steven Scott – Calla Lily Edge
Steven Scott - Calla Lily Edge

Joe – Daffodil Petals
Joe - Daffodil Petals

Steven Scott – Imperfect Beauty
Steven Scott - Macro Flower

Steven Scott – Purple
Steven Scott - Purple Flower

Steven Scott – Yellow and Purple :-)
Steven Scott - Yellow Flower

Steven Scott – Pink and Green
Steven Scott - Pink Flower Closeup

Joe Huckleberry – Untitled
Joe Huckleberry - macro flower

Water Drops (Dew, Rain, Etc.)

Depending on the level of difficulty you’re ready for, you can either photograph a still or moving water drop. Shooting dripping or splashing water takes some patience and knowledge of high speed photography, but getting that final, sharp image can feel enormously satisfying.

If you’re not quite up to that challenge, though, you can get impressive results with still water drops, too. Think of dew, fallen rain drops, or even a drip of tap water. (Or snow flakes, if you want a different kind of challenge.)

Most macro photos of water drops make them the main subject, but you can also use water drops to complement another subject. For instance, you can photograph a dandelion seed surrounded by fallen rain. These tiny water drops provide a sense of scale and add interest to the image while keeping the composition simple.

Alex Greenshpun – Dancing in the Rain
Alex Greenshpun - Dandelion Seeds

Nikk – iDrops
Nikk - macro water drop

Valentino Tombesi – orme // footmarks
Valentino Tombesi - water drop faucet

Martin Cook – Droplets of colour
Martin Cook - Dew Drops

grazynaphotography – after rain…
grazynaphotography - raindrop on flower

stega60 – Green II
stega60 - water drops on leaves

Alex Greenshpun – Tears of a Phoenix
Alex Greenshpun - dew drops

Alex Greenshpun – Morning Fantasy
Alex Greenshpun - Dew on Grass

Elizme – Let there be light!
Elizme - abstract dew drop

Alex Greenshpun – Why I Wake Early
Alex Greenshpun - dew on leaf

Insects, Spiders, and Snails

If you hate insects or spiders, you might want to skip this section and head down to the next one.

But if you don’t mind spending time with ants, ladybugs, spiders, and other bugs, you can get incredible images of their tiny world. Insects are one of the top subjects for macro photographers. Yet even with countless close-up images of them, the subject hasn’t gotten old.

That might be because there’s so much variety. There are over a million types of insects, spiders, and snails out there, so you can shoot a thousand different insects and still have thousands more to photograph. Each one will have unique details that are revealed in a macro shot.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go far to find new species. Your neighborhood alone may have dozens of insect species you haven’t yet photographed!

Arthur Lee – Ant
Arthur Lee - Ant

Sandrine Néel – La liberté n’est pas l’absence d’obstacle mais la possibilité de s’y confronter
Sandrine Néel - Snail

Arthur Lee – Cricket
Arthur Lee - Cricket

Amine Fassi – Syrphe – The Baby Model
Amine Fassi - Syrphe hoverfly

Fred Veenkamp – Itsy Bitsy Spider
Fred Veenkamp - Itsy Bitsy Spider

Alex Greenshpun – Round and Round
Alex Greenshpun - ladybug close up

Amine Fassi – Born to Die
Amine Fassi - moth eggs

pmvarsa – Butterfly 5
pmvarsa - Butterfly

Martin Cooper – Soldierfly forehead
Martin Cooper - Soldierfly forehead

Arthur Lee – Red Ant
Arthur Lee - Red Ant

Food

Food is a good subject to start with if you don’t have a macro lens yet. It allows you to experiment with some of the techniques of macro photography without needing to get insect-level close. For instance, even without a macro lens, you’ll need to find the right amount of background blur to bring out the details of your subject.

Food is also an easy to subject to find, though certain types of food are more well-suited for macro images than others. Berries are an excellent choice due to their small size, vibrant color, and beautiful shape. Anything with details you could explore, like chopped nuts or pearl sugar, can work great, too.

lost places – Blueberries
lost places - Blueberries

Luke Y. – Sweet Espresso
Luke Y. - Sweet Espresso

Nico Francisco – Ice Cream
Nico Francisco - Ice Cream

Pascal Rey – Untitled
Pascal Rey - raspberry closeup

きうこ – maple tea
きうこ - maple tree reflection in tea

Laurens Kaldeway – Strawberry
Laurens Kaldeway - Strawberry

Laurens Kaldeway – Fizzy Grapefruit
Laurens Kaldeway - Fizzy Grapefruit

Yane Naumoski – Day 334: Knot
Yane Naumoski - spaghetti

Arnaud DAVID – Ronce bleuâtre (Rubus Caesius)
Arnaud DAVID - Ronce bleuâtre (Rubus Caesius)

Pascal Rey – Untitled
Pascal Rey - macaroon

Household Objects

While outdoor subjects like insects and flowers tend to be popular among macro photographers, you don’t need to go outside to find brilliant macro subjects. A quick look around your home can turn up a handful of cool subjects for close-ups. From bead necklaces to cutlery in the kitchen, you can create dozens of eye-catching photos without leaving the house.

Bastian_Schmidt – Macro Time
Bastian_Schmidt - fork

jordan parks – evening approaches
jordan parks - window blinds

Nic Taylor – Pencils
Nic Taylor - Pencils

pixlilli – The snake
pixlilli - lego snake charmer

j.towbin © – Wearable Art: One Mesh Bead
j.towbin - Mesh Bead

gporada – Smoking Candle
gporada - Smoking Candle

Hemzah Ahmed – Burnt…
Hemzah Ahmed - finger touching candle

Ralf St. – Macro Mondays | Plastic
Ralf St. - calculator

Karen White – striped spoons 12/30
Karen White - striped spoons

Juan Ramón Martos – Through the eye of a needle
Juan Ramón Martos - needle and thread macro

Many of the photos above were selected from our talented Flickr group.

Filed Under: Inspiration

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