Macro Photography Tips

If you're interested in macro photography tips, you've come to the right place. Macro photography is shooting close-up images of small objects. It's great for taking detailed pictures of flowers, insects, leaves or any other small object that you can think of. It gives you a new prespective and a whole new set of possibilities for exciting photographs.

In macro photography when you take a picture of an object the picture will come out at a 1:1 ratio. This means that the object in the picture will be the same size as the actual object. Most point and shoot cameras can't do that. What they really do is give you a close-up image, but on the camera menu it's still referred to as macro photography.

General Macro Photography Tips

Whether you use a compact point and shoot camera or a DSLR use these macro photography tips when taking macro pictures.

Flash

While it's easier to shoot macro on a bright sunny day, often times you'll still need to use a flash. With a point and shoot camera you have less options. You should experiment with using the different flashes that are available on your camera. My point and shoot camera comes with several different flash options. I would recommend defusing your flash. You can do this by taping a piece of white tissue paper over it or even putting a piece of masking tape over it. That will make your flash less harsh.

DSLR users who don't have an off camera flash will need to defuse their flash with tape or tissue paper too. If you have an off camera flash you should bounce it. If you're working outdoors you'll need to have a white card or reflector to bounce your flash off of.

Tripod

Even when you're trying your best to stay perfectly still, you move the tiniest bit. This movement can make your macro photography look a little blurry. Using a tripod will help you get a sharper image. So you don't have to touch the camera when it's taking the picture try using the timer or if you have a DSLR use a remote shutter release.

If you're shooting pictures of insects using a tripod could be quite difficult. Most bugs move way too fast to give you time to set up. In these cases you'll have to take a hand held photo. Brace your elbows against your body and hold yourself as steady as possible. You may even want to lean up against a tree or something to steady yourself even more.

Composition

When following these macro photography tips don't forget the rules of composition. Try to use the rule of thirds in your pictures.

Focus

Automatic focus is very convenient, but when working with macro photography you'll usually find that manual focus gives you a better result.

Macro Photography for Point and Shoot Cameras

Here are some macro photography tips for compact cameras. As I said before, point and shoot cameras can't take true macro pictures. What they take is actually close-up photographs. So in this section I'll be using the term macro a bit loosely.

Macro photography on a point and shoot camera can be pretty straight forward. Point and shoot cameras have a macro mode that you need to activate to take macro photos. You can usually find a botton on the back of your camera with a picture of a flower on it or an option on the menu that displays on the LCD monitor. This button changes the camera's focusing mode to focus on an object that's very close to the lens.

When you're in macro mode most cameras don't allow you to adjust the depth of field, but some do. If you want you can play with the depth of field by resetting the aperture. This will control the amount of the background that is in focus in your picture. Usually with macro photography the depth of field is very shallow. This makes most of the background out of focus. I think this is a good effect. It gives the object you're photographing an abstract background and adds interest to the shot.

As with any other picture you might take, you should experiment with the light. If you're outdoors that just means trying to take the picture at different angles so that the sun is hitting your subject from different directions.

My husband took this spider picture with a point and shoot camera.

Macro Photography for DSLR Cameras

Now for a few macro photography tips for DSLR cameras. When working with a DSLR camera, you should get a lens for macro photography. Lens are quite expensive, but the right lens will allow you to take great pictures. When purchasing a lens you want to take into consideration what you'll be photographing. A 55mm macro lens will give you beautiful clear images. You'll have to be pretty close to the subject though. If you're planning to take pictures something that will be easily scared, this isn't the best option. Then you should try using a 100mm or a 200mm lens. This will allow you to have some distance between you and your subject. Some people opt for a zoom lens. These are also good options.

If you can't afford to go out and buy a new lens, you can use close-up lenses also called diopters. These are like magnifying glasses you can screw onto the front of your lens. They come in a variety of strenghts or magnification powers. They are available in both single and double elements. The double element lenses will take better pictures because they have a higher image quality.

Another option is getting an extension tube. An extension tube is a tube you can put between your camera and your lense to increase the lens' magnifictaion.

Using a combination of extension tubes and close-up lenses will give you the best results for macro photography. Remember to make sure you buy close-up lenses and extension tubes that are compatible with your camera.

On your lens you'll see a series of f-stop numbers. These f-stops determine the aperture setting for your shot. A small f-stop number will make the aperture wider. This means you'll have a shallow depth of field.

You also need to adjust your shutter speed--the length of time the shutter stays open. If your shutter is set to stay open for a long time, you'll be unable to get a sharp image of a subject that's in motion. For that you need to set a fast shutter speed.

I hope these macro photography tips help you get started taking the macro pictures you really want to take. Follow these macro photography tips, but don't forget to have fun while you're doing it. If you're interested in learning more about digital photography check out my digital photography tutorials page for more great tips.