I have had some requests to cover macro photography, what will all of the flower photos I have been taking lately.
I have been having fun with it and meaning to talk about it, so everybody wins!
(I have some tips for those who do not have a macro lens and want to play along, so stay tuned.)
First, the hardware.
I got a 50mm f/1.8 lens in November when I got my new Canon 40D.
*pauses to lick kiss her lens*
*And her camera*
I asked for (And received!) the Canon Extension Tube for Christmas. The extension tube turns my sweet little 50mm into a stellar macro lens.
I started to play and was greatly impressed.
Squee!
Normally I would Google what to do, or buy a book, or do some kind of research-y thing for instructions on what steps to take. This time? I thought I would be all intuitive and fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. Go me.
I have since Googled “macro photography” and…it confirmed what I had already figured out. So I am not blowing smoke you-know-where.
It is simple. Really. Let’s make a list, shall we?
- You will want to use a narrow aperture (higher f/stop number) so that what you are shooting will be in focus. If you use a wider aperture (lower f/stop number) then most of your photo will be blurry. Or you might want that.
- Use a tripod. Because you are zoomed in so close to your subject,the slightest movement will wreck your shot. The tripod is your friend (That’s what she said).
- You may want to use a remote release or use the self-timer so that the shake from pressing the shutter button does not interfere with your photo.
- Use the lowest ISO possible in the situation for a better shot.
For those who do not have a macro lens, you still follow the above list.
Then you crop the photo to get the “zoom effect”.
Tada!
See how easy it is?
With a macro you can definitely get closer and more detailed, but you can use a regular lens and create a similar shot. At this rate I am going to put myself out of business. Oh well. Maybe I will get a real job.
In other Foto Friday news…
Amy at the Over Thinker sent me some photos for editing. Woo!
She tells me that her husband is awesome with the camera and she wants to learn the way of the camera to, um, woo him.
Her first photo is of her husband. He looks cute!
And…red.
To prevent the discoloration when taking photos you need to change the White Balance. If you change the White Balance to suit the situation you are in, the colours will be closer to the actual colours. And not so demonic.
I am going to assume that setting your camera to “Tungsten” on the White Balance menu would have helped.
I tried to fix it in colour, but it was…meh.
I opted for black and white.
Much better. At least in my humble opinion.
Michele also has a kitty named Fidgit. She took a photo of Fidgit, sans flash.
She said, “I never know if I should use the zoom or physically get closer”.
Here is the deal, as simple as I can make it. The lower the f/stop you can use (Aperture), the faster your lens will be and the better chance you have of taking clear photos in low light.
As you zoom, the maximum aperture (lowest f/stop number) bumps up. If the light is low and you want to take photos without a flash, you are better off to get physically closer than use the zoom.
In the case of Fidgit, I just used the “Aged Photo” setting in Lightroom and made the photo a little better.
Hello, kitty.
So who is next one the photo editing train?
I hope that some of this helped you all. If not, I will fold up my Foto Friday tent and weep in the corner, while drinking Diet Coke.
Not that I need an excuse to OD on the DC.
I LOVE the macro photos. Gorgeous!
I liked your black and white edit too. The only thing I would do different would be to adjust the contrast of his face/shirt independently of the rest (with a feathered selection), so that the other elements of the photo didn’t have to get quite so dark. That way his hair wouldn’t get lost in the background. I used to have to do that all the time with wedding dresses!
Hopefully that’s not assvice. I love photo talk.
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I also have that 50mm lens and LOVE it … it is on my 30D most of the time.
Those extension tubes …. can you still autofocus? I never trust my eyes on manual focus
I am debating between getting extension tubes or getting the 100mm macro lens … the tubes would be cheaper so that I can get all the other “stuff” I think I need
Yes! You can still autofocus! Hooray!
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The Macro Lens will be the next purchase for me. And as for the 50mm, well it totally changed the way I take pictures!
Good informed post and great edits too!
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Nobody can fix the photo I need fixed.
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Love the pictures! Question … Are you changing the white balance for the flower pictures too? Or is the flower in front of a white background already?
It’s it the window sill, with snow in the background. I bumped up the exposure a bit.
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I could have used your advice last night- we had an owl (Im thinking great horned) in the tree and my pictures were horribly blurry because I had it on night vision.
I was happy to find out about changing my white balance. I realised all of our winter outdoorsy photos of the snow were all in a horrible shade of blue!
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Hey…I never knew whether to use zoom or get physically closer either! Thanks for the info!
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Oooh… I’m so excited to try your macro tips! I have the 50mm lens, maybe I need an extension tube someday. But for now I’ll try the settings you gave as well as my tripod and remote release. Thank you!!
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If you put that second photo on Etsy, I’ll buy it immediately
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I LOVE FOTO FRIDAYS! I rank them right there with WordPress Wednesdays – I love them, but I need to plan some ME time so that I can actually use them! But I am, both of them, slowly.
And that picture of the flower? LOVE it.
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THANKS muchly for the critique, Angella (and commenters, too!)–Foto Friday is so so great. Like I’ve said, my macro usually turns out suck-o so I really got a lot out of the Macro portion of today’s class.
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Nicely done! I love the flowers!
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WAHOOO glad ya posted about that lens, I knew you got one, but had forgotten which one, and i WANTED IT DANGIT lol. yano I was thinking, id love for you to edit some of my photos, but id rather you pic which ones.. you can grab um off flickr if ya wanna. im so glad foto fridays are back, ahhh how ive missed thee
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