Macro Photography – Get Up Close And Personal

Macro photography is something of an art form and for truly impressive results it takes more than just using the macro setting on digital cameras. An understanding of how to compensate for lighting and depth of field issues that result from getting close up is important, along with using some gear that does not come with your regular camera kit. If it is water drops on colourful flowers or beautiful butterflies that take your fancy, these handy tips will help you achieve some impressive images that will make your friends go “wow”.

Photo: LonFong

Use a macro lense
While point-and-shoot cameras are going to produce good results, a digital SLR with a dedicated macro lense is going to produce outstanding results. Macro photography really means that you need to focus on the subject at a 1:1 ratio, and standard lenses simply can’t achieve this. So consider buying a macro lense – Canon cameras produce good products in this regard, and there are many others on the market as well – just make sure they are suitable for your brand of camera. Consider a 100mm lense, which will give you great scope while getting up real close, or a 150mm to 200mm lense if you want to work from a bit further away. Macro lenses do cost a bit, so consider your budget before committing to a lense. Read more…