Macro Photography : Tips and Tricks for DSLR

Macro Photography is a photographic field is to shoot small things in large scale. There are various ways for taking Macro, common techniques are listed here. Previously we discussed about the technical part of Macro Photography and this is a practical to-do kind of article on Macro Photography. Macro Photography is unique because not all find it easy to shoot but almost everyone loves to see the small never seen in so detail in real with our own eyes.

General information on Macro Photography

The larger Depicting little things, the smaller is the depth of field, it is expected here in the millimeter range. Definition of Minimum Focal length is the smallest distance from the subject to the sensor plane, in which an object can be in focus. Requirements and techniques for macro photography are some ubiquitous pieces of equipments which are are necessary to enable a useful work : A sturdy tripod is needed to avoid the camera shake, a wired remote release is needed to avoid camera shake when shutter is triggered. Useful for decreasing fatigue are an angle finder and possibly knee pads (from the hardware store).

Requirements and Techniques for Macro Photography

Depending on the type of subject is to be photographed, further accessories are required. A good basic settings have been shown to have Manual focus, keeping off the image stabilizer. Known issues in macro photography are  like wind, which leads to motion blur, or the subject of the depth of field is blowing. Mornings are usually windless. Also the use of tools can, at least partly remedy the situation.

Either tinkering itself supports for plants. Another problem is stray light, which reduces the exposure time and leads to an under-exposed image. This can easily be resolved by holding the setup with hand. Finally, there is the risk one itself becomes a shadow on the subject. This results due to the small minimum focusing distance and the associated very small working distance.

Macro lens is the most expensive and uncompromisable need for macro. In addition to the best possible light intensity and the associated shorter exposure time, the macro lens is the first choice for anyone who wants to go deep into the world of small objects. It allows the photographer to magnify, which is thus not achieved with a close-up lens or extension tubes.

The image quality of a macro lens is not achievable by other means. This special lens, however, requires additional accessories, which again add costs to provide any useful work : For an accurate setting, a gear head and a sliding plate is necessary to allow fine tuning. Increase the weight of all the parts of the equipment. Also you can use a closeup lens for macro, which is not as flexible like a lens.

Close-up lenses are conversion lenses that are screwed onto the front of the lens. There close-up lenses as a simple, cheap lenses (not recommended) with various powers of +1 diopter, +2 diopters, +3 diopters, +4 diopter are available.

Achromatic lens are special lenses, which have been developed to reduce lens aberrations (chromatic aberrations).

Extension tubes can be combined with close-up lenses, they have low weight and lower in price. Disadvantages of extension rings is low light. Moreover, very large scaling are only possible with a macro lens.

A reverse macro adapter allows the attachment of a lens in the reverse position on the camera body. There are variations of this product from very cheap to very expensive. The simpler reverse macro adapter unlike the more expensive ones, has no electrical signal communication between the camera and lens. Benefits are in addition to the cost savings compared with the macro lens is the ease of use and the ability to use one lens differently.

Due to the small minimum focusing distance and the associated very short working distances, there is a risk that you yourself casting a shadow on the subject. The practical use is limited to nature photography, as the depth of field is very small (a few millimeters).

Bellows / Bellows in Macro photography is a bellows is of a very special type. A bellows can be thought of like an accordion. It is used as a spacer between the camera body and lens to increase the distance from the camera to the lens. Thereby, the magnification of the subject, depending on extension of the bellows, can be extremely increased. The biggest advantage of a bellows is that, the extreme scales from 1:1 to 10:1 is possible. There are several special lenses can be used. It is not possible to adjust the aperture, the depth of field is very shallow. Add to this a high price tag and weight.