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A “Close-Up” look at how

to shoot Macro

• Equipment

• Factors to Consider

• Macro Subjects

• Post Processing

The Nuts & Bolts of it!

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Equipment

• Macro Lenses

• Extension Tubes

• Close-Up Filters

• Teleconverters

• Bellows

• Ring Flash

Macro Lenses

• Elements further away from the Sensor

allowing closer Focus

• Manual or Auto Focus

• Usually have smaller F-Stop

• 50 / 105 / 180mm

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Extension Tubes

• Adds extension between the lens and the Sensor –thus allowing closer focusing

• Magnification = Total Extension / Focal Length

• Extension tubes come in different lengths and can be stacked

• Reduced light falling on Sensor

Extension Tubes

• Exposure Compensation for Extension Tubes

The Hard Way

The Easy Way

Use TTL/Auto Metering!!

EC = Exposure Compensation in stops

E = Extension (mm)

FL = Focal Length

Log2 = 0.301030

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Extension Tubes

As Shot

28-105 Zoom

(Macro Setting)

EF 12mm Ext EF 25mm Ext

Close-Up Filters

• They screw onto the front of your lens

• They reduce the closest focus distance

• They usually come in +1, +2, +3 Diopters

• Longer focal length lenses produce higher

magnification than shorter focal length lenses

– However they do reduce your focus distance, a +3

diopter on a 100mm lens will only allow you to focus

between 14” and 17”

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And for those who really want to know……….

M = FL(p)

1000/P

where..... M = Magnification

FL(p) = Focal Length of Lens

P = Power of the Diopter

Teleconverters

• These multiply the focal length of the lenses without

reducing the minimum focusing distance – thus

multiplying the achievable magnification by the

same factor

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Bellows

• Bellows allows you to vary this extension

rather than one fixed length

Ring Flash

• Ring Flash gives a nice even light with soft

or no shadows

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Quiz Time?28-105

Zoom Lens

28-105 + EF12mm Extension Tube

28-105 + EF25mm

Extension Tube

70-200 + 2x Converter

Factors to Consider

• Depth of Field

• Plane of Focus

• Working Distance

• Light Loss / Camera Stability

• Lighting

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Depth of Field

• Depth of Field is extremely shallow at

Macro magnifications

• Depth of Field is only a function of your

Aperture – not the focal length of the lens– Shooting a subject @ 1:1 magnification with a 50mm lens at f16

or a 200mm lens at f16 will both give you the same DOF, but the

working distance will be 4 times greater with the 200mm

2mm15cmf/22

1mm15cmf/16

less than 1mm15cmf/8

DOFFocus DistanceAperture

Plane of Focus

• Since the Depth of Field is so shallow we need to

consider the Plane of Focus. If we align the points of

interest inline with the Sensor plane we will gain

maximum sharpness

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Plane of Focus

Both Shot at f8

Plane of Focus

How to Focus

• Manual Focus – Autofocus can often struggle with

Macro.

• Switching to Manual Focus and moving the camera

forward and backwards until focus is achieved

• Focus and different points and decide yourself what

you like

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Working Distance

• This is the distance from the front of your lens to

your subject

• As lens focal length increases so does your working

distance

• Working Distance at 1:1

(using lens extension to attain 1:1 magnification)

55mm50mm

160mm100mm

316mm200mm

Working DistanceFocal Length

Light Loss / Camera Stability

• As Extension & Magnification increase, the amount

of light reaching the sensor decreases

• TTL Metering will give you correct exposures in spite

of the f-stop varying with magnification

• The image magnification increases the effect of

camera shake is magnified

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Lighting

• On Camera/Built in Flash can cause a shadow of

your lens on the subject

• Use off Camera Flash so the shadows emulate

natural light

• The harshness of shadows cast by a light is a

function of how big the light source appears when

viewed from the subject– Light Source really close = soft shadows

– Same light Source far away = harsh shadows

• Another Light/Flash or Reflector can be used to

fill in shadows

Lighting

• Manage the Background brightness

– Flash light falls off quickly

– Darken your background by putting your flash

closer to your subject

– Lighten your background by moving the flash

away from your subject so the flash to subject

distance is similar to subject to background

distance

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Flash Lighting

• Types of Flash

– Off Camera Flash

• Allows you to create more natural shadows

• Avoids Lens Shadow

– Ring Flash

• Gives a flat illumination with

minimal shadows

How to make a Cheap Ring Flash

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How much of that

you Remember

Macro Tips

• Get in Close– use Macro Lens/Extension Tube/Close-Up Lens to get in close

• Manual Focus– switch to Manual Focus and move the camera back and forward to

focus on your subject - “Nail those eyes”

• Sharp– maximum Depth of Field by aligning subject with Plane of focus

• Steady– with increased magnification use a tripod/beanbag

• Background– Darken/Lighten by moving your light – look for uncluttered b/grounds

• Flash– use flash to lighten your subject. Take off camera to create more

pleasing and natural light – watch for flash fall off

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Macro Subjects

• Anything goes - so try it!!

Increase Depth of Field

when Post Processing!

Set up on Tripod

Take 4-5 Photos varying point of focus

Open Bridge and select your images

Bring into Photoshop Layers

Auto-Align Layers

Auto-Blend Layers

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Open Adobe Bridge + Select your Photographs

Go to Tools / Photoshop / Load Files into Photoshop Layers

Photoshop will start and each image will be loaded into a separate layer

Select All layers and go to Edit / Auto-Align Layers

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The Auto-Align Layers Pallet will open – make sure Auto is selected

You may not see much happen – but study the thumbnails to see layer alignment

Then Select Auto-Blend Layers

The Auto-Blend Pallet will open – select Stack Images

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So from 5 separate images all shot with a different point of focus

we can create a single shot with much increased Depth of Field

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Who wants a go?

• Autumn Still Life

• Stick Insects

• Caterpillars

• …and who wants a