As a word, “macro” has many meanings, but the one most commonly used by photographers describes a lens that produces life-size images. That is, there is a 1 to 1 relationship between the size of the subject and the size of the image on the camera. While that definition was helpful for film cameras, it’s not very helpful for digital ones. However, it should give you a good idea of what macro photography is all about.
A better definition of macro photography might be “extreme close-up photography.” There is an even more extreme type of close-up photography called micro photography, but that involves taking pictures through a microscope of things that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Macro photos are always of things that are perfectly visible, it just shows them in a way you’ve never seen them before.
To take a close-up photo, you need to get close. To take an extreme close-up, you need to get very close and that’s what the macro button allows you to do. Normally, if you try to take a picture of something that is too close to the camera, you might get a warning that the camera can’t focus or the camera won’t even let you take the picture. If you do, the subject of your photo will be out of focus. For most digital cameras, too close means less than 4 or 5 feet.
That’s where the macro button comes in. When you press the button, it moves the glass pieces inside your lens and allows you to focus much closer than normal. In some cases this can be as close as a few inches. At this distance, even the most mundane object is completely transformed into something visually stunning.
Have you ever been stuck for a subject to photograph? Simply activate the macro function and explore the world at your fingertips. The reason this works is that we simply don’t look at anything up close, so macro photography is always full of incredible surprises.
It takes macro shots in exactly the same way as any other type and the camera’s autofocus also works the same way, only it works at much closer distances. Always remember to turn macro off when you’re done because, in macro mode, your lens can’t focus at normal distances. There should be an indication on your camera somewhere when the macro feature is on.
Macro photography is no more difficult than any other type, but there are a few things to keep in mind that will help you avoid the pitfalls some people experience when they first try this.
Darkness
Because you are so close to your subject, it is very easy for your shadow to cover them. Unfortunately, some cameras only allow you to use macro at the widest angle of the lens. This means you have to be very close and careful positioning may be necessary to ensure your subject is not in shadow. If you can zoom in, it allows you to be a bit further away for the same size shot and therefore reduces this problem.
Many cameras will not allow you to use the built-in flash in macro mode. This is because the flash usually can’t cover anything that close to the camera, and even if it could, the lens barrel would likely cast a shadow on the subject. Even an external flash installed on the camera can have the same problem. You can take macro photography with flash, but for best results you need an off-camera flash or specialized ring flash unit.
depth of field
When your camera focuses on an object, the depth of field is the distance in front of and behind the object that is also in focus. In macro photography, this is a very small distance. You can see this for yourself by taking a macro photo by looking along anything with a textured surface, for example a rug. You will see that the part in the middle of the frame is in focus, but the closest and furthest areas will be blurred and out of focus. If you took your photo looking down with a ruler, you could actually measure this depth of field and see how small it really is.
This means that unless your subject is very flat and looking straight ahead, there is a good chance that only part of your photo will be in focus. When this is the case, it makes a big difference to the final image depending on which part is in focus. The problem is that it is quite difficult to focus exactly where you want when the camera is hand held.
It is much easier to take macro shots with the camera mounted on a tripod or some other means of support. Unless the point you want to focus on is in the center of the frame, you’ll need to pan the camera until it is, half-press the shutter until focus “locks,” frame the shot you want, and then press the shutter button down. rest of the way.
If you are using a tripod or some other means of support and your subject is stationary, you can try increasing the depth of field by using a small aperture. I would use aperture priority mode and set the largest f/no. available. This will result in a very slow shutter speed. It can be several seconds. However, this does not matter if your camera has a solid mount.
explore your world
If you’ve never used the macro button on your camera, you’re missing out on a whole world of photographic possibilities that you probably didn’t even know existed. Just press the button and enter the wonderful new world of macro photography.