Exploring the world of insects

Macro photography allows you to get magnified images of tiny subjects, writes Niney Azman

MACRO photography, by definition, is pictures magnified from small subjects or living organisms. By bringing out all the colours and details of the small subjects, we can see them in a different perspective, which is very different from looking at them with our naked eyes.

People never ceased to be amazed with the beauty of flowers, animals and even insects portrayed in magazines or online media. Yet, not many individuals can master taking good quality macro pictures.

There are vast numbers of beautiful species of insects and tiny creatures that can be found right outside our door.

Photographing these tiny creatures can be a rewarding and pleasant activity. All we need to do is venture around our home to explore a whole new world. The beauty and intricacies of these fascinating small critters can be magnified in a mixture of studio and el fresco settings.

Here are some tips and techniques that can be applied in taking good quality macro pictures.

1. GEARS: The basic rules of macro photography is to get close to the subject. All you need is a specific lens that will allow you to closely focus on the subject. For beginners, you may need a tripod or a monopod to stabilise the camera. Bear in mind that a small vibration can affect the sharpness of the image. If you prefer not to use any equipment, you have to adjust your camera to suit your capability to handle it in order to minimise the vibration, thus, it is important to familiarise yourself with your camera.

2. RESEARCH: To master the subject we need to understand them first. Do prior research on their behaviour and habitat. By researching the life nature of potential subjects, you can better prepare to anticipate their movements in their habitats at the right time and place. It will make it easier for you to photograph them and it will help to get a good moment. For example, let us take a dragonfly as our subject. Dragonfly can usually be found near a water source, perching on aquatic plants or flowers. Once it feels disturbed, it will fly away but then it is not unusual for dragonflies to perch at the same place; all we need to do is to wait for them and standby with our camera with the right setting.

3. LIGHTING: As we know, the main element in macro photography is the detail. Here, lighting plays the most important role. For outdoors, footage should be made early in the morning as the lighting source is at its best. For indoor/studio photoshoot, we need to do some preparations by providing suitable props, flash as well as diffuser in getting enough light. Diffuser is use to soften the light from external or body flash. You may buy a commercial specialised diffuser that mount onto your flash or you can make your own to be put on the start of your lens hood. DIY diffuser may suits your lens better.

4. BACKGROUND: Background is very important in enhancing the subject details and highlighting the image. For the extreme macro that focus on the details of subject, clean background is required. We can get a clean background by using fake backgrounds such as leaves, cardboard or coloured paper. Some of the photos requires a dark or black background to highlight the subjects. Dark background can be obtained by spacing the subject with background, thus, flash light will only reach the subject. The easiest way to get black background is by placing a black cardboard behind. For those who love soft and bokeh effect background, time and natural light sources play important roles. Make sure the subject is not directly exposed to the sun. This is to avoid overexposure of the image.

5. CREATIVITY AND IMAGINATION: There should be some imaginations or shadows of the final image that you want to produce. Like other genres of photography, we need a focal point to highlight the subject. For insects and animals, place the camera’s focus on the eyes. For other subjects such as flowers, the focal point depends on our own outlook. Always use manual mode to make it easy to get the selected focal point. Compose the subject from your own perspective. To help the subject to stand out, select an angle where you can contrast them against clean backdrop, free of clutter or distraction. Always shoot in high resolution and horizontal mode to give room for croping, if needed, during post process. Keep taking a number of pictures of the subject, less shots give us less opportunity to make the best choice.