Marvel at macro
With a macro lens, you can explore creative possibilities and capture art in small subjects
Macro photography is a specialist area of photography that requires a dedicated lens, but it’s entirely accessible to enthusiast photographers. Because of the unique view it offers, a macro lens is often the third most popular choice for enthusiasts, after the general wide-angle and telephoto focal lengths.
Although the term macro is embossed on the barrel of all kinds of lenses, true macro is defined as a reproduction ratio of 1:1 – also known as 1x magnification or life-size. This means that if you were to place the subject directly on the sensor, that’s exactly the size it would appear in the image. True macro lenses are usually short telephoto primes ranging from 60 to 105mm, so they also double up as a fast portrait lens.
1 Keeping it sharp
The biggest challenge with macro photography is keeping the subject sharp: even with a medium aperture such as f/8 or f/11, your depth of field is still very limited when you’re focusing really close on a subject.
To counteract this, try to get flat-on to the subject, so it is parallel to the lens and sensor – this works well for nature studies that show intricate detail. Alternatively, select which part of the subject you want in focus, and which part falls into a pleasing blur. This suits more dynamic shots with eye-catching appeal. Neither is right nor wrong, but practising and hopefully mastering the techniques required will arm you with the skills needed to react quickly while shooting in the field.
If you’re still not getting sufficient depth of field, the only options left are to either stop down your minimum aperture to expand the zone of sharp focus, or to try a technique called focus stacking, where you shoot a series of images with different focus points and merge them together in software. (See Tool School, page 94.) Taking the minimum aperture option means you’ll slow down your shutter speed considerably, and will need to set a high ISO or introduce extra lighting with a flashgun.
2 Manual is king
Because macro shooting gives an incredibly shallow zone of sharp focus, it’s easy to make errors if you choose an AF setting. If you’re shooting the stamen in a flower head, for example, it doesn’t take much to inadvertently focus on a background petal rather than the stamen itself.
By using manual focus in conjunction with the Live View display (zoomed in to 10x magnification), you can be sure of absolutely critical sharp focus at the point where you want it. To do this, though, you really need a static camera and subject: any slight movement from either will cause problems. It’s still possible to use manual focus handheld when you shoot an active subject, though, by gently leaning in and squeezing the shutter button when your subject pops into sharp focus.
3 Shallow focus fun
The lack of depth of field offered by a macro lens doesn’t need to be seen as a disadvantage. In fact, it can be a real benefit if you like artistic, stylised shots that combine a blend of minimal sharpness and creative diffusion together.
The most ordinary of household items can become intriguing subjects for study under the magnification of a macro lens, so a rewarding photographic expedition may only require heading in the direction of the kitchen drawer!
The key to creative shallow focus with a macro lens is experimentation and the imagination to see the blurred area as equally important as the zone of sharpness. With a macro lens at its widest aperture, sharpness may only be a few millimetres deep, rendering texture, detail and form into an unpredictable but eyecatching abstract. By playing with added light sources (flash or continuous LED), you can compose some striking images.
Most photographers opt for macro lenses between 90 and 105mm: these give life-size shots and a comfortable working distance for most subjects.