Watch your focus

Alistair Campbell shows how to take close-ups worthy of a shop window

What to shoot

Try to pick something with just a couple of colours. This will make it easier for your viewer to take in the image without being overwhelmed. Items with clean surfaces also work well; with glass you might get small bright hotspots from reflections, so rotate the item in small movements here and there to rescue this.

Choose a lens

This was shot with a Fujinon XF 80mm lens, which allowed me to get within about 25cm of the product. This lens also has a reproduction ratio of 1:1. This means that the image of a subject projected onto the sensor (or film) is the same size on the sensor as real life, and is the minimum magnification to classify as true macro.

Focus your shot

Getting your subject in focus can be tricky in any genre of photography, but it’s even more critical to be precise with macro. Even the slightest turn of the focus ring can be difficult. I’ve found that it’s far easier to set your focus distance, then physically move your object into focus.

Camera settings

I shot wide-open here, mainly because

I was using daylight on an overcast day. But I would encourage you to stop down a little to around f/5.6 if possible. I wouldn’t want to use a shutter speed much less than 1/160 sec, to keep the images sharp. You can then adjust your ISO accordingly.

Use a tripod

You can shoot macro handheld, but for more comfort and general ease, you should get a tripod. A cheap tripod will get you started, but if you find macro becomes a favourite genre, you can also invest in specialist tripod heads with handy dials and cogs, allowing for very small micro adjustments for precise framing.