How to improve macro shots?

n30_mkii

n30_mkii

n30_mkii

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I have been out to use my kenko extension tubes tonight, as there are a few bee's around I thought I would see what I could do;

The only thing is that the sun was getting low, and so there wasnt really enough light, so to compensate the ISO had to be cranked up to 640 to get a shutter speed of 100-200th/Sec at F8. I dont have a flash setup but any tips on improving my macro ability? Can the built in flash be used in anyway? Bearing in mind, I was only a few cm away. I also need to work on focusing, i finf rocking slightly helps...Any other tips?

1.)
macro1.jpg


2.)
macro2.jpg


3.)
macro3.jpg
 
The biggest problem I find with macro work is that the depth of field is very shallow when you're that close up so you need to really stop down, even as far as f/16 and beyond, to get a decent amount in focus. That of course means the shutter speed goes down or the ISO goes up, neither of which are great. A flash can help but a pop-up or hotshoe flash is going to struggle to illuminate a macro subject, there are dedicated macro flashes but they're not cheap and in the case of the Canon ones will only mount on their macro lenses. Therefore unless you're working indoors and can use a desk lamp or the like you'll need to rely on daylight unfortunately - a reflector or large sheet of white paper can help redirect sunlight onto the subject.

Focussing is tricky because the DoF is shallow, this is of course excacerbated by the lens being set wide open while you focus. Try using the DoF preview button to stop the lens down and check the focus.
 
You have to be careful with a high aperture, at macro scales there is a multiplication factor involved so f16 at 2:1 would be more like f35! You'll get very soft images due to diffraction. At 1:1 magnification try not to go higher then F11 as a maximum, at 2:1 no higher then F8. If you want to have a wide DOF you should google focus stacking and a program called combineZM. There's a tutorial produced by a LordV of the POTN forums that is very useful.

As for equipment, with bugs a tripod is pretty much out the question so you need light! You don't need a fancy macro flash (although they do help a lot), you can get by with any normal off camera flash (they all can be linked to the camera via a cable) and if possible a bracket to hold it in place near the end of the lens. People often make little soft boxes that fit on the end of the flashes to make the light a little less harsh.

Regards the photo taking, try and get a bit more of the front of the bee in, a shot of them actually feeding is much nicer then one of the back. Taking pictures in the morning is often much easier because they tend to stay still a lot longer, especially butterflies.

Focusing- Manual focus is a must. Adjust focus by slowly rocking backwards and forwards with the camera, it can feel odd at first but you soon get used to it.
 
Interesting post there yak.h'cir. About the multiplication factor of the aperture due to magnification, is it directly proportional to the magnification? Having done a quick test on my new lens, it seems the sweet spot(certainly to my eyes) is at about F8-F9 at 1:1, so what should I be looking at for the sweet spot when I get the 2xTC, taking the lens up to 2:1?
 
I'm at work at the min so I can't really start searching around right now but when I get home i'll dig out the post made by lordV that explains really well about which apertures are sharpest in macro shooting.

For 2:1 F8 and a stop or 2 below should give very nice results.
 
I've found F11 - F14 achieves the best sharpness to DOF.
You really need to practice manual focus and handholding technique though; sometimes it can be difficult to identify if focus was missed or handshake caused the image to lose sharpness.

Nailing focus when using all of the extension tubes (2:1) is extremely difficult so don’t get down beat if your first set of images doesn’t look perfect.
 
Argh! I can't find his post regards the ratio information. But here's his webpage which should prove inspiring! http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/sets/

I'll try and give a bit more detail:When selecting which aperture to use with macro shooting you have to think about more the shutter speed a DOF. You need to consider how much small detail is there in the shot you are taking. i.e. a flower doesn't have much detail relative to the eye of a fly. If there are a lot of small details in your picture diffraction softening will be more of an issue, so if you're shooting at 1:1 its advisable to use F/8, where as if you're shooting a flower you should get better results at about F11 (for max sharpness & DOF).

I think a good starting point is to drop one stop for every jump in magnification, i.e. fine detail at 2:1 use F7.1, not to much detail then try F10 and so on. Have a go with this and then refine it to your own personal tastes.

At 5:1 magnification i've found anything above F5.6 is awfully soft, but that could just be me!

Quick example (it's raining out and i'm bored):

I've used salt, which probably wasn't the best idea because there's no where near the detail in it that you would see in something like an insect. But you can quite clearly see that a lot of detail is missing when using the smaller aperture.

5:1 @ F5.6
51f56ex5.jpg

5:1 @ F16
51f16cr4.jpg
 
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Ok, thanks thats helped me. So its really a case of getting the dof to cover the subject but also keeping the aperture as wide open as possible to retain sharpness. I suppose the best way for me to lean is get out there an play. Hope its good weather this weekend. :)
 
yak.h'cir said:
You have to be careful with a high aperture, at macro scales there is a multiplication factor involved so f16 at 2:1 would be more like f35! You'll get very soft images due to diffraction. At 1:1 magnification try not to go higher then F11 as a maximum, at 2:1 no higher then F8.
Click to expand...

I never knew any of that, I've had some dissapointing results when trying wide DOF with apertures of 22+, and had no idea why! I didnt know that a longer DOF meant a softer image...

I have a maximum of 1:1, no extension tubes or the like, so I should stay below F11 to retain sharpness and treat that as my maximum DOF? I'm inspired to play more with my macro now, thanks :)
 
wow so for bug shots a tripod isnt a good idea?? did i read that right heh??? also sorry to jump threads but my camera's working distance for macro is sommin like 1-2cm....would one of those +10 macro filters things give me a better working distance or does it makes it closer to 1:1??? (i know its not 1:1 now, infact im not sure what it is atm lol)
 
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i work without a tripod on macro's,
its really hard to use a tripod unless you have a still subject.

at the moment im using flash/auto settings, its just easyer for taking quick images, and not worring about settings to much. untill i get the time to spend and working it all out.

i find it works well sometimes though just using standard settings, and since im a photoshop wiz, its easy enough for me to enhance after.
check my macro's on my site i just put up.

its on my other thread i made.
 
alangelluk said:
wow so for bug shots a tripod isnt a good idea?? did i read that right heh??? also sorry to jump threads but my camera's working distance for macro is sommin like 1-2cm....would one of those +10 macro filters things give me a better working distance or does it makes it closer to 1:1??? (i know its not 1:1 now, infact im not sure what it is atm lol)
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A macro filter will magnify a bit, but it mainly relies on reducing the minimum focusing distance to get you close to the subject. Therefore if your working range is already 1-2 cm, you could be looking at mm or even the minimum focusing distance being inside the lens. What camera do you have?
 
Glad to have been of help! :)

alangelluk said:
wow so for bug shots a tripod isnt a good idea?? did i read that right heh???
Click to expand...

Yes, but just because it's a nightmare to focus/get into the correct position when photographing insects if you use a tripod. You'll get much better results without one. If your subject is still (i.e. a flower) then by all means use a tripod!

alangelluk said:
also sorry to jump threads but my camera's working distance for macro is sommin like 1-2cm....would one of those +10 macro filters things give me a better working distance or does it makes it closer to 1:1??? (i know its not 1:1 now, infact im not sure what it is atm lol)
Click to expand...

EEP! Thats not much working distance at all! I haven't used the macro filters before but I'm pretty sure they'll reduce the focusing distance further so probably not the best idea. I've heard of people making crazy macro setups only to find the focus point is inside the lens!
 
alangelluk said:
...my camera's working distance for macro is sommin like 1-2cm....
Click to expand...



Thought you had an S5600? It maybe wasn't you, but someone with an S5600 made a post on here a while back (with a similar lack of spelling and grammar ;)) saying that, and talking about magnification filters or macro filters or something.

Anyway, the point I was going to make was that if I'm right and you've got an S5600, the manual says 10cm is the focusing distance minimum (with macro mode on and flash off), which I posted in that other thread. If that other poster wasn't you, and I'm getting confused, sorry. :o
 
Talking of crazy setups, my favorite so far has to be;

Machine_gun_MG_42_by_Dark_Raptor.jpg

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53750274/
This is my 'non-digital' and 'full manual' equipment. Lens it is Pentacon 200/4 (for M42 system), I prefer to use Pentacon 135/3.5 but for this pic I needed longer 'barrel' Next it is Bellows focusing attachment for M42 system (24 cm) and 3 extension rings. And finally my Nikon F2 with remote cord. In my right hand I grab Nissin 26T speedlight on synchro cord.
Click to expand...
:D
 
tTz said:
Thought you had an S5600? It maybe wasn't you, but someone with an S5600 made a post on here a while back (with a similar lack of spelling and grammar ;)) saying that, and talking about magnification filters or macro filters or something.

Anyway, the point I was going to make was that if I'm right and you've got an S5600, the manual says 10cm is the focusing distance minimum (with macro mode on and flash off), which I posted in that other thread. If that other poster wasn't you, and I'm getting confused, sorry. :o
Click to expand...


might be me?? but i have only had a s6500fd mate...its defo 1 or 2cms...as for my grammar...im lazy :P
 
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