Northrup on macro photography
Friday 10 May 2019, 17:17 by Michelle Peeters | 7,873 views | 3 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
In this video, Tony and Chelsea Northrup briefly explain how you can take sharp, life-size (1:1) photos of tiny subjects, either cheaply with a close-up lens or extension tube, or with a more expensive, ‘real’ macro lens.
A macro lens differs from another lens because it has a shorter focusing distance. This means you can get closer to your (tiny) subject and still focus. As a result, you can fill your entire frame with just the centre of a flower, for example.
Cheap solutions
If you don't have the money for an expensive macro lens, but you do want to be able to photograph from a very short distance, there are two cheap solutions:
- A close-up lens: you screw this onto the front of your lens, just like a filter. It works like a kind of magnifying glass;
- An extension tube: you place this between your camera and your ‘normal’ lens. This tube increases the distance between your lens and your sensor, allowing you to focus from a shorter distance.
If you want to take serious macro photos in which tiny subjects appear on your sensor at life size or even larger (1:1), invest in a ‘real’ macro lens.
1:1 magnification
Many lenses claim to be suitable for macro photography, but don't offer that 1:1 magnification. At most, they offer the size of your sensor itself. They do often allow you to focus from a very short distance.
The consequence of photographing from a very short distance is, of course, that your depth of field decreases rapidly. The solution is to use a very small aperture opening, f/22 for example.
However, this means that your shutter speed becomes too slow to take photos handheld. Especially with macro photography. So you'll need to use a tripod.
Ring flash
That isn't an option with fast-moving subjects, though. In that case, you can use a ring flash. Your subject is lit very evenly, without shadows. A normal hotshoe flash fires across your subject and is therefore not suitable for macro photography.
It isn't very creative lighting and it often produces flat images. But it is the only way to capture fast-moving insects sharply, for example. Which can still result in some very special images!
About the author
Michelle Peeters is fotografe en oprichter van DeuxBleus Fotografie. Michelle herkent het bijzondere in het gewone en het gewone in het bijzondere. Ze heeft zich nooit willen specialiseren en is daardoor van alle markten thuis.
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3 comments
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Matt wrote on Tuesday 14 May 2019 at 15:51 | replyAn addition:
Translated from Dutch.
You can also mount a normal lens on the camera in reverse using a reverse ring. This works best with an old-fashioned manual lens that has an aperture ring.
As for flash: wireless flash is also an option. You can even use multiple flashes that way to get optimal exposure. -
Matt H. Imaging wrote on Tuesday 14 May 2019 at 15:52
| reply
An addition:
Translated from Dutch.
You can also mount a normal lens on the camera in reverse using a reverse ring. This works best with an old-fashioned manual lens that has an aperture adjustment ring.
As for flash: wireless flash is also an option. That way you can even use multiple flashes to get optimal exposure. -
Matt H. Imaging wrote on Tuesday 14 May 2019 at 15:53
| reply
A short addition:
Translated from Dutch.
You can also mount a normal lens on the camera in reverse using a reverse ring. This works best with an old-fashioned manual lens that has an aperture adjustment ring.
As for flash: wireless flash is also an option. You can then even use multiple flashes to get optimal exposure.
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Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about PhotofactsPhotofacts is made possible in part by
