Learning about Macro Photography

With point-and-shoot camera, macro photography is easy but for better quality photos of smaller objects, specific equipments are required. On the digital camera, the Macro photo symbol is depicted as a flower. This is because in macro mode, you can easily take close-up photos of flowers and other small objects.

In product photography, macro cameras are needed to be able to effectively shoot very small objects such as jewelry, cosmetics, foodstuffs, fashion accessories, shoes, eyeglasses, precision tools among others.

Macro photography was defined as a photo where the object had a 1:1 ratio with the photo negative. This signifies that the image of the object is exactly the same size as the real objects. Hence, no magnification was used.

Macro Lenses

The optimized macro lens has a magnification of 1:1. Other macro lens can have better magnification up to 5:1 macro. Macroscopic lenses are lenses which are placed on the camera and they are used to take macro photos at closer range. However, the photographer should beware of shadows in the frame otherwise these shadows will appear really big in macro photos.

For far away subjects, telephoto or zoom lenses should be used.

Focal length

The focal length determines how much a subject will be magnified. A short focal length has a wide viewing angle while a long focal length has a narrow viewing angle.

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Extension tube

Extension tube is a tool which is used in macro photography to allow photographers to take close up shots of small objects with high precision. The extension tube is available for most SLR cameras. When lens moves away from the image plate, it then has a longer focal length and restricts background elements distraction.

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Bellows

Bellows is a studio tool. It does not have an auto-aperture. Such a device is best for extreme magnification. One of the consequences of the use of bellows and/or extensions is that it requires exposure settings to be adapted, as the shutter speed cannot be as high as with standard lens systems. To find more info, google Schwarzschild's law or Schwarzschild's effect. That is why in some cases, using compact disc or adapted systems may be more relevant.

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Lighting in Macro photography

Although natural lighting is the best lighting, sometimes they are not enough for macro photography. The standard on-camera flash will not work in macro photography and they are quite useless while taking macro photos.

Specific lighting kits have been developed for macro photography:

1. Use of ring flashes
2. An extension cord that allows you to hold the flash light
3. Softbox to soften the flash light

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Windbreaks in Macro photography

When doing outdoor macro photography, it is important to take into consideration the moving blur. If you are shooting a flower, in macro mode, the slightest breeze will spoil your macro photo. A fast shutter speed could be used but this will not have the expected result. Instead of sacrificing the quality of the macro photo, inexpensive windbreaks can be used to negate the effects of the wind. Windbreaks can be made from household objects; a few wooden or plastic boards will be enough to stop the shy wind temporarily. Depending on the color of the windbreaks you use (preferably white), these can also act as reflectors for your macro subject.

Macro Product Photography

Macro photography plays an important role in product photography. There are several products that require appropriate marketing thus needing their high definition product photos.

Products such as diamond rings, golden necklace, designer sunglasses, toys, cosmetics, perfumes, clothing among others are consumer products whereby professional HD photos are needed for their advertisings.

Macro product photos can now easily be created with a simple photographic solution: The PackshotMacro. It is digital photo studio which can help anyone create close-up product photos very easily and instantaneously.

Hope this article helped you in getting acquainted with Macro photography!