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9 Macro
Photography Tips for Beginners (Ideas Included)
Review the simple guide
into macro photography for beginners, including the set of useful ideas for
practicing and boosting photography skills.
Macro photography is one of the most engaging
photography genres as it gives viewers a close-up look at things we usually
don’t even notice. Lots of professional wildlife and underwater photographers
shoot their most mesmerizing images in macro, and close-ups also play an
important role in images for design projects and social media.
The advantage of macro photography is that it
can be shot on the variety of gear, from a DSLR to a mirrorless camera, or even
your smartphone with the proper lenses. If you want to improve your macro
shots, you can use these easy tips on macro photography listed in this article
along with ideas on what to shoot close-up. And if you practice enough to get
awesome macro shots, you can even upload them to some stock photography website
like Depositphotos and start earning a passive income as
a freelance photographer.
1.
Clean Your Lenses
Cleaning your lenses regularly is the first
advice for any photography genre, but when it comes to shooting macro, it’s
even more crucial. Small impurities are hard to notice with a naked eye, but
any dust or smear will ruin the perfect shot. Even if you don’t see them, there
are probably micro dust particles that will be visible in the final shots. Get
a habit of cleaning your lenses often.
2.
Use Natural Light Source
In most cases, natural light is better than
artificial light. Natural light gives you more control in the post-production
stage. However, macro photos can be tricky in terms of the lack of light even
with good lighting conditions due to small apertures. The best solution is to
get light diffusers.
You can experiment with light diffusers in
well-lit spaces and outdoors to make your macro pictures brighter. If you don’t
want your images to look too artificial and reach a more natural look with
lighting, experiment with different types of artificial light. Diffusers can be
purchased or you can create a DIY one.
3. Don’t Mix Lighting Types Indoors
When you shoot indoors, you can use flash
with a diffuser and one light source, but it’s better not to mix different
types of lighting. For example, if you turn on some LED decoration lights for a
nice background, use your flash as an only extra source of lighting. Don’t turn
on any additional lamps since they will likely make your shots unbalanced.
4.
Tripod is a Must
It’s important to keep your camera steady,
especially with macro photography. Since your focal length is pretty long, your
images might get blurry even if your hands are slightly shaking. To avoid it,
you should always opt for stabilizing your gear.
The easy solution is to purchase a tripod if
you can afford one. That way, you can always be sure your pictures are sharp,
focused, and clear. A tripod is a great investment for many of your future
experiments with different photography genres.
5.
Move the Object Instead of Your Camera
Once your camera is fixed and steady, it’s
better not to move it. If it’s possible, try to move the object you shoot
instead, especially when you’re shooting still life indoors. Of course, this
doesn’t apply to shoot moving objects outdoors, but when you have a controlled
environment indoors, keep your camera fixated.
Finding the right composition, exposure, and
focus when you shoot close-ups can be tricky. Set up your camera and make sure
the lighting works, and this will help you experiment and improve your macro
shots drastically.
6. Try To Focus Manually with Any Gear
Most modern photo equipment has auto-focus.
However, its algorithms are rarely precise, and that’s especially true for
shooting macro photos. Since you really need to make sure your object stands
out in close-up pictures, always use manual focus regardless of the gear you
use.
7.
Experiment with Perspectives, Angles, and Composition
Composition plays an important role in macro
shots, just like with all the other photography genres. That’s why it’s a good
idea to try to change your position to search for unconventional angles and
perspectives when shooting macro.
With macro photography, the slightest change
in camera angle can make all the difference. Usually, your subject or object
will decide the vantage point for you. With these limitations, there’s still plenty
of room to experiment with in terms of angles and perspectives as you readjust
the positioning. Don’t forget about basic composition rules when shooting – you
need this even for macro shots.
8.
Don’t Forget To Leave Some Negative Space
Empty space around subjects and objects in
your photos plays an important role in your images. It can radically change the
perception of your photos, make them more visually appealing, and create a
dramatic effect.
When it comes to macro photography, your
object is already pretty close, but leaving some space around is still
important. Take a series of photos with the same subject varying its
composition and negative space, and then analyze it when you upload your images
to your computer. It will help you see what works best for different subjects.
Keep practicing all the time
Regardless of the gear you use and whether
you have a macro lens or not, you can still experiment with macro photography
with the tools you already have. The key is to shoot as often as you can since
you need much practice to improve your skills. Don’t be harsh on yourself when
your images aren’t as great as you want them to be, and keep practicing to see
better results in the future.
Macro Photography Ideas
There are always some interesting things to
shoot, even if you are stuck at home. Here are some ideas on what you can shoot
indoors and outdoors.
Inside
your house
Interior
details
Any house has at least a few interesting
details to shoot so keep an eye out for objects at home. You might find tons of
things you can shoot, from a detail on a chandelier to a reflection on your
door handle.
Textile
Textiles look very intriguing close-up.
Different types of cloth significantly vary in their structure, which makes
them versatile for macro photography. The best part here is that you already
have lots of different textile materials at home, so you can easily experiment
with different textures.
Kitchen
and food macro
Your kitchen is an awesome place to find
inspiration since it has a variety of objects and potential subjects. Start
with shooting surfaces and groceries close-up and always keep an eye out for
interesting details as you shop.
Bubbles
in liquids
Carbonated drinks look intriguing in
close-up. It’s an interesting idea to try to shoot bubbles in a glass with a
fizzy drink or add dye and other materials to plain water. You can place some
fruit slices and ice cubes in your glass as well to add more structure and
contrast to the liquids you shoot.
Outside
your house
Flowers
and greenery
It’s easy to hone your macro photography
skills in summer since you are surrounded by all sorts of flowers and plants!
They are one of the most common subjects for close-up shots because of the
colors and variety in textures. Any season of the year provides something new
to shoot, particularly plants with intriguing details.
All kinds of bugs
A popular subject of macro photography is
insects. There are a lot of bugs outside, and they are way easier to shoot in
close-up than animals and birds. Although many people are afraid of insects,
most of them like watching bug life through the lenses of macro photographers,
it’s always fascinating to see images with so many details when photographers
focus on different bugs, butterflies, dragonflies, and ants.
Stones
Although most people don’t pay any attention
to stones in their everyday life, they are actually a good subject for stunning
macro shots. You shouldn’t think that it’s a boring way to practice macro since
stones and minerals look very different close-up. And you can find something to
shoot right after you leave your house! Regardless of the area and nature zone
you live in; you can always find different rocks to practice macro on.
Toys
in nature surroundings
Placing some toy figures in unusual
surroundings can bring in some excellent macro shots. You can find ideas and
inspiration for this format all around Instagram. Although you can shoot still
life with toys indoors, placing them in greenery will add a whimsical touch to
your pictures.
Water
droplets
A classic macro photography topic! Water
droplets are an incredible subject for close-up shots, especially if you manage
to catch a reflection in them. Taking such shots outdoors leaves some space for
experimenting with natural surroundings. For example, you can try to shoot
water drops on grass blades for delicate and inspirational images.
Final thoughts
Macro is not an easy genre of photography due
to the technical difficulties one might encounter during the photoshoots. If
you are a beginner, it’s easy to get lost in all the technicalities and trying
to get just the right amount of light for impressive shots. That’s why macro
might be an unexplored genre with many beginner photographers.
Although it takes a lot of patience and
practice to get better macro shots, it’s worth the effort for the sake of
improving your skills in this genre. Macro can teach you a lot about
photography in general, and it also brings stunning and unexpected results.
source: https://blog.icons8.com/articles/macro-photography-tips-for-beginners/