Macro Technique Advice

[SkyCaptain]

Ok so whats the trick with macro photos Ive seen some stunners from people here. I popped out to a local zoo on sunday with the intention of taking some macro snaps in their butterfly enclosure. Just how hard is it! Ok i made life harder for myself by not having a tripod but im not sure how much help one would of been. Most of the butterflies were too far away from where a tripod would of placed the camera, too far out to focus since i was after some 1:1 shots using a Tamron 90mm macro lens.

I guess the question is how do people take macro shots, how do you keep the camera stable enough when shooting at 1:1. Im guessing the 90mm was just too short a focal size and i should of used my Sigma 70-300 in micro mode, that might of helped a bit or been less wobbly.

[guy_incognito]

I don't think a tripod is much us use when macro photographing anything that moves.

I do mine handheld and experiment with the manual settings until I get the desired quality for that particular situation, then just keep shooting and shooting and shooting... I tend to fix the focus and then move the camera slightly as the subject moves, you have to get very close which scares a lot of bugs away!

As an example I went to my local park last week and took 250+ shots of some bees - I think I managed to get about 20 properly in focus, and about 3 of those which I thought were worth keeping.

Easiest subject I have found is spiders - they tend to stay perfectly still and don't seem to mind the camera... until they do, then they attack the lens

[f6cvalkyrie]

Hi SkyCaptain,

capturing butterflies or bees is very difficult because they do not agree to pose for you, and just fly around

I would suggest that you first exercise yourself for focusing and exposure on static or slow subjects like flowers, fruit, spiders ....
These can be shot from a tripod what is a tremendous help for focusing.

Later, when you're confortable with the focusing and can do it real fast, than you can move up to "faster" subjects.

The road to good macrophotography is a long one, don't loose your patience when the first results are not what you were hoping for !

Looking forward to your first pics,
Rafael

[OrbitalPete]

Yeah, the 70-300 would have helped but you won't get 1:1 out of it. That's the trade off with things that like to move around.

Personally I always like to use a tripod (particularly with the 70-300), but when shooting macro with it I'll usually use it as a monopod (legs extended but together, 3 way head secure but a quarter-twist from being adjustable). I can easily lean forwards and backwards to get closer or further as needed.

You can have a look in my Flickr stream for macro shots taken with the 70-300.

Basically though the focus distance on it means you won't get anything larger in the frame than this

[SkyCaptain]

Thanks for that peeps, i might invest in a monopod. The butterflies were quite chilled about it all and just sat on the leaves quite content I just couldnt beleive how little you would have to move to push the entire frame out of focus! It was a case of knowing you were moving forward and clicking as you saw the shot go through the focused point

Just have to put in lots of practice and leave off the coffee 2 hours before shooting!

[Wivelrod]

I take mine with a small light weight mono pod (Velbon Ultra Stick) using a Tamron 180mm Macro Lens. That gives me enough stability to get sharp images.

Again, like others, I use manual. I use fine adjustments of manual focus combine with rocking the camera on the monopod. I also swear by live view, especially as it allows you to zoom in on the subject, and move the zoomed in point anywhere in the frame.

Before getting a mono pod my hand helds shots were poor. Afterwards (and with practice), sharpness and quality increased a great deal, which pleased me no end

Good luck!

[kBm]

Im currently reading this 'Understanding Close-Up Photography: Creative Close Encounters with or Without a Macro Lens' - Bryan Peterson book. It's another cracking book, and goes into alot of deatil about macro and close up photography.

Maybe worth a read to give you a few pointers.

[Jonstone]

If you are trying to take macro shots of easily spooked quick moving subjects with your tamron then I think you just need a lot of patience and be prepared to take a lot of shots in order to get some good ones.

I was trying to take some shots of bees in my parents garden and I only had my 50mm macro with me but if you take enough shots you will usually get a few decent ones.

The other way would be to try tricks like sugared water to bring the subject to a spot you have setup ready.

[johnaalex]

I use a Sigma 150 2.8, which is great lens, the reason why I went for this (apart from IQ) was the extra working distance I get. As for actual shoting technique, I tend to up the ISO so I can get greater DOF with a reasonable shuuter speed. Auto focus sometimes, but more often MF set to the minimum focus dustance (just over a foot) and rock back to and fro. Also for bees and things I prefer to concentrate on one bloom and let the critters come to me rather than trying to chase them.

[tonkie]

Originally Posted by johnaalex

Also for bees and things I prefer to concentrate on one bloom and let the critters come to me rather than trying to chase them.

[OrbitalPete]

Originally Posted by johnaalex

I use a Sigma 150 2.8, which is great lens, the reason why I went for this (apart from IQ) was the extra working distance I get. As for actual shoting technique, I tend to up the ISO so I can get greater DOF with a reasonable shuuter speed. Auto focus sometimes, but more often MF set to the minimum focus dustance (just over a foot) and rock back to and fro. Also for bees and things I prefer to concentrate on one bloom and let the critters come to me rather than trying to chase them.

Very very nearly bought one of those for a song yesterday on a certain well-known tat-bazarre. Had been planning on basically replacing my 70-300 with that and a 2x converter. Looks like an absolute beaut of a lens and every where I find it seems to be pretty highly spoken of.

[OrbitalPete]

Originally Posted by johnaalex

I use a Sigma 150 2.8, which is great lens, the reason why I went for this (apart from IQ) was the extra working distance I get. As for actual shoting technique, I tend to up the ISO so I can get greater DOF with a reasonable shuuter speed. Auto focus sometimes, but more often MF set to the minimum focus dustance (just over a foot) and rock back to and fro. Also for bees and things I prefer to concentrate on one bloom and let the critters come to me rather than trying to chase them.

Very very nearly bought one of those for a song yesterday on a certain well-known tat-bazarre. Had been planning on basically replacing my 70-300 with that and a 2x converter. Looks like an absolute beaut of a lens.