Macro Archives • PAUL ROEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Bee Covered in Pollen on Purple Coneflower 1 - Six Easy Ways To Improve Your Macro Photography — *This bee covered in pollen on a purple coneflower was the first image I was really proud of that I shot with a macro lens. To my delight, the image was featured in National Geographic’s Daily Dozen.*

During the summer months, I like to put down my telephoto lens from time to time and focus on shooting with a macro lens. With so many possibilities in macro photography, one doesn’t have to travel far to find a subject. I prefer to focus my macro efforts on insects as they are prevalent anywhere I go and are fairly simple to shoot provided I follow a few easy steps.

35084333444 40668d38ac o - Six Easy Ways To Improve Your Macro Photography — ***Shot with 60 mm macro lens, this uncropped image of a Monarch Butterfly demonstrates how close these amazing lenses will focus.***

1. Get Close

When shooting with a macro lens my goal is to capture as much detail as possible. Like any other any lens, the closer you get to your subject the more detail you will capture. Macro lenses are designed with a much shorter minimum focusing distance than other lenses which allows the photographer to get incredibly close. The lens I shoot with will focus at 7.87″ allowing me to get close enough to fill the frame with even the smallest insects capturing incredible detail.

14762749956 c42050f6dc o Edit - Six Easy Ways To Improve Your Macro Photography — ***Since most subjects in macro photography do not move overly fast, a lower ISO can be selected resulting in images with less digital noise.***

2. Lower Your ISO

In my previous posts and during my workshops, I encourage photographers to increase their ISO when photographing wildlife. This is because in most situations when trying to capture images of birds and other fast moving subjects a higher ISO results in and a faster shutter speed, thus sharper final images.

In macro photography, the majority of subjects including flowers and insects are either stationary or slower moving and therefore I can get away with a much slower shutter speed. In most cases, I find a shutter speed of 1/250 to 1/500 plenty fast enough to freeze the action of bees and other small insects as they crawl about gathering pollen and nectar. Depending on the amount of available light I generally shoot at ISO 400 or less which results in a sufficient shutter speed while leaving less noise in my final images.

35195142204 58d69328a6 o - Six Easy Ways To Improve Your Macro Photography — ***By strategically choosing my aperture I was able to keep my entire subject (the bee) in focus while blurring the coneflower background.***

3. Carefully Select Your Aperture

Depth of field is where I really struggled when I first picked up a macro lens. My subject was always out of focus due to choosing too wide an aperture. Ultimately, depth comes down to personal preference and capturing the image how you want it to appear. For me, when shooting wildlife I like the entire subject in focus from nose to tail whenever possible. There are two ways to control depth of field. The first is by changing your physical distance from the subject and the second is by adjusting your aperture (also known as f-stop). When I am photographing insects with my macro lens I want to capture as much detail as possible and typically shoot between f/8 and f/11 even when I am at my minimum focusing distance of 7.87″. This ensures the entire insect is sharp and in focus capturing the most detail, which is the look I am trying to achieve.

When photographing flowers or something more abstract, perhaps a more blurred foreground, background or even subject would be more appealing. In these cases selecting a wider aperture of maybe f/4 or f2.8 (remember smaller f-stop equals wider aperture) will achieve a more interesting image. The nice thing about photographing flowers and other stationary subjects is they aren’t going anywhere so take plenty of images at a range of apertures and see which one you like best.

14979325255 57fe232784 o Edit - Six Easy Ways To Improve Your Macro Photography — ***A pleasing composition is easily achieved by following the rule of thirds.***

4. Think About Your Composition

Composition is one of the most important elements of photography as this is what draws our eyes to and through a photo. Spending a few minutes before pressing the shutter and imagining how you want the image to appear is very important. Composition really can make or break an image so take the time to line up your shot. Just like any other genre of photography following the rule of thirds applies to macro work. If you are not familiar with the rule of thirds, simply imagine a grid similar to a tic-tac-toe board over top of your image. Try lining vertical subjects up with the vertical grid lines and horizontal subjects up with the horizontal lines. Ideally, you will place your subject where these imaginary lines intersect and in the case of wildlife, the subject should be looking across the frame. Many cameras allow you to turn this grid feature on displaying it on the LCD screen while shooting in live view to assist with composition.

IMG 3862 Edit Edit - Six Easy Ways To Improve Your Macro Photography — ***Shooting at eye level can capture a perspective of a subject we are not used to seeing.***

5. Shoot At Eye Level

Often times insects and flowers can be low to the ground. It is important to kneel down or crouch in order to photograph the subject at eye level. In most cases, an eye-level view will result in a much more appealing image than something shot from below or above. That being said, don’t be afraid to get creative. Sometimes the underside of a flower or bee with a blurred out expansive background can look pretty cool. I always wear clothes that I don’t care if they get dirty whenever I am out with my camera as I regularly find myself kneeling in dirt or laying on my stomach in order to get the best angle.

IMG 1167 Edit - Six Easy Ways To Improve Your Macro Photography — **Achieving the proper exposure in camera will ensure the most detail is captured.**

6. Check Your Histogram

This applies regardless of what you are photographing in order to achieve the proper exposure. On sunny days, flowers and insects will almost reflect the light which results in highlights being overexposed and a significant loss of detail. This lack of detail negatively impacts the final image. I get asked all the time “can’t I just fix that in photoshop?” In my opinion, “fix” is not the correct word to use in this situation. You can certainly change this by moving the highlight slider in post-production in an attempt to recover detail, but this will not result in the same capture of detail as checking your histogram and making the required adjustments in camera.

By shooting in aperture priority mode exposure compensation can easily be adjusted by a few clicks of the camera’s dial resulting in proper exposure and preserved detail. I personally don’t mind taking macro shots during the midday sun and typically shoot between -1/3 and -2/3 of exposure compensation to control the highlights and preserve detail. Watching for shadows is paramount to ensure the subject is well lit. Often waiting just a few seconds for the light to change or the subject to move, even only a few centimeters, can make all the difference in the world.

IMG 0482 1 - Six Easy Ways To Improve Your Macro Photography — **Canon’s EF-S 60 mm macro lens is an affordable option for anyone looking for a great macro lens.**

My lens of choice for macro photography is the Canon EFS 60 mm F/2.8 Macro USM. This lens is incredibly sharp and focusses almost instantly. The lack of image stabilization is not an issue for me and all of my macro images are shot handheld. If you are a Canon shooter and considering a macro lens, I would definitely check this one out. Just remember this lens is an
EF-S mount and only works on crop sensor bodies and not on Canon’s full-frame cameras.

15319888012 650de657f9 o Edit - Six Easy Ways To Improve Your Macro Photography — ***Macro lenses allow subjects to be photographed up close capturing detail otherwise missed with other lenses.***

I cannot say enough good things about this lens including the price point. Canon’s next model up in their macro series comes in at $300 more while their L series professional lens is double the price making this a great macro lens at a more affordable price. The focal length and wide aperture of this lens also make it a great portrait lens providing more bang for your buck; however, I won’t bore you with family photos in this post.

IMG 0579 1 - Six Easy Ways To Improve Your Macro Photography — ***This hatchling Snapping Turtle was only about the size of a toonie but with a macro lens, I was able to fill the frame and capture all the detail of its tiny shell.***

If you enjoy macro photography but are not seeing the results you had hoped for, give these 6 easy steps a try. A few simple adjustments are often all it takes to capture the image of your dreams.

Good birding,
Paul

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Watermark 1 3 - Photography Workshops: Be Ready For Spring Migration — Photographing fast moving birds is quite challenging. Knowing what camera settings to use and how to quickly adjust them are key to capturing an image.

After receiving several email requests about photography workshops, I am now offering private one on one, or group, in the field workshops to help improve your photography skills, techniques, and ultimately your final images. Wildlife photography is incredibly fun, challenging and frustrating all at the same time. Properly understanding camera functions and settings, and how each pertains to the shot you are trying to capture, will help remove much of the frustration. Being able to make quick, simple adjustments while shooting will have you seeing a substantial improvement in your final images.

Watermark5 - Photography Workshops: Be Ready For Spring Migration — Image quality has more to do with the person behind the camera than the cost of your equipment. This Black-capped Chickadee was photographed with the Canon EFS 55-250mm f-4-5.6 IS II; a lens that retails for $299.00

You do not need to own a professional DSLR or lens that costs as much as a compact car to achieve quality images. One of the misconceptions I hear most when it comes to photography is, “If I had that camera and lens I could take pictures like that too”. This could not be further from the truth. You could run out and spend the equivalent of the down payment on your home for a camera and lens, but if you do not know how to operate them, your end result still won’t be what you are hoping for. During my photography workshops I will show you that image quality has more to do with with the person behind the camera than the price tag on your equipment; you will leave the workshop with the understanding of how to get the most out of your equipment, resulting in better final images.

Watermark 11 - Photography Workshops: Be Ready For Spring Migration — My one on one workshops focus on your skill level and your camera and lens setup. I will show you how on your camera to quickly adjust your settings so you will be ready for the changing conditions or subjects.

My one on one photography workshops are designed for you to get the most out of your specific camera and lens setup. I will show you how to get quality results regardless of what equipment you own by simply understanding camera functions and how to adjust them to your subject, shooting style, and conditions on a given day. It does not matter if you shoot Canon, Nikon or another brand, I can help you increase the number of keeper shots you take.

Watermark 1 31 - Photography Workshops: Be Ready For Spring Migration — Wildlife photography not your thing? Understanding camera functions and settings are equally important to better images in landscape photography. Landscape photography workshops are also available.

As a self taught photographer, I have spent countless hours watching, reading and studying tutorials on wildlife and landscape photography and put in the trial and error that goes with them. Many of the tutorials out there are great, but they did not always relate to my shooting style or deal with the constantly changing conditions we face as photographers. These tutorials often left me with more questions than answers, and unfortunately there was no available support to answer my questions.

By spending time with me in the field, I will answer any questions or help clarify areas of confusion as you shoot, so at the end of the day you are left with no questions, just the knowledge needed to improve your photography. If you happen to forget or need a refresher on one of the areas covered at a later date, I am available for follow up support via email.

Watermark 1 2 - Photography Workshops: Be Ready For Spring Migration — Light conditions are constantly changing in wildlife photography. Being able to quickly adjust my camera settings from shooting a cardinal perched in a dark spruce tree to this juvenile Bald Eagle landing against an overcast sky is what captured this image, not the price of my camera or lens.

So who will benefit from my photography workshops? If you currently achieve better results from your cell phone than your DSLR, I can help. If you are new to digital photography or still shooting in automatic mode, I can help. We will start with the basics, metering and exposure and work up from there. I will show you that leaving shutter speed, aperture, or ISO decisions about the image you are trying to create up to your camera, will not result in the best final image. You need to take control of your camera functions for the specific subject you wish to capture and the conditions you are faced with at that time. This may seem overwhelming, but I will show you this is easily mastered and imperative to better images. If you are more advanced, but still struggle with certain aspects like birds in flight, or difficult lighting situations, I can help here too. Looking to move into full manual mode so you can quickly change from photographing static birds, to birds in flight without lowering the camera from your eye? My workshops will assist here too.

Watermark 1 4 - Photography Workshops: Be Ready For Spring Migration — My one on one photography workshops can be specifically designed to cover various subjects of wildlife photography, including macro shots of insects.

My in the field photography workshops begin at two hours in length. I am confident that in that time frame I will be able to show you how to improve your final images regardless of your skill level. If you wish, I am available for longer sessions, such as half or full days. If you have a group and a venue, and would prefer an in class session or a combined in class and outdoor shooting workshop, this can be arranged. Workshops can be scheduled on weekends, weekdays, or evenings as daylight hours increase.

Watermark 1 41 - Photography Workshops: Be Ready For Spring Migration — Back lit subjects or overcast conditions often result in underexposed images. During my one on one photography workshops, I will show you how to adjust to difficult light conditions.

Mid April is when we will start to see the return of migratory birds as spring migration gets under way. Ospreys, swallows, orioles, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are some of the first birds observed in our area. By early May, migration will be in full swing. Warblers, thrushes and other songbirds will be returning to, or moving through the area. Will you be ready to capture all of these beautiful birds with image results you are satisfied with? If not, you have roughly eight weeks to learn and hone the skills needed to do so. My goal is to help you improve the quality of your final images regardless of your current skill level or camera you own. For more information including: price, locations, and how to schedule a workshop, visit my Photography Workshops page.

Good birding,
Paul