Enewsletter
April 2010

Umpteen hundreds of articles and books have been written about close-up photography. As a matter of fact, you’ll find some excellent and informative material on the Tamron website (click the Macro tab in the Techniques & Lessons section). The best way to master any type of photography, of course, is to learn the fundamentals and then practice, practice, practice. To get started on the right foot shooting close-ups, there are five essential things you need to know.

A Macro lens, like the Tamron 60mm Macro (SP AF 60mm F/2.0 Di II LD 1:1 Macro, model G005), delivers superior Macro results because it is optimized for photographing small things at close distances. Because of its focal length (equivalent to 90mm on my Nikon) and aperture (a fast f2.0) it’s also an ideal portrait lens, and I put it to that use often. It focuses to “1:1” without any accessories. That means you can capture images at life-size magnification.

The 60mm is my personal favorite for most close-up and many general applications. Similar lenses are available from Tamron in 90mm and 180mm versions. Using a 90mm 1:1 macro instead of a 60mm 1:1 macro means that you can be farther away from the subject and still achieve life-size magnification. This is important if you are photographing poisonous snakes, for instance. In a more practical vein, it means you have more room to arrange lights and/or reflectors between you and the subject. More on that later.

You should own a tripod if you’re serious about Macro work, especially if you shoot at 1:1 life-size. Read on and you’ll learn why.

In other words, the closer you are to the subject, the less Depth of Field you have. Depth of Field is the zone of acceptable sharpness that exists in front of and behind the actual plane of focus. If you only shot perfectly flat things, it wouldn’t matter at all. But since some parts of a subject are farther away than other parts, DOF becomes a critical factor. This is pure physics.

Depth of Field increases when you use a smaller aperture, so when possible, try to shoot in the f11 to f22 range. Exposures made at small apertures generally require slower shutter speeds or a flash. Here’s where having a tripod pays off, otherwise you’re inviting blur.

When you’re working just inches from the subject, even the slightest movement becomes magnified and causes the image to appear unsharp. Tamron’s Vibration Compensation is a huge help if you’re shooting with the Tamron 18-270 VC Macro Zoom or other Tamron lens that has VC. Even so, be aware of the “jitter factor” and behave accordingly. When shooting without a tripod, keep your elbows tucked tightly in at your sides. Exhale and hold your breath, then press the shutter release button slowly and smoothly. Little precautions can make a big difference.

When using a tripod, turn the VC (or your camera’s internal image stabilization system) off. To minimize the vibration that your hand can impart when tripping the shutter, use the camera’s self-timer or an IR remote release. A few cameras allow you to raise the mirror to diminish camera shake.

When shooting close-ups of flowers outdoors, the wind is your worst enemy. The faintest breeze can cause a petal to stir and make the image appear fuzzy. Seek shelter on the side of the house where the wind is blocked, or have a friend protect you with a sheet of plywood. When all else fails, visit the florist and do your flower photography indoors near a bright, sunny window.

In many instances, lighting and exposure are no more problematical when shooting close-ups than when practicing other forms of photography. However, when you are only inches away you must watch for shadows (especially the one caused by your body). You may have trouble with your camera’s built-in flash, too. Sometimes they overexpose close-ups (or at least blow out the highlights). You can buy special flash equipment—ring lights and studio strobes—but that’s beyond the scope of this article. You may get great results by bouncing your shoe-mounted accessory flash off the ceiling or a white cardboard reflector. This simple approach works well with my Nikon D90 and tiny Nikon SB-400 flash.

A pair of simple 10-inch aluminum reflectors (available at any hardware or home improvement store) and 100 Watt (equivalent) CFL bulbs combine to make a remarkable lighting system for close-up work. The color balance is sometimes horrid (you can buy Daylight Balanced CFLs) so you should set your camera’s White Balance manually. Because they do not get nearly as hot as conventional bulbs, you can position them closer to the subject with no ill effect. Be careful not to break the bulb, however, because damaged CFLs are notoriously unfriendly to our environment.

Several companies offer white, tent-like fabric domes that provide a shadow-free, evenly illuminated shooting environment for close-up photography of small objects. Most photo tents are smaller than 24-inches cubed, so there are limitations as to what will fit—but if you need to shoot anything about the size of a football helmet or smaller, they work great. Use the pair of reflectors mentioned above—but not unless you use the cool-burning CFL bulbs to minimize fire hazard.

A couple final words: don’t be surprised when you see things in the image that your eye did not see when you studied the subject. Dust, tiny insects, pollen and so forth tend to turn up in close-up shots of flowers, for example. So be prepared to do a little judicious editing. Also, don’t overlook close-up shots of food, particularly the fancy-looking stuff served up at restaurants. Food photography is good practice. Sit near a window if you can, and shoot before you eat.

Check out my blog on Shutterbug magazine's homepage. Please comment if you like what you read. http://blog.shutterbug.com/jonsienkiewicz/

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