at home with subjects like butterflies,
rocks, flowers and feathers. I especially
like the nice, even illumination when
using softboxes. Make sure the lights are
daylight balanced.
- Get close to the subject—but not
too close, in some cases. Working dis-
tance is important when it comes to many
of the live subjects you might want to
photograph. When I did a Macro Frog
workshop with Jim Zuckerman last year,
I found that many of the participants were
using 50mm macro lenses, and when they
came closer to the subjects, they were
bumping into them. I used the 100mm
macro and didn’t have that problem. - Another way of coming in closer is
to make sure to take a very sharp image and
then crop in during your processing of the
image. When we crop, we’re losing resolu-
tion, so I find myself more and more using
Topaz Gigapixel AI software, which lets
you resize your image without losing detail. - I photograph in aperture prior-
ity mode and use evaluative metering.
I always want to control the depth of
field with my macro work. I set the ISO
to where it will give me a fast enough
shutter speed for the subject I’m photo-
graphing. If it’s a rock, for example, I can
set a lower ISO as the shutter speed isn’t
as much a factor, especially when I’m on
a tripod. But with a moving subject like
a butterfly, shutter speed becomes much
more important. I’ll set a higher ISO,
giving me both the needed shutter speed
to stop the movement and the aperture
necessary for my desired depth of field.
With these tips in mind, I encourage you
to try photographing some close-up images.
A great subject to start with is flowers,
which can be photographed year-round.
They can be in your garden, a friend’s or
a public garden nearby. You can go to a
nursery, florist, conservatory or your local
grocery store. During the winter, I’ll buy
my wife a bouquet of flowers—but I have
to photograph them first. OPSee more of Darrell Gulin’s work at
gulinphoto.com.Opposite top: This dahlia close-up
photograph was taken outdoors on
an overcast day to give it that nice,
even lighting. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV,
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II
USM at 300mm. Exposure: 1.20 sec.,
ƒ/19, ISO 500.Opposite bottom: Petrified dinosaur
bone close-up. Taken indoors using
two daylight-corrected softboxes
for my lighting. Keeping the camera
and dinosaur bone on the same
focal plane allows for the image to
be sharp from edge to edge. Canon
EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EF 180mm
f/3.5L Macro USM. Exposure: 3 sec.,
ƒ/22, ISO 200.Above: Rocks in a dish with water
to give it the color punch. Taken
outdoors in the shade to control
the highlights. A polarizing filter
was used to cut down on the glare.
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF
24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 99mm.
Exposure: 1/10 sec., ƒ/22, ISO 400.outdoorphotographer.com April 2020 39