18 DIGITAL CAMERA^ APRIL 2020 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
1 CD background
You know that pile of redundant CDs you
still have stored away, and keep thinking you
must get rid of? Hang on to them! They make
a fantastic backdrop for close-up shots. If
you angle your light source carefully, you can
create a rainbow effect from the reflective
surface. It’s a trial and error approach to
get it right, but it’s well worth the effort.2 Lighting
To light this flower and create the rainbow
effect from the CD, I used one external
flashgun pointing directly at the flower. I used
a remote trigger to fire the flash and set the
flash strength to 1/8 power in manual mode.
When you shoot with flash yourself, using
manual mode is by far the easiest method
and gives you the most control.acro photography and flowers are like two peas in a pod!
The two together just simply make sense. Flowers are
incredibly intricate and detailed when you view them
from a close perspective, and the variety of bold bright
colours they provide makes them a popular subject.
When it came to setting up this macro flower shot, I used a CD as
my background, and set up an external flashgun to light it. (See the
tips below for more information.) I put my camera into its manual modeand dialled the aperture down to f/11. To sync the shutter speed
with the flashgun, I set the shutter speed to 1/200 sec, and I kept
the ISO low at 100. As I had the flash positioned close to the
flower, I balanced the flashgun strength at 1/8 power.
After you take a test shot, it’s important to check your histogram
to ensure your exposure is reading correctly. For this shot, I wanted
to be sure that the highlights in the flower didn’t overexpose, as it
would wash out the rich orange colour.Creative close-ups
As spring approaches, Claire Gillo reveals how to shoot fresh-looking macro shots
2 | CREATIVEM
3 Choose the right lens
It helps to use a macro lens with a 1:1 aspect
ratio to get super close-up shots – but if you
don’t have one of these, you could use a
reversing ring and switch your standard lens
around the other way. Set your camera up on
a tripod, and focus manually. If your flower
is positioned at an angle to the camera,
consider focus stacking for sharper results.