Correctly illuminate your close-up studies to
achieve balanced highlights and shadows
In macro imaging, lighting can quickly become
the most challenging characteristic to address
the closer to the subject you move the camera.
Since you will often be working at incredibly
short distances between the subject and
the end of the lens, the use of on-camera
flash is all but impossible. This is because of
the steep angle created between the flash
head and subject plane, which creates two
problems. Firstly, the spread of the light from
the flash is unlikely to be broad enough to
cover the subject – the flash essentially fires
over the top of the subject, either missing it
entirely or producing unattractive transitions.
Secondly, the angle places the lens itself
between the light source and subject, casting
an unavoidable shadow.
This means that off-camera flash setups are
essential components in the quest for even
lighting across the entire scene. Wireless light
sources can be moved independently of the
camera and lens, providing the freedom to fill
in shadows from any angle. They also enablethe distribution of light between the subject
and background to be fully controlled by the
photographer, without being dictated by the
camera settings in use.
The lighting angle is another important
area for consideration in macro photography,
as once again the photographer’s approach
has to be different from work in other genres.
Directional light is a great tool for bringing
out texture in the subject. However, due
to the very short distances between any
two areas of the frame, the gradient in light
intensity is shallower. This means that at high
magnifications, lighting will be fairly even
across the whole composition.
This can be a huge benefit, but some
experimentation is required to find the correct
balance of texture and brightness. Moving
the flash closer to and further away from
the subject is the easiest way to modify light
‘hardness’: increasing the distance from the
flash to the subject creates a harder edged
light, while moving it in softens the shadows.
© George HauxwellMacro lighting
TECHNIQUES