2019-05-01_Digital_SLR_Photography

EMBRACEBOLDCOLOURSANDFILL

THEFRAMEUSINGA MACROLENS

FORIMAGESWITHMAXIMUMIMPACT

CLOSE-UPS

Ma y 2019DigitalSLR Photography 65

ROSS HODDINO

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ROSS HODDINO

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ROSSHODDINOTT

F

ILLINGTHEFRAMEwithcolouris rarely

easierthanit is withmacrophotography;

whenmagnified,smallareasofcolour

canbecomeedgetoedgeswathesofhue.

In fact,macroimagesareoftenat theirmost

effectivewhenthey’reboldandcolourful,

andcolouris oneareathatyoushould

considerwhendecidingonthesubjectsyou

pointyourlensat.

Thenaturalworldis burstingwithcolourful

subjects,andfewaremorephotogenicthan

flowersin close-up.Theymakeidealfodder

foryourlensasthey’rereadilyavailablein the

wild,parks,yourowngardenorfromflorists,

prettymuchallyearround.Youcan

photographthemindoorsorout,sothere’s

noexcuseforhavingnothingtoshoot!You

don’tevenneeda dedicatedmacrolensor

close-upaccessorytodososuccessfully–

yourcamera’skitlensorstandardzoom

shouldoffer a minimumfocusingdistance

that'ssufficienttocapturebloomslargein

theframe.If you’reshootingoutdoorsthen

youmayfindthatdirectsunlightis tooharsh

forsoftflorals– a brightbutovercastday,or

diffusedlightwillmakenaturalcolourspop;a

smallsemi-opaquediffuserdiscis a handy

accessoryforcastingshadeona subject,

too.Alternatively, if shooting indoors then

windowlightis yourally.Again,directlight

cancastharshshadows,soif you’veaccess

toa north-facingwindowona brightday

thenthisis theidealsetting.

Withsimple,macrocompositions,a good

backgroundcanmakeorbreakanimage,

butthankfullywhenfillingtheframewitha

subjectbutusingmacrolensorclose-up

attachment,it’seasytomanipulateyour

backgroundtosuit.Onegreattrickis toarm

yourselfwithsheetsofcolouredcardtouse

asbackdrops.Usecontrastingcoloursto

helpthesubjectstandout,forexamplethe

redpetalsofa chrysanthemumagainsta

strikinggreenbackground,ora brightyellow

daffodilagainsta lightbluecard.

Backgroundcardscanbeusedindoorsor

out,butwhenoutsideyoumayneedtouse

anextratripodorsupport,alongwithan

articulated arm and/or clamp, such as the

WimberlyPlamp,toholdthecardin place.

If youpreferthehighermagnificationofa

dedicatedmacrolens,youmayfindyou

don'tneeda backgroundat allasyoucan

oftenfilltheframeentirelywithyoursubject.

Compositionis extra-importanthere,but

alsoconsiderthepatterns,texturesand

coloursthatyou’reincluding.Othersuitable

still-lifesubjects,alongsideflowers,include

leaves,slicedfruitandvegetablesor,if you

canfinddormantexamples,wildlifesuchas

insects.Considertryingselectivefocusing

whenshootingreallycloseasout-of-focus

colourswillblurtogetherforvery

photogenicresults.If youwanttoshootat a

highmagnificationyetdon’tfancytheoutlay

ofa propermacrolens,thenclose-up

attachmentssuchasreversingrings,or

close-upfilterscangetyouto similar results

at a fraction of the price.

USING COLOUR...