Digital Photographer - UK (2020-06)

Small world, big impact

Due to the shallow depth of

field that’s characteristic

of macro imaging, there

is great opportunity for

experimentation with light,

colour and detail, which can

be blended in various ways for

different effects

M

acrophotographyhastobeone

ofthemostengaginggenresof

photography.Whilelandscapes

havethepowertobeawe-inspiring,

andportraitsstirupcoreemotions,macro

bringsaboutsurprise,intrigueandwonder.

High-magnificationimagestakeusintoa

worldthatweallhaveaccesstobutseldom

see.Close-upshotsofinsects,flowerpetals

andtexturedsurfacescreatethesenseof

glimpsinganalternativedimension,madeall

themoreexcitingbytheknowledgethatmany

oftheseframescanbefoundwithoutleaving

ourowngarden.

Aswithanynichesubject,therearekey

challengesandtechniquesthatarespecific

tothegenre.Whenworkingwithsuchhigh

magnificationsandcloseworkingdistances,

achievingcorrectfocusbecomesincreasingly

difficult,comparedtoothertypesofscene.

Thecorrectuseofmacrolensesalsorequires

somepracticeandpatience,asdoestheuse

oflightingequipment,accessoriesandeven

unwieldytripods.

Ratherthantryingtoadaptyourexisting

photoskillstotheworldofmacroimaging,

it’sgenerallyfarmoreeffectivetostart

fromscratch.Whiletherulesofexposure,

compositionandfocusarethesame,the

actualshootingtechniqueyouneedto

succeedcanbecompletelyinverted.

Withthatinmind,here’sa completemacro

photographymasterclass.Learnhowbestto

approachindividualsubjecttypes,getmore

fromspecialistmacrogear,andovercomethe

mostchallengingtechnicaladjustments. ©

Gettyimages

Discover how to tackle the most challenging aspects of this

niche genre and capture your best close-up images yet