Digital Photographer - UK (2020-06)

Streamlinelensand

compositionchoices

Manyphotographersnewtothemacrogenre

wronglyassumethatthekeytothebest

imagesistoselectthehighestpoweredlens

availableandgetascloseaspossibletothe

subject,forframe-fillingshots.Whilethis

approachcansometimesyieldimpressive

perspectivesonsmallsubjects,itisnotaone-

size-fits-allapproach.Makingthesubjectas

largeaspossibleintheframedoespotentially

revealmoresurfacedetail,butcaninturn

excluderelevantperipheraldetailsthatwould

addtotheimpactofthecomposition.

Thishighlevelofmagnificationisalso

notalwaysachievable,evenwiththecorrect

equipment.Whileyoumayhavealenscapable

of1:1,life-sizereproductionon-sensor,the

practicalitiesofshootingthatsubjectin

itsenvironmentmaymeanthatthiswould

imposedifficultiesthatunderminetheoverall

imagequality.Workingatsuchmagnification

ratioscallsonallofyourattentiontomaintain

focus,correctlyexposeformaximum

detail,andavoidintroducingblurthrough

camerahandling.Themoretimeyouspend

addressingthesetechnicalchallenges,theless

youhaveavailabletoworkonyourcreativity.It

alsomakesyoulessadaptabletochangesin

theenvironment.

Inthesecases,optingforawiderviewcan

giveyourshotsgreaternarrativebyshowing

moreofthesurroundingenvironment.A

loosercompositionalsomakesmorespace

availabletotrymultipleframingoptions.

Whenphotographinganinsect,forexample,

incorporatingthefloweronwhichthesubject

ispositionedgivesamoreinclusiveviewofthe

creature’slifestyle,whileenablingyoutowork

withcolourinteractions,leadinglinesand

focuseffects.Forthisreasonitisimportantto

bemindfulofnotcreatingmererecordshots

whenusinghighermagnifications.

Thatbeingsaid,itissometimesdesirableto

cropintightlyonasmalldetail,andinthese

cases,aimingforrepeatingpatternsorimages

withastrongsenseofdeptharegoodchoices.

Focusfall-offwillalwaysbemoreofanissue,

butusedwithcarethiscaneffectivelyisolate

thekeyareasofyoursubject.

Bottom

High magnifications

When you want to capture a high-

magnification shot, use extension

tubes if you don’t have a lens

capable of magnifications above 1:1

Top

Subjectsize

Whenworkingwithexceptionally

smallsubjects,don’t attempt high

magnificationsatthe expense of

focuscoverage

Middle

Fill the frame

Composition-filling shots work

best with abstract intentions,

where detail is the main

component that is represented

x2 © George Hauxwell

© Gettyimages

Frame

shots

TECHNIQUES