8 essential technical tips for brilliant macro shots

Get the gear to get close

If close-up photography is your thing, then you’ll want to invest in a dedicated macro lens, which will not only let you get staggeringly close but provide bitingly sharp results. Our macro lenses buying guide will tell you everything you need to know.

Of course you don’t need a dedicated macro lens to get really close, reversing rings, extension tubes and close-up filters all work well and are cheaper options. You can get the full low-down in our close-up photography equipment buying guide.
 

Focus manually

Autofocus doesn’t not work with macro photography – it’s as simple as that. Due to the nature of macro photography you’ll be working with tiny depths of field, so it’ll be nigh-on impossible to use autofocus and the adjust your camera’s position to recompose the shot. You need to switch to manual focus and selectively focus on the most important part of the image (the area which you want to appear pin sharp).
 

Use a tripod

There is nothing more frustrating than getting amazingly close to your subject then not getting it pin sharp – just as your subject is magnified, so is the tiniest amount of camera shake. This is why a tripod is absolutely essential for macro photography.

Sturdy tripods are best for macro work (the lightweight aluminium models can get blow about a bit outside). Here are three things to look out for when choosing a tripod for macro photography:
1) Legs that are individually adjustable, in all directions – this makes getting close in on awkward angles much easier.
2) Screw tightening legs – generally much sturdier than clip legs.
3) A centre column that goes down to ground level – so you don’t miss out on that bugs eye view.
 

Banish shake

Although your tripod will always be your main defence against camera shake, there are other simple things you can do to help in the fight against shake:

Use a remote release: Get for long exposures as well as macro work, with a remote release cable you’re not physically pressing to shutter button, so you can’t cause any movement.
Use your self-timer: If you don’t have a remote release cable and you are working with static subjects your self-timer is a good alternative and you won’t have to physically touch your camera when the shot is taken.
Use Mirror Lock-up: Mirror Lock-up enables the viewfinder mirror to flip up as a separate step, before you shoot and so avoids camera shake caused by ‘mirror bounce’. Find the Mirror Lock-up function in your DSLR’s Custom Settings menu.
 

Aperture / shutter speed trade-off

Using a fast shutter speed will reduce the risk of camera shake and blur caused by subject movement (especially handy if you’re shooting outdoors in a slight breeze). The trade-off however is larger apertures, which give you a small depth of field. On the other side of the coin, using a slow shutter speed will give you greater depth of field, but will leave you open to a bigger risk of camera shake.
 

ISO know-how

Although there is obviously no way around the aperture/shutter speed trade-off completely, knowing how to use your ISO can help. To keep your shutter speed reasonably fast while using a fairly small aperture of between f/11 and f/16 you can increase your cameras ISO sensitivity – just remember the higher the ISO the more digital noise you’ll see in your images.
 

Banish background distractions

Even though your background will be out-of-focus it can still be distracting – blobs of bright colour can really take the attention away from your subject. Which obviously isn’t what you want. If you’re photographing flowers and bugs outside don’t make the mistake of thinking you have to keep the background natural – some simple coloured card works really well and will give your macros a modern look.
 

Get the light right

Quality light is essential in all genres of photography and macro is no exception. For macro work quantity is an issue as well as quality as the main draw back is loss of light – small apertures and long shutter speeds will let the light in though. The longer focal lengths you get with more expensive macro lenses make letting the light in easier because 1:1 magnification is achievable from further away.

When it comes to projecting more light on your subjects a reflector can’t be beaten in terms of cost and ease of use. If you’re shooting in harsh directional sunlight a diffuser will soften the light and will also come in handy if you’re shooting indoors. If you are working indoors a few simple desk lamps can achieve the same effects you’d get with pro lighting kit.

If you’ve got an external flash it’ll be invaluable – you’ll get around the problem of loss of light and you’ll be able to use much shorter shutter times too. Flash guns do often get in the way of small subjects though and often can’t reach the ideal angle – an off camera cord makes everything a lot more flexible and is a good idea.

A ring flash is considered to be the wholly grail of macro lighting and produce even light from a circular shaped flash tube, but are expensive. Light tents are worth considering and good value if you’re shooting relatively small objects and want even lighting.