March 24, 2007

The first macro photo I took

Macro Photography can be especially challenging. With the right lens you can uncover a world lost to the naked eye or take your photography to a level that you've never been able to experience with conventional lenses.

When I finally bought a macro lens for my Canon 5d, I chose the canon 100mm. This lens has an auto or manual focus feature and two settings that you can change to adapt to how close you're going to be to the subject.

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The lens doesn’t work like a normal lens where you point, adjust the focal length (zoom), focus (if you have the lens set to manual focus) and then take the shot. You point the lens at the subject and bring the image into focus. The physical length of the lens does not change to adapt for the focal distance between you and the subject, it is all done mechanically inside the lens casing when you tap the trigger button half way or manually.

This lens can achieve a 1:1 ratio. The easiest way to explain this is when you take a photo of a very small object you can see it on your printed photo or on screen as an object that is as large or larger then frame or photo paper. The object (another way to explain) is as big as the object would be if you were the same size it was.

I wanted to try out my new lens and I thought a geat way to do this would be to visit the Lincoln Park Conservatory of Chicago. A great subject to practice macro photography on is flowers or small growing objects. I didn't bring a tri-pod and wish I did.

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Taking photos of things that move is hard enough. But try to take a photo of an object that's only a quarter of an inch big and you have to be damn near motion less. Hand holding a macro lens really limits what you can do with the lens. But if you try, the next steps will help reduce a blurry image.

Open your stance - That’s right, just like your baseball or golf coach told you. You need to look or have a stance where you won't move at all if the wind blows or if you breathe.
Hold your breath - You breath, you move. When you take a breath you may move your hands, chest, mouth, face or even your head. Hold your breath and you’ll get the shot.
Don't pick up your trigger finger - When you are ready to take the shot, have your trigger finger on the button and push the button and do not lift up your finger till after the shutter has closed. If your camera takes another photo right away then turn off the multiple frame option and set it back to single photo.
Wait for the subject The subject might be moving in the wind or be moving because you're breathing on it. Wait for it to be still and take the shot.

Posted by Robert at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)