Post your macro photos here
- Thread starter Marcel
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Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Hi MrsRobs!
Basically a picture is "macro" if the subject is the same size on the sensor as it is in real life, or larger. Sometimes you see it expressed as "at least 1:1" reproduction. (2:1 macro means the picture on the sensor is twice the real-life size, 3:1 is three times the size, etc. They're all macro.)
A lot of people use "macro" and "close-up" interchangeably, and while that is not strictly correct if it's less than 1:1, most casual photographers don't seem to mind as far as I can tell. But if you post pictures labeled "macro" here at the forum and want to be technically accurate, you should just make sure they are at least 1:1. But we're all friends here, so don't worry about it too much
As far as what to look for...just about anything! If I were you I would play around with even the most boring looking things to see how much interesting detail they reveal when you magnify a small section. Of course, sometimes it's obvious when looking at subjects that they have tiny components which will be interesting in macro. But other times, the patterns only emerge when you zoom in really closely, and those pictures can be the most fun to take and see!
Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Nice shot, MrsRobs!
The only thing I might do if that shot were mine would be to crop it a little tighter and maybe add a vignette. Both will make a smaller subject (the bee) stand out a bit more:
You might want to try this some time: rather than running around after the bee, stay stationary near one or two flowers where it looks like it may be landing. Manually focus on the flower, then put your camera in continuous shooting mode and start firing as the bee approaches. You'll get a lot of shots that are out of focus as it flies towards and away from you, but there will also be some shots where the insect is right on the focal plane and very sharp. (If you use a tripod and remote trigger, all the better!)
I use that technique myself, because the auto focus on my D5500 is not always up to the task of tracking fast moving - and small! - subjects. It also has problems with back-focusing when I go for a very shallow depth of field. If your D300 can auto focus faster and doesn't front or back focus, great! Use its auto settings. But if you're still having to around run after the bee in order to get it sharp, maybe try the stationary approach I described.
Great job! :encouragement:
The only thing I might do if that shot were mine would be to crop it a little tighter and maybe add a vignette. Both will make a smaller subject (the bee) stand out a bit more:
You might want to try this some time: rather than running around after the bee, stay stationary near one or two flowers where it looks like it may be landing. Manually focus on the flower, then put your camera in continuous shooting mode and start firing as the bee approaches. You'll get a lot of shots that are out of focus as it flies towards and away from you, but there will also be some shots where the insect is right on the focal plane and very sharp. (If you use a tripod and remote trigger, all the better!)
I use that technique myself, because the auto focus on my D5500 is not always up to the task of tracking fast moving - and small! - subjects. It also has problems with back-focusing when I go for a very shallow depth of field. If your D300 can auto focus faster and doesn't front or back focus, great! Use its auto settings. But if you're still having to around run after the bee in order to get it sharp, maybe try the stationary approach I described.
Great job! :encouragement:
Hi MrsRobs!
Basically a picture is "macro" if the subject is the same size on the sensor as it is in real life, or larger. Sometimes you see it expressed as "at least 1:1" reproduction. (2:1 macro means the picture on the sensor is twice the real-life size, 3:1 is three times the size, etc. They're all macro.)
A lot of people use "macro" and "close-up" interchangeably, and while that is not strictly correct if it's less than 1:1, most casual photographers don't seem to mind as far as I can tell. But if you post pictures labeled "macro" here at the forum and want to be technically accurate, you should just make sure they are at least 1:1. But we're all friends here, so don't worry about it too much
I have a Sigma 70-210mm 'macro' zoom lens that I used with my 35mm film camera. The downside is these lenses aren't true macro lenses since they typically offer a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio (meaning the images will either appear 1/2 or 1/3 size of the scene). And the quality of glass usually isn't quite as good as a prime macro lens - or as fast. It was fun for experimenting but lacked showing details. I don't know if any zoom 'macro' lenses are still being made especially since there are prime macro alternatives that aren't overly pricey.
Thank you!
Tried that during lunch today, I sat myself down and let the birds come to me. Worked really well. Thanks for the tip!
Peter7100
Senior Member
That bird must have been really close if you shot at 85mm! What did you tempt it with
I have been using bird seed but they still like to keep their distance.
