Shoot Macro : Professional Macrophotography Techniques for Exceptional Studio Images [Illustrated] 1608957233, 9781608957231

Table of contents :
cover
About the Author
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Detail on Metal
2. Capturing Iridescence
3. Focus Stacking
4. Creating Highlights and Shadows
5. Eliminate Reflections with Filters
6. Two Kinds of Lights for Two Textures
7. Agate with Transmitted Light
8. Spend Time Observing
9. Adding Background Color
10. Using Black Glass for Background
11. Stop Movement with Flash
12. Gels for Color
13. Use a Stable Platform
14. Framing the Subject
15. Seeing Detail
16. Looking Closer
17. Diffuser
18. Light Source for a Metal Surface
19. Macro Opens New Worlds
20. Shaping with Flash and Grid
21. Facets Without Reflections
22. Wetting Increases Color Saturation
23. Flash to Overpower Sunlight
24. Include the Subject’s Surroundings
25. Camera Options
26. A Large Light Source
27. Stacking: Multiple Focus Points
28. Light and Reflection Conveys Form
29. Compressed Perspective
30. Warm and Cold Colors
31. Backlighting Shows Translucence
32. Backlighting with Color Gels
33. High Dynamic Range Options
34. Hand Held in Direct Sunlight
35. Lensbaby Macro Lens Kit
36. Lensbaby Diffusion Discs
37. Waiting for the Right Light
38. Showing Features
39. Smartphone Photography
40. Lighting for Iridescent Colors
41. Patience While Posing Nature
42. Capturing with Close-Up Lenses
43. Showing Scale
44. New Worlds Opened
45. Optimum Aperture and Sharpness
46. Using Gels for Color
47. Hand-Held Shooting
48. Manual Focus
49. Defining Macro Photography
50. Lighting with an LED Ring
51. Sense of Depth in Cross Sections
52. Ring Light Orchid
53. Depth of Field
54. Planes of Focus
55. Magnification
56. Highlights, Contrast, and Saturation
57. Useful Tripods
58. Refracting in a Drop
59. Near Perfect Sharpness
60. Using Mirrorless Cameras
Index

Citation preview

Shoot Macro Techniques for Photography Up Close

Stan Sholik Amherst Media, Inc.

Buffalo, NY

About the Author Stan Sholik has spent over three decades as a commercial, advertising and illustrative photographer in Orange County, CA. During that time he has developed a national reputation in a wide range of technology-oriented specialties for his clients in the computer, electronics, medical device and food industries. Early in his career he began specializing in close-up/ macro photography, motion-simulation and in-camera photocomposition to enhance the images created with his large-format cameras. Stan transitioned quickly to full digital capture and has applied several techniques unique to digital capture to his close-up and macro photography. He has also gained a reputation as a writer on both conventional and digital imaging topics with numerous articles and books. Self-taught as a photographer, Stan holds a BS degree in physics and an MA in English from Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, PA.

Copyright © 2014 by Stan Sholik. All rights reserved. All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted. Published by: Amherst Media, Inc. P.O. Box 586 Buffalo, N.Y. 14226 Fax: 716-874-4508 www.AmherstMedia.com Publisher: Craig Alesse Associate Publisher: Kate Neaverth Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins Associate Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt Associate Editor: Beth Alesse Editorial Assistance from: Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder, Carey Miller Business Manager: Adam Richards Warehouse and Fulfillment Manager: Roger Singo

ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-723-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2014933308 Printed in The United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher. Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the author’s experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.



Check out Amherst Media’s blogs at: http://portrait-photographer.blogspot.com/ http://weddingphotographer-amherstmedia.blogspot.com/

Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

16. Looking Closer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

1. Detail on Metal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

17. Diffuser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

2. Capturing Iridescence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

18. Light Source for a Metal Surface . . . . . . 40

3. Focus Stacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

19. Macro Opens New Worlds . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

4. Creating Highlights and Shadows . . . . . . . 12

20. Shaping with Flash and Grid . . . . . . . . . . 44

5. Eliminate Reflections with Filters . . . . . . . . 14

21. Facets Without Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

6. Two Kinds of Lights for Two Textures . . . . 16

22. Wetting Increases Color Saturation . . . . 48

7. Agate with Transmitted Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

23. Flash to Overpower Sunlight . . . . . . . . . . 50

8. Spend Time Observing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

24. Include the Subject’s Surroundings . . . . 52

9. Adding Background Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

25. Camera Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

10. Using Black Glass for Background . . . . . 24

26. A Large Light Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

11. Stop Movement with Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

27. Stacking: Multiple Focus Points . . . . . . . . 58

12. Gels for Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

28. Light and Reflection Conveys Form . . . . 60

13. Use a Stable Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

29. Compressed Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

14. Framing the Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

30. Warm and Cold Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

15. Seeing Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

31. Backlighting Shows Translucence . . . . . . 66

table of contents 3

32. Backlighting with Color Gels . . . . . . . . . . 68

49. Defining Macro Photography . . . . . . . . . 102

33. High Dynamic Range Options . . . . . . . . . . 70

50. Lighting with an LED Ring . . . . . . . . . . . 104

34. Hand Held in Direct Sunlight . . . . . . . . . . . 72

51. Sense of Depth in Cross Sections . . . . 106

35. Lensbaby Macro Lens Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

52. Ring Light Orchid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

36. Lensbaby Diffusion Discs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

53. Depth of Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

37. Waiting for the Right Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

54. Planes of Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

38. Showing Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

55. Magnification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

39. Smartphone Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

56. Highlights, Contrast, and Saturation . . . 116

40. Lighting for Iridescent Colors . . . . . . . . . 84

57. Useful Tripods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

41. Patience While Posing Nature . . . . . . . . . 86

58. Refracting in a Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

42. Capturing with Close-Up Lenses . . . . . . . 88

59. Near Perfect Sharpness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

43. Showing Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

60. Using Mirrorless Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . 124

44. New Worlds Opened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

45. Optimum Aperture and Sharpness . . . . . 94 46. Using Gels for Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 47. Hand-Held Shooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 48. Manual Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 4 Shoot Macro

Introduction

Shoot Macro: Techniques for Photography Up Close

Part of the continuing wonder of photography

create the final image, along with a lighting

is its ability to allow us to see the world in new

diagram. And where appropriate there are out-

ways. Often these give us new information and

takes or images of the setup to further explain

insights into the commonplace. Nowhere is this

the concept or execution of the final image.

more evident than in the world of close-up and

It is my hope that you will learn lighting

macro photography. Here we discover a world

techniques to solve specific close-up and macro

of beauty that few people have experienced and,

lighting problems while learning the advantages

with careful technique and selective vision, we

and disadvantages of specialized close-up and

are able to share our view of this world with

macro equipment. I hope that you will also

others.

gain some insight into the creative process as it

This book will explore the photographic

relates to close-up and macro photography. But

aspects of recording the close-up and macro

more than anything, I hope that this book will

world with digital cameras and related equip-

open your eyes to the amazing world of close-

ment. I will explain what I was attempting to

up and macro photography.

achieve with the photo, or my thought process in arriving at the result. Then I present a



detailed explanation of the equipment used to

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to dedicate this book to Linda, my wife, who bears with me while I am writing, and to Craig Alesse of Amherst Media for his faith and patience. My thanks to: Cameron “Cam” Lowder, www.camscrystalgallery.com, for loaning me crystal specimens from his amazing collection. Ken Rogers, www.kenrogers4u.com, a longtime friend, as well as a great photographer, jewelry designer, and rock and mineral expert for his knowledge and guidance, and the loan of several agate specimens.

Stan Sholik

1 Detail On Metal Objective

reflector and into the coin, but I didn’t like

On occasion, objects you encounter in close-

the result. The flat surface of the coin was too

up and macro photography have reflective and

bright and the image was too contrasty overall.

metallic finishes. These present a special set of lighting problems, especially if you want to

Lighting Adjustments

record surface detail. Most often, I use coins

What I really wanted was to show the detail

when I am asked to show an object’s scale.

of the surface, not the reflective finish. So I

And, on those assignments I

decided to use a softer light, but one that was

generally flood the coin with

still directional. In place of the silver card I used

a soft light so that it is recog-

a piece of shiny aluminum foil that I crumpled,

nizable, but not with enough

then flattened somewhat. To accentuate the

detail to draw the eye away

coin’s surface I skidded light from a fiber optics

from the client’s product. In

bundle across the surface. The result was the

contrast, this 2000 Kennedy

inset photo, which shows strange fine lines in

half-dollar from my mint

the coin’s surface. I have yet to figure out what

coin collection is the subject

caused them, but it wasn’t what I hoped for.

of this photograph. I love

Substituting a matte surface silver card for

the detail on the reverse

the aluminum foil and adjusting the light shin-

side of the coin and needed

ing on it gave the result in the main image. I

a different lighting setup

did some cleanup of tiny flaws in the surface

since flooding it with light

and color balanced the two photos so they

wouldn’t show the detail.

would look the same. The aluminum foil version was slightly bluer than the main photo.

Observations To show that an object has a reflective surface it is necessary to show a fast transition from light to dark. You can see this in the photos I did of minerals using a quarter to show scale. Also, whatever light is reflected onto the surface it must be the same color as the object. If you reflect a white card onto a gold coin, the gold will not record in its own true color. This is especially important to realize when photographing jewelry. I started with these thoughts in mind, reflecting light onto a shiny silver card 6 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 7

2 Capturing Iridescence Lighting Setup

needed to use them, but they do spill and diffuse

Because the shell was curved, I needed a suf-

the light. After taking test shots in different areas

ficient working distance for the light so that the

of the shell, I selected an area with an interesting

area I chose would not be in shadow. I decided

and somewhat unusual structure. The magnifica-

to use the 105mm Micro-Nikkor lens and

tion was about 2x and resulted in the test image

mounted it on the Nikon PB-6 bellows. On the

below.

front of the lens I attached two of the Nikon R1C1 speedlights on opposite sides of the lens.

Refined Adjustments

A broader, softer light would show the irides-

As I looked at the image on the monitor, the

cence best, so I added the Extreme Close-up dif-

nacre didn’t seem to have the range of colors

fusers to the speedlights. I wasn’t so close that I

that I saw when viewing the abalone shell in sunlight or under the studio lights. I decided to

Goal Abalone is prized as a food wherever it is found. But the inner lining of the shell is regarded as even more precious. Known by various names such as “mother of pearl” and “nacre,” it is the same material that forms pearls. The nacre builds up slowly, layer by layer, as the abalone grows. The thickness of the layers is close to the wavelength of light. Light striking the layers interferes constructively and destructively, depending on the wavelength of the light and the angle at which you view it, causing the iridescent sheen. My goal was to capture this iridescence in a macro photo.

remove the diffusers from the speedlights to see what effect that would have. After repositioning the lens, I adjusted the exposure slightly to account for the undiffused lights. The photos without the diffusers showed a much wider range of colors as you can see in the main photo. With the undiffused lights, there are pinks and greens that were not present in the diffused version. Although the same wavelengths were striking the shell, there is more color in the image with higher contrast lighting.

Final image shot used speedlights without diffusers. Test image shot with diffusers resulting in a smaller range of colors. Speedlights mounted on camera lens.

8 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 9

3 Focus Stacking Assignment: Laparoscopy

the individual photos stacked in Photoshop

Laparoscopy, the inspection of the abdominal

as I have done for other photos in this book.

cavity with a rigid endoscope, has long been

However, when working in the studio on a

used in medicine to view abdominal and pelvic

high magnification subject where precision is

organs. I was to photograph one of the small

essential, I use a computer-controlled device

devices used in this procedure.

called the StackShot, and Zerene Stacker or Helicon Focus software.

At a magnification greater than life size, the depth of field was very small.

Setup and Exposure For this photo I connected my Nikon D3s camera to a Nikon PB-6 bellows unit and attached

Focus Stacking

everything to the StackShot as shown in the

At a magnification greater than life size, the

accompanying photo. The lens was a 120mm

depth of field was very small. With this device,

f/6.3 Micro-Nikkor that is no longer avail-

even with the lens fully stopped down I

able. The lens is just marked in field stops from

couldn’t keep everything in focus. But even if I

1 (f/6.3) to 7. I used the 4 aperture setting,

could, stopping the lens down is a bad solution

which I had found was the sharpest.

because diffraction decreases overall sharpness—the image is equally out of focus every-

Lighting

where. A better solution is to take photos at

I lit the device with small softboxes on either

the optimum aperture of your lens at different

side. The heads in the softboxes are connected

planes in the subject and merge them into one

to a studio power pack. For the background I

sharp image with software. This is called focus

placed gelled flash heads connected to different

stacking.

packs behind a sheet of translucent Plexiglas. The

Focus stacking can be done manually and

gels were Rosco #12 (yellow) and #60 (blue).

The StackShot is used with software.

10 Shoot Macro

Multiple exposures were stacked in Photoshop.

Shoot Macro 11

4 Creating Highlights and Shadows Background on Adamite

of two fiber optic bundles connected to a single

It wasn’t until I was introduced to collectors

flash head powered by a 1200 watt second

and saw the incredible variety from around

power pack.

the world that I became seriously interested



in minerals and crystals. While beautiful on a

the sample around with a bright light shining

non-macro scale, truly exciting worlds open up

on it to find an interesting area. I shot a num-

when you investigate minerals and crystals at

ber of different areas to find one that appealed

much larger than life size.

to me. I settled on a section where a strip of

This sample is from the Ojuela Mine in

limonite created a natural frame for the adamite

Durango, Mexico. The crystals on the right of

crystals.

After guessing at a magnification, I moved

the main photo are adamite. The orange is limonite, which is one of the two forms of iron ore.

Highlights and Shadows Adjusting my magnification to take in just the

Goal

area I wanted, I used one fiber optic bundle

My goal was to show the

without a diffuser to light the area from above

adamite crystals, how they

and behind. This created some bright high-

refracted light to produce a

lights in the adamite that I knew would pro-

rainbow of colors, and to do

duce the rainbow effects I was looking for. It

that in an interesting way.

also created some strong shadows. To lighten the shadows I added another fiber optic bundle, shining through a small piece of

Focus Stacking At 5–6x magnification, the depth of field is only a few millimeters. To achieve the sharpness I wanted, I made twenty captures at different focus points and put them together with focus stacking.

Camera and Lights As you can see from the inset photo, I photographed a section of the sample that is about 1/4

inch long, making the final magnification

about 5–6x. I used my 65mm Macro-Nikkor lens mounted on a bellows connected to a Nikon D800E camera. The lighting consisted 12 Shoot Macro

plastic for diffusion. I positioned this light close to the camera lens and aimed at the subject. It added light to the shadow side of the limonite and also created the broad highlights on some of the crystal surfaces.

Shoot Macro 13

5 Eliminate Reflections With Filters Background on the Subject

over the lens. The lens was a 90mm Tamron

Agates are some of the most beautiful stones

f/2.8 macro lens that I manually set to 1:1, and

found in nature. The colors and designs found

I adjusted my camera on a studio stand up and

in them continually amaze me. While attend-

down until the design was in focus. Using polar-

ing rock and mineral shows, I make a point to

izers required an additional two stops of expo-

introduce myself to exhibitors to see if they are

sure, or in my case, an increase in exposure time

interested in having photos taken, or are will-

by a factor of 4 so that I could use the optimum

ing to loan specimens to me for photography.

aperture of the lens, which was f/11. The final

This agate and several others in this book are

exposure time was 3 seconds.

from the collection of a good friend and fellow photographer.

Setup Agates in their natural state are nondescript nodules that hide the beauty within. Only after cutting them open can you see the beauty inside. Once open, slices are made, like this one. Even then, their beauty is only truly revealed when the surface is wet. Some agates such as this one are opaque, while others in the book are translucent, or have a hole in the middle that may or may not have crystals. Every agate is different, and beautiful. For this photo, I submerged the slice in water held in a glass dish. I have tried brushing water on the surface of an agate while I photograph, but I don’t find that works as well as submerging them entirely if that is possible. Most agate slices are reasonably small, so submerging them is not usually a problem.

Lighting, Lens, and Exposure I lit the agate with a 1000-watt quartz light on either side of the dish. To eliminate reflections, I added polarizing filters over the lights and 14 Shoot Macro

Agate’s beauty is revealed when wet.

To eliminate reflections, I added polarizing filters over the lights and over the lens.

Shoot Macro 15

6 Two Kinds of Lights For Two Textures

Two Kinds of Light

For the reflected light I used two lights.

Reflected light accentuated the surface of this

One is a small strip light on a flash head and

agate. The crystals inside the hole didn’t get

placed it at a low angle to prevent the light

enough of the reflected light to reveal much

from reflecting off of the water that I use to

detail. So, I decided to shoot it with a combina-

bring out the color in the surface of the agate.

tion of reflected and transmitted light in order

The other is a fiber optics bundle connected to

to see something of the surface, but to concen-

another head with the light directed into the

trate on the crystals.

crystal area.

Equipment

Photographing

You can balance the color temperatures using

It required a few test shots to achieve the bal-

filters, but for my continuous-transmitted light

ance of exposures that I wanted. I ended up

I use a Cabin Light Panel, originally designed

settling on f/4, 1/2 second, and ISO 400 using

for viewing 4x5-inch transparencies that have

a Micro-Nikkor on my Nikon D800E camera.

a color temperature very close to that of my

With the first test at this exposure, shown in the

studio flash.

inset, I knew that I would need focus stacking in order to achieve focus so that both the surface and the crystals would be sharp. The final image, shot at a magnification of slightly greater than 1:1, consists of eight separate exposures composited together in Zerene Stacker. I cleaned up some reflections of the fiber optic light in the water covering the agate and some dark flecks in the agate itself that I didn’t like.

Aperture and Shutter Speed The more common way of shooting with reflected and transmitted light is to use the same type of light source for both, that is, flash or continuous light for both. However, when it is possible, I prefer to use flash for one source 16 Shoot and continuous lightMacro for the other. This gives me the option of using the aperture to control the amount of light from the flash and the shutter speed to control the amount of light from the continuous source. Of course, unless you are shooting for a special effect, the color temperature of both sources needs to be close to the same.

Shoot Macro 17

7 Agate With Transmitted Light Interpreting the Subject

the color temperature is very close to daylight.

Subjects such as this agate are more or less

It is also bright enough to allow an exposure of

monochromatic. Subjects with a limited color

1/6

palette lend themselves to creative interpreta-

Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens.

tion. These subjects present exciting options

The surface of the agate was cut flat and

for experimenting in postproduction. Not every

polished, requiring that I shoot straight down

macro photo needs to be a straightforward

to give overall sharpness. The agate had many

record of the subject, even though the straight-

interesting areas at 1:1 magnification and the

forward rendition can be interesting in itself.

main photo is just one of the captures that I

With the tools available in Photoshop, turning

made on my Nikon D800E camera.

second at f/11 with this specimen using a

this type of subject into a black & white image and then applying tints, or hand coloring, are

Postproduction

also options.

When I processed the RAW file using Adobe Photoshop, I corrected the white balance

Photographing

to neutral. The natural color is only slightly

This agate is more attractive in transmitted

warmer than neutral and, although I liked the

light than reflected light. In reality, this agate

pattern of the structure, the natural color isn’t

slice is not very interesting, even when wet, in

that exciting. For the main photo, I increased

reflected light. But when I held it up to the

contrast, saturation, and added a little warmth

sun, the structure inside was really interesting. I

to keep it close to natural. Then I made addi-

decided to photograph the slice using transmit-

tional copies of the image and tried different

ted light only. The device I use for small sub-

settings using the Curves and Color Balance

jects is a Cabin Light Panel originally designed

adjustments on them. The redder version is

18 Shoot Macro

for viewing 4x5-inch

one of my favorites, although it works well with

transparencies. It

both a blue and green overall look. There is no

is powered by four

need to stop with an original image, no matter

AAA batteries and

how simple or difficult it is to create.

Shoot Macro 19

8 Spend time Observing Subject: Agave Spine

time walking around the prospective subject

This image of the thorn of an agave plant is

looking at how the light changes at different

another example of not having to stray far from

angles. Even before I attach the camera to my

home to find macro subjects. Walking my dog

tripod I take a few images to get a feel for the

one evening, she decided to stop by this agave

subject.

plant to sniff around. While I waited I noticed how the setting sun was lighting the plant,

Approach and Composition

especially the rim lighting on the edges of the

After deciding on an approach, I took some

plant. I decided to come back the next day with

close-up photos with the camera on the tripod,

my camera, 60mm macro lens, and Nikon D2x,

looking for interesting designs or lighting. I

my digital camera at that time.

moved in slowly, taking pictures as I went. For

I generally spend time walking

this agave, I was first interested in the thorns on the edge of the plant, but the lighting and

around the prospective subject

background didn’t work. As I moved in, I

looking at how the light changes at

noticed the rim lighting on the tip of one of

different angles.

the tip. This made an interesting photo, but I

the leaves and the warm background behind didn’t stop there.

Observing

Moving closer and concentrating on the

It is important to spend time observing a

spiny margin of the plant, I saw the single thorn

subject in order to come up with interesting

against the warm interior of a leaf. It had an

images. This is true with landscapes, portraits,

interesting shape and some detail on the shadow

and especially macro subjects. I generally spend

side, and the evening light gave a nice highlight to the tip of the spine. I shot at f/4 and larger than life size to throw the background out of focus and give tension between the nearly horizontal spine and the diagonals of brown, white, and green. I tried other photos as the light faded, but the single thorn is my favorite from that day.

20 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 21

9 Adding Background color Subject: Apophyllite

Equipment

Apophyllite is a common mineral found

The specimen was about 2.5 inches in length,

throughout the world. Colors can be pink,

with two apophyllite crystals in the stilbite base.

green, yellow or red, but most commonly it

The crystals themselves were about 0.75 inches

is colorless, as this specimen is. Apophyllite is

in height. I had chosen the 105mm Micro-

also commonly found with other members of

Nikkor mounted on the PB-6 bellows to give

the zeolite group of minerals, and the structure

me a good working distance.

below the crystal in this specimen is stilbite. Both minerals are nearly colorless, with only

Postproduction

a slight pink cast to the stilbite. I decided to

In postproduction, I added a slight exposure

add some color to the background that would

gradient to the stilbite base to draw the eye

refract through the apophyllite to add some

more strongly to the crystal.

interest.

Lighting To clearly show the different faces of the apophyllite, I started lighting with a small softbox above the crystal. This worked well, but the crystal itself was much too dark. To light up the crystal, I added another light behind and slightly below it. The bare reflector created flare in the lens, so I added a 3-degree grid with a ring to narrow the light beam further and prevent light from striking the lens. This light also added a bright white highlight on the side of the crystal as well as lighting the interior. To create a glow in the background, I clamped a sheet of Plexiglas to a crossbar between two light stands. I used a large sheet in order to position it far enough behind the crystal that the softbox didn’t reflect in it. If it had, I would have made two exposures, one with black velvet hanging on the front while I shot the apophyllite, and another with the velvet removed to shoot the background. Behind the Plexiglas was another head. On this head I added different grids until I settled on a 5-degree grid to achieve the size glow I wanted. A deep blue filter completed the effect I was after. 22 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 23

10 Using Black Glass for Background Overall Design and Detail

Lighting and Stacking

As part of my commercial photography busi-

For consistency with other recent photos for

ness, I photograph jewelry for designers, retail-

the designer (www.frederickschusterjewelry.

ers, and manufacturers. This includes individual

com), I set a large diffuser above and behind

pieces such as this ring of white gold set with

the ring and positioned a studio strobe with

a diamond front and back, diamonds on the

a 5-degree grid to shine through the diffuser.

sides, and topped with a large natural aquama-

This created the halo of light around the ring.

rine stone. When photographing jewelry for

By taping small black cards onto the diffuser,

the designer, what is important is showing the

I blocked light from the aquamarine and the

overall design, while also showing the stones

diamonds on the top.

as well as possible without compromising the

This created a great lighting effect, but the

design.

ring looked terrible as you can see in the inset with the background lighting. To light the ring,

Setup

I placed white cards around it and used the

The inset photo shows my set and the lighting

same lighting that I used for the background.

setup. The background is a prized piece of black

To achieve sharpness from the top of the ring

glass that I acquired years ago. Black glass gives

to the bottom, I made a series of twelve cap-

a cleaner reflection than black Plexiglas, and

tures at f/11 that I stacked together. One of

doesn’t scratch as easily. The ring was supported

these captures is shown in an inset. I retouched

using museum wax. The base of this ring was

and outlined the stacked photo and moved it in

wide enough that I didn’t need to remove in

Photoshop on top of the ring photo with the

postproduction any wax that might have other-

background lighting halo and reflection.

wise shown.

The Best Angle Like many pieces, this ring presented a number of problems. It wasn’t simple to decide on the best angle to show all of the elements. Showing more of the side would emphasize the diamonds mounted there, but de-emphasize the single diamond on the front and the overall design of the front and bottom. It also would have caused confusion where the front overlapped the side and obscured the designer’s stamp. A lower angle would have shown the design slightly better, but de-emphasized the stone and diamonds on the top. After trying several possibilities, we decided on this angle.

Set and lighting setup. Note the black glass beneath cards.

24 Shoot Macro

1 of 12 captures used for stacking to create a sharp image.

White cards helped to light the ring.

Shoot Macro 25

11 Stop Movement With Flash Subject: Bougainvillea

try to create an interesting photograph. I began

Bougainvillea grow everywhere in Southern

with the lens wide open at f/2 to create the

California and I rarely paid any attention to

shallowest possible depth of field. This empha-

them until I was told that the flowers are not

sizes the small size of the flower since there

flowers at all. What I thought was the flower is

is no other element in the photo that gives

actually a grouping of brightly colored bracts,

any sense of scale. I used a shutter speed high

which are specialized leaves, not flowers. The

enough that the ambient light would not add

actual bougainvillea flower is the relatively

to the flash exposure to keep the image dark

insignificant white structure that is surrounded

and moody.

by the three or six bracts. I discovered that there are usually three flowers together in each

Lighting

bract set. Examining the plant closely, I decided

I tried the first few captures with a small soft-

that the bougainvillea flowers would make an

box on the flash, but decided that the light

interesting macro subject.

was too soft. With the softbox removed, I used direct flash from the speedlight. I liked

Photographing

the drama, but after feathering it as much as I

I mounted the camera on a tripod. With a

could, the light was still covering too large an

Nikon SB-800 speedlight connected to it

area. Using the manual zoom function, I nar-

through a Nikon SC-17 remote TTL cord that

rowed the beam to that of a 105mm lens. After

was mounted on a light stand, I was ready to

some additional feathering and test exposures, I captured the main photo.

Lens and Positioning With many flowers on each branch of a bougainvillea vine and the paper-thin bracts acting as sails in the wind, I decided to use flash to stop the movement and shoot in the evening when the air was still. Even then I ended up holding the vine close to the flowers I was photographing to keep them in the position I wanted.

Rather than showing three open flowers, I chose an arrangement with two open flowers and one getting ready to open. This allowed me to move in as close as the 60mm f/2 Tamron macro lens on my Nikon D2x camera would allow and make the capture at 1:1. The inset photo shows a typical bougainvillea branch shot with flash at about the same time of day, but it is not the actual branch with the flowers that I photographed for the main photo. 26 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 27

12 Gels For Color Simple Subjects: Bubbles

Using an eyedropper, I created bubbles in

The simplest subject can make the most inter-

the bubble solution and poked them around

esting macro photo if you can picture the final

with the eyedropper until I saw an arrangement

result first. From my food photography assign-

I liked. After a quick focus check I captured the

ments, I have had experience creating bubbles

image. You can lose yourself in this process for

and photographing subjects with bubbles. But

hours. Every arrangement is different, as you

bubbles themselves are interesting subjects for

can see by comparing the inset photo to the

macro photography because, as with glassware,

main photo. The camera and lighting are iden-

bubbles will take on the setting in which you

tical, only the bubbles are different. I created

put them. Bubbles need no light shining on

many more images that day, each one different.

them; all of the light is supplied by light behind or in this case below the bubbles.

Lens and Positioning I mixed up a batch of bubble solution and poured some in a petri dish. There are bubble solution recipes online, or you can use solutions made for kids, but they generally lack the glycerin that makes the bubbles last. I placed the petri dish on a sheet of glass suspended about 9 inches above the light panel.

Backlighting and Colored Gels For backlighting, I used a 12x17-inch Artograph LED light panel. The color temperature is close to daylight balance and it is quite bright. In retrospect, I probably should have used a sheet of translucent Plexiglas with a flash head below it because, with the dense gels that I chose, the exposure ended up 1/15 second at f/5.6 (after correcting for the magnification) and ISO 800. The slow shutter speed and changing bubble formations resulted in a fair amount of blurred images. I love saturated colors. So, I decided on a black background behind the bubbles with strongly colored gels to inject several hues. I cut a piece of rubber-backed black flocking material from a roll I have had for years and sized it for the field of view of the lens. I placed the black material on the light panel, then added magenta, red, yellow and blue 28 Shoot gels around it. LightMacro from the light panel shone through the gels, but the black flocking material blocked the light directly under the bubbles as you can see from the lighting setup.

Shoot Macro 29

13 Use a Stable Platform Subject: Butterfly Wing

many accessories that were once available for it

With the right equipment, it is possible to

in my commercial work, but for many macro

magnify objects up to 30x without the need

purposes, a heavy copy stand and a long bellows

of a microscope. Butterfly wings are a subject

would work just as well. What is needed when

I have found extremely interesting at high

working at high magnifications is an extremely

magnifications. I obtain the wings from www.

stable platform.

ButterFliesAndThings.com, the same source that I use to obtain exotic insects. The marking

Lighting, Focus, and Magnification

on the wing in the main photo is called an ocel-

Part of the Multiphot system is the two cylin-

lus because of its resemblance to an eye. At the

drical continuous lights balanced to about 3200

16x magnification shown, some of this resem-

Kelvin shown in the photo. You can focus them

blance is lost, but the way in which it is created

down to a narrow spot and use just one, as I

is fascinating.

did in the inset photo of a different wing, for strong directional light even at high magnifica-

Lenses

tion. You could achieve the same result with

You also need the right lens. Nikon made four

fiber optics and a lens to focus its light.

Micro-Nikkor lenses to cover the magnification

For the main photo, I used the lights on

range from 1:1 to 30:1. Each is corrected for

opposite sides pointing down 45 degrees and in

a part of the range. The lens I used here is the

their flood position to give an even light to the

35mm, which is designed for use from 8:1 to

ocellus marking. For focusing, I set the bel-

16:1 magnifications. These lenses and a similar

lows to provide the magnification that I think I

series made by Zeiss also show up on auction

need, place the subject on a laboratory scis-

sites on occasion.

sor stand, and raise the scissor stand until the subject is in rough focus. Then I can fine focus

A Stable Platform

using the Multiphot. High magnifications show

I made the photo using my Nikon Multiphot

amazing details and designs.

system that is no longer available new, but used models are often available online. I use the

30 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 31

14 Framing The Subject Setup

camera to approximately the correct position,

Some subjects are more easily photographed

and then focus with the lens.

than others. Shooting a cactus bud can be a real pain if you aren’t careful. While there was

Positioning

sufficient sunlight to hand hold the camera

As often happens, one of the most difficult

and lens, even with an extension tube, I didn’t

aspects of macro photography after you find an

want to be moving back and forth to achieve

interesting subject is getting to it and framing it

focus and end up with cactus spines in my arms.

in an interesting way. I was just hiking by when

Instead, I mounted the Nikon D2x camera and

I saw this cactus bud growing in a somewhat

105mm macro lens with an extension tube on

accessible part of the plant. As I looked closely,

a UNI-LOC MASYS1600 tripod system, the

I liked the way the direct sunlight captured all

same one I used for the tide pool photo (see

of the fine detail. The bud was growing verti-

section 57). If I had a macro stage with me, I

cally from the cactus leaf, but I decided this was

would have used that to make focusing easier.

too static for my taste.

As it was, I had to move the arm holding the

Lighting Tripod Adjustments After maneuvering my Nikon D2x camera roughly into position on the tripod, I tilted the tripod head on its arm to position the bud on a diagonal. The UNI-LOC tripod is great for this since it has a wide range of adjustments available to aid in positioning. It is better in this respect than my Benro C-298EX tripod, which also has an extendable arm for maneuvering into difficult positions. It took further small adjustments to position the bud so that the upper portion was against a dark area of the background. I carry a folded piece of black velvet to position behind subjects if I’m not as lucky as I was here.

32 Shoot Macro

The lighting was just luck. While I would normally diffuse the direct midday sun or hold a reflector for fill light, I did neither for this photo. The direct sunlight enhanced the texture and dark area in the background, making a potentially average photo into something interesting.

Shoot Macro 33

15 Seeing Detail Subject: Cactus Flower

flower for fill light. The ends of the fiber optic

I found this miniature cactus in bloom while

bundles are ½ inch in diameter, which is on the

walking through a local nursery. The color

same scale as the subject. This size relationship

contrast of the magenta flower against the

guarantees optimum contrast and saturation.

green plant caught my eye. When I looked

However, when I saw the image on my

more closely I saw the detail inside the blossom

monitor, I was disappointed. While it shows the

and I decided that it would make an interesting

flower in good scientific detail, the photo was

photo looking straight into the flower with part

two dimensional and visually boring—nothing

of the plant behind it.

like what had caught my eye in the nursery.

There were several blossoms on the cactus and I had some assignments over the next few

Another Approach

days, so I set the plant aside. When I got back

I decided to try another approach. I realized

to it, all of the flowers had passed! I discov-

that what initially interested me was the view of

ered that the flowers only last a day or two.

the flower from the side, reaching out for light,

Fortunately, more blossoms appeared in a few

as well as the color contrast. I rearranged the

months and I was able to complete my project.

fiber optic bundle without the diffuser to backlight the flower, which also emphasized the tiny

Lighting

cactus spines. I increased the bellows draw with

The lighting setup for my original photo idea

my 120mm macro lens to give a little greater

of shooting straight into the flower was the

than 1:1 magnification and moved the plant

same as that used for the succulent to photo-

until the flower was in focus. Again I moved

graph the adamite crystal (see section 4.) It

the fiber optic bundle with the diffuser close

consisted of one fiber optic bundle, without

to my lens for fill light. Since I was showing

a diffuser, aimed directly at the flower from

background, I placed a piece of black velvet to

above and slightly behind, and a second bundle

cover the area. I used focus stacking to keep the

with diffusion close to the lens and aimed at the

entire flower and some of the cactus in focus.

I used focus stacking to keep the entire flower and some of the cactus in focus.

34 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 35

16 Looking closer Subject: Caterpillar

lately a Nikon D3s, with a 105mm Micro-

I plant marigolds in my garden because I love

Nikkor lens. I prefer my old manual focus f/4

the colors. I always believed that they deter

version with an extension tube to get to 1:1.

garden pests, until the day I was stalking the

Autofocus never seems to choose the area

garden looking for macro photos of insects and

that I want to be in focus, and that old lens

I came across this mysterious caterpillar munch-

is really sharp. For focus, I just rock back and

ing on my marigolds. Research has contradic-

forth as I did when shooting film. My shut-

tory claims about marigolds: pests are deterred,

ter speed was 1/250 second; the lens was set at

pests are encouraged, beneficial insects are

f/16, and the ISO at 400.

discouraged, and beneficial insects are attracted. With the jury out on marigolds, I’ll keep plant-

Lighting

ing them for their color. I am still trying to

I attach my Nikon R1C1 speedlight wireless

identify this caterpillar.

macro system to the front of the lens. With two speedlights, I set a lighting ratio of 2:1, with

Autofocus never seems to

the light on the left receiving more power than

choose the area that I want

the one on the right. The speedlight on the left

to be in focus.

one on the right at about 3 o’clock. It’s your

was positioned at about 11 o’clock, and the basic portrait lighting, scaled down for macro

Setup

photography. With the R1C1 it is quick and

My insect stalking setup isn’t simple, but it

easy to change settings, but with this setup I

pretty much guarantees that I come back with

can capture an image faster than a butterfly can

usable images if I find a willing or even an

fly away.

unwilling subject. It consists of a camera body,

The marigold was in the shade at the time, so the lighting was purely from the speedlights. However, this light works just as well in full sun, slightly overpowering the ambient light. And you don’t need an R1C1 system to use it. Other alternatives that utilize two small flash units and TTL (through-the-lens) exposure with your camera will work just as well.

36 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 37

17 Diffuser Diffusion

only 1.5 pounds, it attaches easily to a pack or

To diffuse or not to diffuse. That can often

just strapped to your tripod. I have used it as a

be the question when you are shooting macro

diffuser, a reflector, and a windbreak. You can

subjects. Most non-macro subjects look terrible

even clamp several together to build a diffusion

when photographed in direct sunlight because

box or surrounding windbreak if necessary.

the size of the light source (the sun) is small compared to the size of the subject. The light-

A 20x24-inch diffuser made by Chimera.

ing looks too harsh and contrasty. But if you are photographing a subject that is about 1x1½ inches (1:1 with a full-frame digital SLR or 35mm film camera), the subject may well be larger than the size of the midday sun in the sky. In that case, direct sunlight would be an appropriate light source. While still contrasty, the photo would look far better than if the subject were a person. With macro subjects, it becomes a question of aesthetics whether to diffuse direct sunlight or not. Consider getting a portable diffuser that is convenient to carry. Hiking around with a frame made of PVC tubing and covered with plastic is not a good idea.

The Setup The Diffuser

For the flower photos, I set up the shot with

The two flower photos show the same flow-

the Nikon D3s camera and Tamron 90mm

ers shot just a few minutes apart. One was

f/2.8 macro lens on a tripod and shot one

taken with direct sunlight, the other with my

exposure in sunlight at 1/320 second at f/11

portable diffuser. The diffuser I use is a col-

and ISO 200. Then I held the diffuser up and

lapsible 24x24-inch panel frame covered with a

shot the second exposure at 1/125 second at

cloth diffuser made by Chimera. An elastic cord

f/11 and ISO 200. I prefer the diffused ver-

runs through the frame so that it assembles

sion because the flowers are predominant rather

and disassembles in seconds. The diffuser was

than the water drops.

held to the frame with wide elastic. The frame folds to a 5x4-inch rectangle and everything packs in the heavy bag provided. Weighing 38 Shoot Macro

This version was taken in direct sunlight. This version was taken using a diffuser.

Shoot Macro 39

18 Light Source For A Metal Surface Subject: Clockwork

to the size of the clock mechanism. Without

While the printed circuit boards in electronic

a modeling light, placement is hit or miss and

timepieces have a certain interest in macro

requires a lot of test shots to get it right.

photography, they can’t begin to compare to the

I placed the speedlight on the stand that

intricate beauty of a mechanical watch move-

Nikon supplies and mounted the Apollo to the

ment. This Wittnauer clock from the 1940s

light. It is held on by an internal framework

was given to me by my uncle who received it in

and Velcro tabs, if you choose to use them. I

recognition from his associates. When it stopped

don’t bother because I only use it in the studio.

working, I dismantled it to see what made it tick.

I used a PocketWizard Plus X to wirelessly

It is an interesting macro photography subject.

trigger the flash. I chose my 105mm Micro-

I have photographed many different parts

Nikkor mounted on the Nikon PB6 bellows to

of this clock mechanism at different magnifica-

give me enough room to position the light. I

tions. This view with its curving lines, gears,

shot at a slight angle so that the front surface

delicate spring, and spot of color from the

of the Apollo was reflected into the metal.

single jewel is my favorite.

Shooting straight down would cause the metal to go black because the camera rather than the

Lighting

light source would be reflected into the metal.

With a subject this small, a large light source

This simple lighting setup shown in the photo

doesn’t need to be physically very large. I used

below is effective for many macro subjects, but

a Westcott Micro Apollo modifier on my Nikon

particularly effective for metal objects.

SB-900, which creates a huge source relative

Metal Surface Photographing a brushed metal surface requires a large light source reflected into it so that the pattern in the metal remains visible. With a small light source there is the danger of it reflecting off of the surface and blowing out detail, or not lighting the surface at all and having it go dark.

40 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 41

19 Macro Opens New Worlds Subject: Crystal Cave

Lighting and Positioning

Fundamentally, my fascination with macro

With this sample I knew exactly what I was

photography derives from its ability to open

after and I focused right in on the cave area.

new worlds and landscapes that may never have

In the inset photo, George Washington on the

been seen before. These often mimic structures

coin was looking directly at the cave area. The

of the world around us, and this crystal cave is a

magnification worked out to be a little greater

good example. I have walked through and seen

than 6x so I used the 65mm Micro-Nikkor,

photos of caves with large crystal structures at

which is optimized for 4–8x magnification,

random angles, so I was astonished to see this

mounted on a bellows for the capture.

tiny cave in the sample shown in the inset. The piece is from the Ojuela Mine in

Lighting

Durango, Mexico, the same mine where the

The trick was getting light into the cave. With

adamite sample also shown in this book came

the camera directly over the opening, there

from. The crystals in the miniature cave are the

was no way to get enough light on the crys-

mineral arsenbrachibushite. The yellow on the

tals to make the photo I really wanted. I had

surface is mimetite, which is commonly found

to change my camera position so that it was

in lead deposits, and the base is a lead mineral.

at a slight angle to the opening. Then I could position a fiber optic bundle without a diffuser

Goal

to shine more or less straight into the opening

My goal was to photograph the crystals in the

from almost directly above.

cave while at the same time showing the sur-

When I did this and exposed for the crystals

rounding minerals on the surface.

inside, the area around the opening was much too bright. I have a full range of accessories for the fiber optic bundles, including spot attachments, filters, and snoots. I chose to add a snoot that was about 2 inches long to the fiber optic bundle. This concentrated the light directly into the opening, but left the outside too dark. To light the outside I added another fiber optic bundle, with this one diffused through a small piece of plastic. I positioned this close to the lens, but skimming across the surface to try to pick up some texture.

42 Shoot Macro

Focus Stacking To achieve sharpness from the surface of the sample into the cave, I needed to use focus stacking again. This required twelve captures from the surface as far into the cave as the light penetrated. I added a slight vignette to draw attention to the crystals in the cave for the final image.

This version shows scale. Shoot Macro 43

20 Shaping With Flash and Grid Goal: Low-Key and Dramatic

about 45 degrees. This added highlights to the

My quest to find new ways to photograph a

ends of the petals and a directional light to give

rose continues. This rose died many years ago,

shape and dimension to the flower.

but remained rigid on its stem. That seemed

Everything looked good except the under-

unique, so, I kept it. A few years later, I created

side of the lower petals were a little too dark.

a new lighting design and used a photo of this

I added a white card under the lens to bounce

rose in its full length with stem and dried leaves

back a little light from the overhead softbox so

in a promotional piece to show the lighting

there was a hint of texture to the underside of

technique.

the petals.

The rose was returned to the top shelf of my bookshelf where it remained, forgotten. By

Postproduction

chance a visitor saw it and asked about it. When

Rather than capture a slightly underexposed

I took it down, this was what I found. It looks

image to create a low-key effect, I shot the dead

like it has mummified. I immediately decided to

rose with a normal exposure and reduced the

shoot a macro photo.

exposure in postproduction. Underexposing

I wanted the image to be low key and dra-

with digital raises the noise level, which is most

matic. This seemed fitting for a dead flower.

noticeable in the dark areas that predominate in this image.

Lighting

As a final touch I added a soft vignette to

I started with a flash head and a 5-degree grid

draw the viewer’s eye to the center of the dead

spot above the rose, thinking that it would give

rose.

a spotlight effect with deep shadows. It did, but the highlights were so bright and the shadows so dark that you couldn’t tell what it was. I wanted something dramatic, but darker overall. I replaced the 5-degree grid spot with my smallest softbox, which is 12 inches square. If I had a smaller one I would have used it, but instead I moved the light further from the rose to make it a smaller source. This gave me the low key look I wanted, but no drama. The rose looked flat with no sense of roundness or dimension. To give the rose some shape, I added a flash head with a 3-degree grid to camera right at 44 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 45

21 Facets Without Reflections Positioning

adapter ring and surrounds the lens.

When photographing diamonds, I make a small

With the camera, lens, and reflector in posi-

hole in a black card and position the diamond in

tion, I aimed spotlights into the reflector from

the hole. I then position the card and diamond

behind and on each side of the card holding

on a small, clear acrylic tube so that the tube is

the diamond. I used my fiber optics bundles,

hidden behind the card, and arrange this on a

but any small light source works as long as it

table so that I can shoot straight down on the

doesn’t shine into the lens and produce flare.

diamond.

Tiny Adjustments The trick is to move the spotlights around to achieve the lighting you want. Only tiny adjustments are needed to change from the inset photo where light is reflected from facets on the crown in the inset photo, to the final photo where no light is reflected from the table or crown. There is some fire present in the main photo from refracted light that is dispersed as it exits the stone, but less than in the inset photo. The posi-

Setup

tion and size of the spotlights, as well as the qual-

For this photo, I positioned a 7-inch reflector

ity of the stone, control the amount of color you

from one of my flash heads around my 105mm

see. By the way, diamond photos in jewelry ads

Micro-Nikkor and then attached an oversized

are often heavily retouched. This one is not, other

adapter ring to the lens. The adapter ring was

than making the background blacker. Spectral

larger than the diameter of the mounting hole

separation or dispersion of white light into rain-

in the reflector so that the reflector sits on the

bow flashes creates color in the stone.

Photographing Jewelry I photograph jewelry for designers, retailers, and manufacturers, but photographing raw stones presents an entirely different set of problems. With completed jewelry, you need to show the entire piece in its best light, with some emphasis on the gems, but more on the design. With a single gemstone, it’s all about the gem itself. The table of a diamond is the flat central area at the top, and the crown is the faceting surrounding the table. The photograph of a diamond such as this 1.25 carat round cut shows the faceting clearly without reflections on the table or the crown, and picks up some of the fire from light that is internally reflected. When I photograph jewelry I often use a broad overall light source and use small black cards to block the light from the table of the gems and a fiber optic bundle to add the highlight needed to bring out the fire in a diamond. However, with a single stone, this doesn’t work. You are much too close to light it this way. 46 Shoot Macro

The fire appears because of spectral separation. There is less fire present in this diamond image.

The position and size of the spotlights, as well as the quality of the stone, control the amount of color you see.

Shoot Macro 47

22 Wetting Increases Color Saturation Subject: Dinosaur Bone

up desaturating the main photo slightly in

When one of my sources for rock and mineral

postproduction.

samples heard I was doing this book, he called

I began with my 105mm Micro-Nikkor

and suggested I shoot this cross section of fos-

at 1:1 and moved the dinosaur bone around

silized dinosaur bone. That didn’t sound very

under it looking for interesting areas. I quickly

interesting until he showed me the sample. The

decided that I wanted higher magnification

entire cross section is about 10x6 inches. The

and mounted the Nikon PB-6 bellows between

areas shown are just a little larger than life size.

the camera and the 105 lens. The 105mm is not the perfect lens for magnifications greater

The Process

than 1:1, but the flat field and lack of distortion

I found that wetting increases the saturation of

made it an adequate choice for this project.

the colors, similar to the agate slices. Since the cross section of the fossilized dinosaur bone was

The Images

flat, I approached the photography as if it were

It turned out that I didn’t need much of a

a copy job. This means using two lights at 45

bellows extension to find patterns that made

degrees to light the area evenly.

interesting designs in the frame. At the mag-

Normally I would add polarizing filters to

nification, of the main image, about 1.2x, the

the lights and to the camera lens to eliminate

image makes me think of an aerial photo of the

any possible reflections and to increase the

desert, with flat red sand and mountains rising.

color saturation. This time I decided to line up

The white region near the top and the squiggly

the shot before I did this. It turned out that I

line leading to or from it could be a dry lake

didn’t use the polarizing filters on the lights or

bed with a canyon leading into it. The inset

on the lens. With just a thin coating of water

photo (below) shows similar, but different, pat-

there was no reflection, and the image had

terns. Macro photography opens up new worlds

enough saturation for my taste. I actually ended

and opens up your imagination also.

48 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 49

23 Flash to Overpower Sunlight Subject: Fiery Skipper

Exposure

The fiery skipper butterfly, Hylephila phyleus, is

The ambient sunlight exposure was 1/250

common in southern California. They generally

second at f/11 and ISO 100. I used the 1/250

fly from flower to flower, only spending a few

second shutter speed, but set the lens at f/16.

seconds at each stop. I decided to chase them

With the flash ratio set to 1:1, I started stalking

around the lantana bushes outside my studio

the fiery skipper butterflies. As fast as they are,

and try to capture some close-ups. This female

and as random as their choice of flowers seems

was about 1 inch long overall. I was fortunate

to be, I didn’t even try to set up a tripod, focus

that she spent about a minute feeding on vari-

on one flower, and wait patiently for the butter-

ous parts of the flower. I chased many others

fly to land. Instead, I set the lens at ½ life-size

around the lantana before and after this one

and chased butterflies among the flowers until

without capturing an in-focus image.

this one landed long enough for me to take the photos.

Lighting I have only seen these butterflies feeding when

Positioning

the sun was shining brightly. I didn’t want the

Having seen and photographed this subject in

background to be as bright as the skipper so I

the past, the image I wanted to capture is the

decided to light the butterfly with the Nikon

head-on view shown in one of the cropped

R1C1 macro flash system. That way I could

insets. The triangular wing formation is dis-

overpower the sunlight by a stop, keeping the

tinctive for this species and looks to me like a

skipper the brightest area of the image and

fighter plane. It is theorized that the fiery skip-

using the sun as fill light. I mounted two R1C1

per holds her wings this way to better absorb

flash heads on my 105mm Micro-Nikkor. I

the sun’s energy. Shooting quickly, I captured

positioned them at 45 degrees above the lens

the head-on view, then moved to my left to

axis and pointing down to give an even over-

capture the slight angle view in the second

head light that was indistinguishable from

inset, then farther to my left to capture the

sunlight.

image in the main view. The R1C1 flash heads recycled quickly enough even at the f/16 aper-

Alternate images from the same session.

50 Shoot Macro

ture that I was able to make the three captures before the fiery skipper moved on.

Shoot Macro 51

24 Include The Subject’s Surroundings Subject: Fuchsia

Positioning

Fuchsias are high on my list of favorite plants,

Every rule is worth testing, so I decided to

and every summer I have three to six plants

photograph these fuchsias in early evening and

hanging under lattice for protection from the

overpower any ambient light with portable

California sun. Among the fuchsias, the Dark

flash. It happened that I had a Quantum Qflash

Eyes varietal shown here is my favorite. With

at the time. The Qflash is a powerful battery-

large double purple flowers and cerise-red

powered flash that, when coupled with the

sepals it looks magnificent, and attracts hum-

Quantum CoPilot, offers TTL (through-the-

mingbirds throughout its summer-long flower-

lens) control for Nikon and Canon cameras.

ing season. While beautiful when viewed as a

The CoPilot also incorporates an infrared focus

full flower head, what I see in the fuchsia is the

assist light that comes in handy at dusk with

complex flow of petals and sepals that creates a

dark subjects such as these fuchsia blooms.

fascinating graphic design.

My original idea was to photograph a single fuchsia flower, but I wasn’t happy with the

Include Surroundings

framing and the amount of black background

When I photograph flowers in the studio, I

showing. When I found the two flowers shown

often choose to use a black background to

in the inset photo and arranged them so that

remove any distraction from viewing the sub-

they overlapped, I knew that I had what I was

ject. But when I am photographing outside of

looking for.

the studio, I usually want to show that I am outside, and include something of the sur-

Lens and Exposure

roundings to place the subject in nature.

In order to compress the distance between the flowers and show as little background as possible, I chose to use the 200mm Micro-Nikkor lens. This also gave me a greater working distance for the Quantum CoPilot IR focus assist to align with the flowers. With the camera on a tripod and the Qflash on a light stand, I captured the main photo. The exposure was 1/250 second at f/32 and ISO 100.

52 Shoot Macro

With the camera on a tripod and the Qflash on a light stand, I captured the main photo.

Shoot Macro 53

25 Camera Options Subject: Gazania

Magnification

Gazanias are drought-tolerant plants used as

I needed greater magnification than 1:1 to

ground cover in southern California. Their

photograph the center of the flower. To achieve

brightly colored flowers bloom all summer.

this I added extension tubes. Nanoha makes

This plant ended up in my garden along with

a set of two, a 10mm tube and a 16mm tube.

others of its type already there. I decided to

Although they are fully automatic and commu-

photograph a gazania for the book because

nicate autoexposure and autofocus information

of the interesting and complex center of the

between the camera and the lens, I used the

flower.

camera in manual focus mode mounted on a

Mirrorless Cameras Most of the photos in this book are taken with Nikon digital SLR cameras. But there are other options for macro photography that are far less expensive and far more portable. One of these options is a Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds camera. I used a Panasonic Lumix GH2 for the gazania photos as well as the gerbera, oriental lily, zinnia, and the peso photos. There are adapters to use Canon or Nikon macro lenses on some Micro Four Thirds cameras, but I chose the Lumix because of the availability of the Panasonic Leica 45mm f/2.8 Macro lens for it. On a micro Four Thirds camera, the 45mm focal length is equivalent to 90mm on a full-frame digital SLR making it an excellent all around focal length for macro work. The inset photo of the full flower was taken with the lens at f/16. Mirrorless cameras have an advantage over digital SLRs for macro photography at slow shutter speeds because there is continuous viewing and no mirror to cause vibration as it bounces around. Just be sure to use an electronic release.

tripod or camera stand. At 1:1 magnification with a Micro FourThirds camera, an area 17.3x13mm is captured. Adding both extension tubes increased the magnification by 1.58x and the area decreases to approximately 11x8.2mm. Even at this magnification, the working distance was quite reasonable.

Lighting To light this small an area I used a single flash head from camera right with a 3-degree grid. I knew the petals surrounding the center would reflect back enough light to fill the shadows. With the exposure set manually to f/11 at ISO 320, I made sixteen captures at slightly different distances with the StackShot focus stacker. These captures I stacked together in Zerene stacker software to create the main photo.

54 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 55

26 A Large Light Source Subject: Geode

lens in order to be far enough from the geode

If you wander through rock and mineral

that its sides would not create shadows from

shows as I have, you will find many examples

my lighting. I added two of the speedlights in

of geodes. Geodes are filled or partially filled

the Nikon R1C1 Close-up Speedlight System

cavities in rock that

to the front of the lens on opposite sides.

are lined with mineral material such as agate or

Positioning

amethyst. When found in

Using a continuous light source I experimented

nature, they are spherical

with different magnifications and looked at dif-

or egg-shaped and don’t

ferent areas of the crystals in the geode until I

reveal their interior until

decided on the composition shown in the main

sliced open. The small

photo. I liked the S curve formed by the crys-

geode that I photo-

tals at the bottom center that move the eye to

graphed is lined with tiny

the darker lower area of crystals, and then back

quartz crystals. I learned

up with the large quartz crystal at the top and

from one of my mineral

back down again.

friends that the color of the interior may have

Lighting

been artificially altered

With the composition set, I began testing the

to give the blue cast. It

lighting. With the first exposure it was obvi-

makes for an interesting

ous that the speedlights, as large as they were

macro photo in any case.

relative to the crystals, were creating specular reflections on the faces. I decided to add a

Setup

Nikon Extreme Close-up Positioning Adapter

As with all of the crystals

to both speedlights to diffuse the light. This

I photograph, I wanted

softened the reflections enough so that the

to show multiple facets

crystal faces were not blown out.

with different amounts

Then all that was needed was to find the

of reflection to highlight

best position for the lights to show the crys-

the crystalline nature. This generally calls for a

tal lining. Firing test photos with one light at

light source that is large relative to the size of

a time resulted in positioning one speedlight

the subject.

at approximately the 11 o’clock position and

I began by mounting my 105mm Micro-

another at approximately 3 o’clock as shown

Nikkor lens on the bellows so that I could

in the inset photo. The final image was a single

shoot at greater than 1:1. I used the 105mm

exposure at f/16.

56 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 57

27 Stacking: Multiple focus Points Subject: Gerbera

This is a macro camera system that delivers

Gerbera flower heads range in size from 2

excellent quality at a price and weight sig-

inches to giants like this 5-inch gerbera that

nificantly less than that of a Canon or Nikon

you find at florists, or in my case, a wholesale

macro system. Olympus also makes excellent

flower distributor. The flower head of a gerbera

Four Third cameras and macro equipment. You

is not actually the flower. The flower head con-

can find other photos taken with this camera in

sists of two rows of ray florets, one large and

the gazania, Oriental lily, zinnia, and peso sec-

one small, and hundreds of the actual gerbera

tions (see sections 25, 48, 50, and 60.)

flowers surrounding a dark center. My goal was to show all of these parts of

Setting Magnification

the gerbera while emphasizing the ring of tiny

To set the magnification I used manual focus

flowers.

and set the focus to minimum by turning the focus ring until the slider in the LCD screen

Camera

shows minimum focus. Then I moved the

With the large size of this gerbera, I thought

camera and lens until the subject area is in

that I could do the shot I wanted at about 1:1.

focus. I intended to focus stack the images, so I

But the large size also meant that I could not

mounted the camera on the StackShot and this

have everything in focus as I wanted without

allowed me to move the camera smoothly into

focus stacking. I have many options for reach-

focus once I had set the 1:1 magnification.

ing 1:1 magnification, so I decided to use the Micro Four Thirds Panasonic Lumix GH2 and

Lighting and Stacking

Panasonic Leica 45mm f/2.8 lens set to 1:1.

There was no need for complex lighting with a subject so beautiful. I decided that the image

Four Thirds System

should flow naturally from the dark center to

Four Thirds system is a universal system for digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) and mirrorless cameras. It allows for the camera body and lens from different manufacturers to be interchangable. The system has been described as an open standard. It is called Four Thirds because of the 4:3 image aspect ratio.

the lighter flower ring and then on to the rows of florets. This called for backlighting at a low angle to emphasize the different textures. A flash head with a 5-degree grid behind and just above the gerbera provided the lighting. Seven identical exposures at f/11 and different focus points with the Stack Shot and stacked with Zerene Stacker software gave the sharpness from front to back that I wanted.

58 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 59

28 Light And Reflection Conveys Form Assignment

my subject to maximize contrast and show the

One of the services I offer is fine art photogra-

iridescence, but in this case it would have cre-

phy for museums, collectors, and individual art-

ated excessive contrast because of the reflec-

ists. With many pieces of art, this involves tak-

tive glaze. I decided instead to use a 12-inch

ing a highly detailed overall photo on a simple

square softbox mounted on a flash head. These

background, and then taking detail photos of

I attached to a light boom in order to move

the art as requested by the client.

them in close to the goblet to maximize the

The abstract goblet shown below was cre-

size of the light source relative to the subject.

ated by a sculptor in Hawaii. One of the detail

I knew I could recover contrast in postproduc-

photos is shown as the main photo (right).

tion more easily than controlling highlights on the reflective glaze.

Lighting As with nearly every cylindrical subject, the

Adjustments

photograph should show the shape, no matter

With the 12-inch square softbox, the light

how large or small an area you depict. The best

wraps around the goblet but the shadow side

way to do this is to light one side of the cyl-

goes fairly dark. The assignment, however,

inder more strongly than the other. Choosing

required me to show more detail in the shadow

the size of the light source and the size of the

side, so for the full goblet photo, I added a

reflector on the shadow side determines the

16x20-inch white card to camera right and

amount of information you convey about the

just out of the frame to add fill light. The final

roundness and the subject itself.

capture was made at approximately 1:1 magni-

The artist used glazes that are highly reflec-

fication at f/32 on the lens. I boosted contrast

tive as well as somewhat iridescent. I would

slightly in postproduction.

normally use a light source about the size of An image showing the object in its entirety.

60 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 61

29 Compressed Perspective Subject: Grafted Cactus The plant nurseries I frequent are a constant source of macro photography subjects. I always make it a point to walk by the succulent and cactus areas to see the latest offerings. The cactus tables often have grafted cactus, where one type of cactus is grafted onto another. That was where I found this example of a colorful moon cactus grafted onto a green cactus stock. The Moon Cactus is actually a mutant seedling that lacks green chlorophyll for photosynthesis. If it is not grafted to a green stock it would die. Once the graft takes, the green stock provides the nutrients needed by the Moon Cactus. The two plants can survive for years, but the newer grafts are often the healthiest,

Lighting

and a perfect size for macro photography.

With the compressed perspective, I needed lighting that would show some dimension to

Lens and Magnification

prevent the shot from looking two-dimensional.

The Moon Cactus had new tiny yellow tuber-

This meant a strong side light that would show

cles growing from the main stem. I wanted one

the roundness of the tubercle. I decided to use

of these with its tiny cactus spines to be the

my SB-900 speedlight with its diffuser attached

hero of the photo against the darker red-orange

to soften the light. I attached the speedlight to

of the main stem. To compress the perspec-

a RadioPopper Nano receiver that I was test-

tive and show as little of the main stem as

ing at the time and attached the trigger to the

possible, I decided to shoot with my 200mm

camera’s hot shoe.

Micro-Nikkor. Since the final magnification would be about 3x, I mounted the lens on the Nikon PB-6 bellows and extended the bellows just about to its maximum. Any higher magnification using this

An alternate image without fill light.

lens would have required extension bellows.

Adjustments The initial captures with the camera angle that I liked were a little too dark for me on the shadow side as shown in the inset photo. I added a white reflector card for Shoot fill light 62 close to the Macro plant as shown in the set photo to produce the final image. I cleaned up some black spots on the tubercle and added a vignette in postproduction. Who says you can’t improve on Mother Nature!

Shoot Macro 63

30 Warm and Cold Colors Assignment: Grapefruit

take a day to find examples in my archives, I

Early this year I received a call from a citrus

put delivery off until the following day when I

importer asking if I had ever photographed

would e-mail the photos to him.

close-ups of citrus fruit. They were considering

I knew grapefruit and navel oranges were

doing this for an upcoming campaign. Even

in season, so I took off to the grocery store. I

though I hadn’t, I’ve been in business long

purchased half a dozen each at a high-end mar-

enough to know, “Don’t say no when you can

ket that has great produce. I shop there often

say yes!”

for my food clients and the produce manager

Naturally, the client wanted to see examples

knows me well enough to pick out the best

because there weren’t any specific citrus close-

products for me.

ups on my website. Explaining that it would Preliminary image with uneven lighting.

Setup I peeled and separated grapefruit sections until I had a few that I thought would look interesting when I photographed them about life size with my 105mm Micro-Nikkor. I choose to shoot at f/16 for depth of field and adjusted the flash outputs accordingly. Using two lights, I captured photos like the inset photo. It is okay, but the slice is almost as dark as the background, and I needed the slice to be a real hero. I wanted to show more of the interesting structure in the grapefruit also. Adding more power to the overhead light made the slice brighter, but too bright along its top edge. I decided to add another light shining through the slice from behind. Adding another head with a 5-degree grid head in a separate pack, and using a low power setting, produced just the look I was after. I shot many slices and the main photo is my favorite. A;so, I shot the orange a couple of different ways and sent the photos to the client. I got the job.

64 Shoot Macro

Warm and Cool Colors Knowing that warm colors, such as those in the pink grapefruit, come forward and cool colors recede, I decided on a blue seamless background. In keeping with my general lighting style, I lit the seamless with a 3-degree spot on a studio strobe to give a small bright spot of light behind the grapefruit. I knew I would have some spill from the softbox that I suspended on a boom over the grapefruit section, and this would give some tone to the seamless around the spot.

Shoot Macro 65

31 Backlighting Shows Translucence Concept: Gummy Bears

Lighting

My daughter is responsible for my gummy

When I did the original poster photo, I

bear infatuation. In order to justify the cost of

thought I could light it with transmitted light

buying them as she was growing up, I pro-

only. While the gummy bears were interesting,

duced a bear poster in the days before Adobe

they needed a top light to bring out the surface

Photoshop. It was a macro photo of gummy

detail. I used the same lighting for this capture

bears shot on 8x10-inch transparency film. A

that I had used originally, just scaled down.

graphic arts house produced color separations

There was backlighting to show the trans-

and hand-masked blue gummy bears into them.

lucence of the candy. To this I added a flash

I used it as a promotional piece and it was very

head in a 20x10-inch strip light from above and

successful.

behind for a soft but directional fill. To capture

To tie the poster to my studio, I keep a sup-

surface detail I used a fiber optic cable dif-

ply of gummy bears available for clients, who

fused by a 2x2-inch piece of diffusion material.

look forward to snacking on them while we are

Without the diffuser, the fiber optic was almost

shooting. The gummy bear poster also started

a point source and the light was too specular.

me doing a series of macro candy photos. This

Even with the diffuser I needed to move the

is my digital update of that original poster.

fiber optic bundle around and kept checking the live view to achieve the right effect.

Magnification Magnification is directly related to the size of

Find An Specimen Without Flaws

the object relative to the size of the capture

If you try a photo like this one, plan on having

medium. This means that macro with 4x5-inch

a lot of specimens on hand. I rejected far more

film would involve capturing an area smaller

than I used, trying to find good ones for the

than 4x5 inches, whereas macro with a digital

background. The foreground hero was even

SLR means capturing an area of 1x1.5 inches or

more difficult to find. I rejected at least twenty

less. These gummy bears are less than an inch

bears before I settled on this one. Even so I did

long, giving a magnification of somewhat more

some cleanup and retouching in Photoshop to

than 1:1.

make it look the way it was intended. Bellows and camera. Lighting setup with fiber optic cable and diffusion.

66 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 67

32 Backlighting With Color Gels Assignment

with no other lighting at the client’s request, as

I was to photograph the read/write head of

an alternative to the more dramatic photos to

a hard drive for an ad. The ad needed to be

come.

vertical with room for a headline above and

For the next setup, I taped neutral den-

copy below. The photo needed to be dramatic,

sity (ND) filters on the diffuser to darken the

but still strictly representational. I imagined

foreground. I used two ND 3 (1 stop) pieces,

that the client would send me a few samples. I

slightly offset from one another to give a grada-

planned on mounting one in front of a sheet of

tion, as shown. The client liked this, but we

Plexiglas, lighting it with a softbox, and back-

both agreed it wasn’t very dramatic.

lighting it with color gels, as I do with a lot of

The solution was to add a color gel to relieve

my macro assignments.

the monochromatic feel. The gel used is a decent match to the client’s corporate color, so

Solution

the client was happy with it. Placing it on the

When the shipped package arrived, it contained

diffuser to add color to the top of the image

a hard drive with the cover removed to expose

added a color cast to the arm as you can see in

the read/write head. There was no way to go

the small photo with blue in the background.

forward with my original plan, but the shiny platter of the hard drive made me think that

Postproduction

I could simulate my original lighting plan by

To create the final image, I masked the arm in

reflecting light off of it.

the photo without the blue in the background

I set up a large homemade diffuser over the

in Photoshop and used it to replace the arm

hard drive and arranged a strobe head in a small

with the blue color cast. I hadn’t moved the

square diffuser to shine through it onto the

camera between setups, so it was relatively easy.

hard drive. I chose my camera angle and made

To draw attention to the read/write head itself,

a quick JPEG capture to e-mail to the client

I let the rest of the arm go gradually out of

to approve the angle and cropping. After a few

focus. The magnification is about 0.75x.

adjustments, I ended up capturing the image Camera, bellows and lighting setup. Image of subject merged (left) with background image (right) using Photoshop.

68 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 69

33 High Dynamic Range Options Concept: High Dynamic Range

on a Nikon D2x camera supported by a mono-

A few years ago I authored a book on Nik

pod. The roses were in bright shade and the

Software’s HDR Efex Pro software. HDR

only lighting was the available light.

stands for high dynamic range, a technique

I capture all of my images in RAW file

that you usually use to merge multiple photos

format because it gives me the widest range of

encompassing a range of exposures into a single

options in postproduction. This photo sat in

photo. HDR allows you to create an image of a

my files until I was working on the HDR book

scene that exceeds the dynamic range that your

and manipulating single images with the HDR

camera sensor can capture in a single image.

software.

You can also use HDR software with single RAW captures to manipulate the tonal range

Postproduction

and structure of the subject, which is what

I processed the original RAW file to a 16-bit

I have done with this close-up photo of two

TIFF twice. One process favored the highlights

roses.

and the other favored the shadows. With an image with as limited a dynamic range as this

Photographing

one, you could simply bring the RAW image

I captured this photo at the same desert rose

into HDR Efex Pro and work on it directly.

garden where I captured the macro photos of

I decided on one of the presets, called

roses discussed in Section 53. I took it with the

Granny’s Attic, that strongly enhanced the

105mm Micro-Nikkor lens wide open mounted

midtone contrast. Then, I used the sliders in the adjustment panels to further customize the look. After living with the HDR image for a few weeks, I decided that it looked too harsh and artificial. I opened it in Focal Point (onOne Software) and softened the image around the central area of focus. Adding a soft, dark vignette in Focal Point draws the eye more strongly to the center. I liked the result so much that I decided not to use it in the book but rather to save it for a promotional piece and a line of note cards I produce.

70 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 71

34 Hand Held In Direct Sunlight shooting. The inset photo is an example of the captures I made. I was hand-holding the camera and shooting wide open at 1/125 second and ISO 100 at nearly life size.

Abstraction The pollen sacs and anthers holding them to the style, the center stalk-like structure, make an interesting abstraction. As I backed away from the plant, I noticed what was to become my favorite photo from the day and the main photo here. The sun created a strong shadow of the central carpel onto the colorful petals.

Simple Setup

The closer I looked at it, the more I liked the

Many of my macro photos end up involving

abstraction. The design read as a hibiscus flower

elaborate studio setups. This is required for

without showing hardly any of the flower. The

my assignments, but also I choose to do this

color of the petals added to the effect.

when shooting for my own pleasure. That doesn’t mean that I don’t grab a camera, attach

The sun created a strong

a Tamron SP AF60mm F/2.0 Di II LD (IF)

shadow of the central carpel

MACRO 1:1, and just go for a walk. The camera is along in case I find something irresistible.

onto the colorful petals

That’s how this hibiscus photo came about. I found the bush while I was walking around my

From Shade to Direct Sunlight

southern California neighborhood one clear,

I wanted as shallow a depth of field as I could

sunny day. I wasn’t carrying a diffuser or any-

achieve, so I left the lens wide open. Now that

thing else to soften the light. Rather than come

I was in direct sunlight, the exposure jumped

back when the light was “better,” I started tak-

from 1/125 second to 1/3200 second. No need

ing pictures.

to worry about holding steady. I switched my Nikon D2x camera to slow motor capture, held

Lighting and Camera

down the shutter release, and rocked slowly

There is no lighting diagram for this photo. It

backward and forward. The main photo is my

is just pure direct sunlight. I started out shield-

pick from the results. The highlights needed a

ing the hibiscus flowers from direct light by

little adjustment in postproduction, and I also

standing between them and the sun as I was

increased the saturation and clarity slightly.

72 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 73

35 Lensbaby Macro Lens Kit Subject: Rose

But when you manually shift the Composer,

A rose is such an excessively photographed

the area of sharpness moves and blurred edges

subject. Each new macro photo must add a

appear. The amount of sharpness and blur, as

little something unique to the way we see a

well as the exposure, is determined by the lens

subject, or it’s not worth doing. This is my take

aperture. The aperture is adjusted by discs that

on it from a few years ago when Lensbaby first

you place into the Composer.

introduced its macro lens kit.

For close-up and macro photography there are +4 and a +10 diopters available in a kit.

Lensbaby Optic System

These you can screw onto most of the optics

For those unfamiliar with Lensbaby (www.

either individually or in combination.

lensbaby.com), it is an optic system that replaces the lens on Canon and Nikon DSLRs,

Choosing the Subject

many Four Thirds cameras, or PL-mount video

As always, choosing the right subject is impor-

cameras. There are several lens bodies that

tant. I found these small roses at a market when

allow you to shift the focus point while blurring

I was shopping and bought them to photo-

other areas of the image, and a range of optics

graph. While I was shooting them with my

that mount into the bodies and simulate various

Nikon macro lens and producing results that

camera lenses. There are also lens accessories,

I was happy with, I thought of the Lensbaby

such as the macro lens kit that I use, as well as

macro lenses that I had recently acquired.

newer macro converter extension tubes. For this photo I used a Lensbaby Composer

Available Sunlight

body on my Nikon with the Lensbaby double

Using available sunlight, I started playing

glass optic, an f/8 aperture disc, and both

around with the macro lenses individually and

macro close-up lenses. The double glass optic

in combination. With the +4 diopter mounted

is a well-corrected, multicoated lens that is

on the double glass optic and the f/8 aperture

quite sharp when the Composer is not shifted.

disc installed, I shifted the Composer quite a way off axis to create an area of sharp focus and streaks of blur around the area. This image is my favorite from that day. The shot works because there was enough color contrast in the red to clearly show the blur. With a single color rose, it doesn’t work well at all. Check out the hydrangea photo (see section 36) for another Lensbaby macro photo.

74 Shoot Macro

The shot works because there was enough color contrast in the red to clearly show the blur.

Shoot Macro 75

36 Lensbaby Diffusion Discs Diffusion Lens

I added both the +4 and +10 diopters to the

This is another example of a photo taken with a

soft-focus lens.

Lensbaby, but with a rather different concept in mind. If you are unfamiliar with the Lensbaby

Exposure and Focus

system, there is a brief description on the previ-

After adding the diopters to the lens, I

ous page, Section 35 Lensbaby Macro Lens Kit.

mounted the camera on my tripod and adjusted

Rather than use the Lensbaby glass lens,

the Composer so that there was no shift. I

which is very sharp, that I used for the rose, I

didn’t need the tripod for stability since the f/2

wanted a soft look for these hydrangea flowers

aperture in full sun resulted in an exposure time

that were in the process of forming. Lensbaby

of 1/6400 second at ISO 200. Mounting on a

makes a soft-focus optic that mimics the effect

tripod allowed me to try slightly different focus

of the classic Rodenstock Imagon soft-focus

adjustments. At approximately 3x magnification

lens. The Lensbaby soft-focus optic consists of

with an f/2 soft-focus lens, it is very difficult to

three different diffusion discs that mount in a

be entirely sure where the best focus is. With

50mm f/2 flat-field lens. There are also aper-

the sun falling on the camera, live view isn’t

ture discs, but I wanted the minimum depth of

much use either.

field and softest image so I began with the optic

To see the effect of a different soft focus

at f/2 without an aperture disc and the diffu-

disc, I replaced the one I used for the main

sion disc with the largest openings.

photo with the disc with the next smaller holes.

The 50mm lens in the soft focus optic is

The result is shown in the photo (below.) It is

designed with a flat field and doesn’t create any

definitely less soft and less like the main image

blur if you make any shifts with the Composer.

that is what I had intended to create.

76 Shoot Macro

I wanted the minimum depth of field and softest image so I began with the optic at f/2 without an aperture disc and the diffusion disc with the largest openings.

Shoot Macro 77

37 Waiting For The Right Light Subject: Indian Paintbrush

When I arrived at the site that year it was mid-

Wildflowers are one of my favorite macro

afternoon. I wandered around until I found

subjects. Their small size and the possibility

the flowers and the setting I thought would be

of finding or creating a beautiful background

interesting and set up my equipment.

make them continually interesting. I schedule several wildflower photography trips each year,

Rugged Tripod

and I’m never disappointed in the photos I

I thought I might end up with the tripod

return with.

in the stream, so I was using a UNI-LOC

The length of the wildflower season var-

MASYS1600 system tripod. The lowest section

ies throughout the country. In California it is

of each leg nests outside of the section above

quite long, beginning in the lower deserts and

and is completely sealed from the environment

Central Valley and continuing up the elevations

so the tripod can be placed in a stream, even

of the Sierras for several months or more dur-

though I found a location where I didn’t need

ing a good year.

to do that.

The subject of this photo is the giant red

I used the center column roughly horizontal

paintbrush, Castilleja miniata, commonly

and the camera tilted on the ball head to create

known as the Indian paintbrush. It is generally

an interesting angle.

found along the banks of small streams, and was where I found these.

Exposure I took the inset photo, knowing it wouldn’t

Patience

be great because of the lighting. I had chosen

As with landscape photography, macro photog-

the location knowing that the sun would set

raphy involves a lot of patience in waiting for

behind the flower and make for a more interest-

the right conditions. I return to this location

ing photo. I left everything set up and scouted

nearly every year in June and take a different

for other photos. Periodically I returned until

photo each time.

I saw this lighting and took this photo. I used

a Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/4 lens at f/11 for the photo. I experimented with a white card to fill in the front of the flower a little bit, but I liked it unfilled better.

Camera and tripod. Alternate image. 78 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 79

38 Showing Features Assignment: Intraocular Lens

Positioning

The majority of my commercial macro photog-

The lens needed to be shown in the orientation

raphy involves shooting medical devices. Many

of the main photo, but holding it in that ori-

of the devices are products for correcting prob-

entation was impossible with the soft material

lems with the eyes. This intraocular lens (IOL)

from which it was made. I ended up building

is one such device. It is implanted in a patient

a rig that held the lens upside down from the

whose vision is impaired because the natural

orientation shown and letting gravity work for

lens is clouded by cataracts.

me rather than against me. I mounted the rig

Clients are looking for straightforward

to the stand holding my camera so that any

photos that show the features of the lens. A flat

vibration present would move both in sync.

view of an IOL is fairly straightforward. But their advertising agencies need dramatic views

Lens and Focus Stacking

of the lens for their marketing and packag-

The central optic of this intraocular lens is

ing design. This is an example of that type of

about 6mm in diameter. I knew that I would

photo. The agency wanted the IOL shot at an

need to shoot multiple exposures and use focus

angle with dramatic lighting, but still showing

stacking to combine them into one image

all of the features of the design, in particular

with sharpness everywhere. I calculated that

how thin it was. The entire lens needed to be

I would need twenty-four exposures with my

in focus. The lens was made of a soft material,

65mm Micro-Nikkor lens to have everything

making it difficult to work with.

in focus. The 65mm Micro-Nikkor is a special purpose macro photography lens designed for a magnification range of 4x to 8x, but no longer manufactured. It is one of four Micro-Nikkors that cover the range from life size to 30x magnification.

Postproduction In postproduction, I stacked the individual captures using Zerene Stacker and retouched any issues in Adobe Photoshop.

Lighting Lighting needed to be accomplished with only transmitted light. Any light falling directly on the polished lens could give a reflection and the impression that the IOL would cause flare in the eye when it is implanted. The product and camera are facing a 4x6-foot sheet of translucent Plexiglas. The Plexiglas needs to be large because the IOL is a lens and is forming an image of everything behind it. 80 the Shoot Macro Behind Plexiglas were two flash heads with grid spots. The sizes of grids depend on the distances involved and the amount of color you want in the lens. One had a blue gel and the other a yellow gel. After assembling the set, it was just a matter of adjusting the lights and making the exposures.

Shoot Macro 81

39 Smartphone Photography Redefining Macro

sensor is 4.54x3.42mm. While the actual image

Electronic devices such as smartphones and

magnification ratio on the iPhone 4 is therefore

their associated accessories are testing my

approximately 1:3, or 1/3 life size, it certainly

definition of macro. Before the availability of

looks like a macro photo. And if I had shot it

very tiny image sensors with reasonable reso-

with a full-frame digital SLR, the magnifica-

lution, macro was defined as an image scale

tion would have been about 2x, which would

from life size to 30x life size relative to the

definitely have been in the macro range. While

size of the capture media. For 35mm film and

it is becoming more difficult to define macro

full-frame digital SLR sensors, subjects that

precisely, it is great to see that a far greater

were 24x36mm or smaller in size were macro

number of people are being exposed to the

subjects.

world of small subjects.

Now we can capture images of small subjects that would previously be macro photos with

Devises and Lenses

smartphones. I made this capture of a feather

Smartphones such as the iPhone 4 used here

that is 15mm long with an iPhone 4, whose

can focus fairly closely unaided, but to get in even closer you need accessory equipment. I used an olloclip, which is a $70 aftermarket lens system made for iPhones (www.olloclip.com). One of the inset photos shows it attached to the iPhone. There are many other aftermarket macro accessories for iPhones and other smartphones. The olloclip system consists of three lenses, the macro, a wide angle, and a fisheye. The macro lens is a simple close-up lens of unspeci-

Eliminate Camera Shake

fied diopter power. It delivers remarkably sharp

With the fixed focus f/2.8 iPhone 4 camera lens and the olloclip diopter, camera shake is an issue with macro photos. To overcome this, I clamped the phone securely to a table top. I placed the feather on my Cabin Light Panel for backlighting and the light panel on a laboratory scissor lift. The arrangement is shown in the inset photo. I raised the scissor lift until the feather was in focus and captured the image. With the five megapixel resolution of the iPhone 4, the image size in print is only 8.6x6.4 inches. There are macro accessories for the iPhone 4s and iPhone 5 that take advantage of 8Macro megapixel cameras to produce a 82 Shoot larger image size. You will need to decide if photos of small subjects taken with even smaller sensors deserve to be called macro photos.

photos with the real limitation being the smartphone itself.

Shoot Macro 83

40 Lighting For Iridescent Colors Subject: Jewel Beetle

commercial macro photos. The first challenge

This is a male jewel beetle, Catoxantha opu-

was making him float. For this, I balanced him

lent, native to Malaysia. You do not have to

on a glass microscope slide that I had clamped

travel to Malaysia to photograph him. This

onto a light stand. I knew that I could retouch

beetle, as well as the wolf spider and some of

any edges of the slide or any reflections in

the butterfly wings that I have photographed,

postproduction.

is only one of the subjects available from www. ButterfliesAndThings.com. The photo on the

Lighting and Postproduction

website was interesting, but I didn’t realize

Adding a light was difficult because I was using

the beetle was iridescent until it arrived. My

my 120mm Micro-Nikkor on the bellows and

goal was to capture the iridescent colors of this

I was very close to the front of the beetle.

alien-looking insect.

However I did manage to fit the corner of a 12x8-inch strip light into the set. You can see

Positioning

this light in the lower part of the beetle’s eyes.

The subject sat around my studio for about a

With the lighting set I made sixteen captures

week while I thought about how I wanted to

for focus stacking and had my shot. A little

photograph it. My initial thought was to build a

postproduction retouching to remove pieces of

set to make it look like it was photographed on

the microscope slide finished the job.

location, but I discovered that they are woodboring beetles that eat through dead or rotting wood, and that didn’t seem very photogenic. I decided instead to do a portrait with him floating in front of a background glow, using the same technique that I use with many of my

Background Some iridescent surfaces, such as mother of pearl, photograph better with a small light source and some photograph better with a larger one. I tried both and settled on the large source, a 12-inch square softbox, above the subject. For the background I set up a sheet of translucent Plexiglas and settled on a deep blue for the background glow color. The first test captures looked great on the top of the beetle, but everything from the middle of his eye and lower went to black and blended into the dark background. I considered doing away with the dark backMacro ground,84 andShoot then decided to add light below the subject. A white card didn’t add enough light, and the reflection from a mirror looked wrong in the bottom of the beetle’s eyes.

Shoot Macro 85

41 Patience While Posing Nature Subject: Ladybugs

Setup

When a ladybug finds a plant with insect pests

I went back inside and attached my Nikon

on which to feed, it generally stays around for

R1C1 macro flash system with two flash units

a while. If the infestation is heavy enough, the

onto my 105mm Micro-Nikkor. Even at 1:1,

female will lay eggs and the young ladybugs

the ladybug was too small. I added three

feast on the pests. There are male ladybugs as

Nikkor close-up lenses, a 0, +1, and +2, to

well as female, and the males are also called

the lens to achieve a decent image size. I set

ladybugs, as they are virtually indistinguishable

the flash heads on opposite sides of the lens

from the females.

at about 45 degrees and with a relatively flat

These are the things you discover about

2:1 lighting ratio since I didn’t know what to

entomology when you take macro photos and

expect and thought it would be easy to adjust

research what you have photographically cap-

as I was shooting.

tured. I expected it would be easy to photograph ladybugs. Unlike with butterflies, there is

Perseverance

little or no chasing them from flower to flower.

Well, the ladybug was less than cooperative

But I discovered, that while they remain on the

in the tight quarters I was working. They are

same plant, a lot of patience is needed while

much easier to photograph while they are

you wait for them to “pose.”

climbing on a green leaf rather than a colorful succulent. I started with the macro rig on a tri-

Natural Environment

pod, thinking I would just wait for the ladybug

While it would be easy for me to buy a con-

to appear where I had focused. The couple of

tainer of ladybugs from my local nursery, build

times it did, I ended up with photos of its back

a set in the studio, and light it with studio

end.

lights, I wanted to photograph ladybugs in

Taking the rig off the tripod didn’t make the

their natural environment. I had no problem

photography much easier. I eventually captured

doing this in my yard, but the photos looked

a head-on view shown in the inset photo, but

like everyone’s photos—a red ladybug on a

not exactly the one I was hoping for. After

green leaf. Excellent color contrast, but boring.

many more attempts, I captured the image in

I was ready to visit the nursery to buy a

the main photo. I like the brightness of the

container, when I spotted this ladybug climb-

ladybug against the muted colors in the back-

ing over a succulent that I had planted outside

ground, and the way the spikes of dead flowers

my studio. I was excited because the succulent

frame the ladybug. Unconventional, but inter-

had a lot of color, both on the dead flowers

esting. And I never did get around to adjusting

where the ladybug was climbing and in the

my lighting.

background. 86 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 87

42 Capturing With Close-Up Lenses Subject: Lantana

brighter flash on camera left at 45 degrees and

I was actually outside my studio trying to take

the lesser flash above for fill. I knew I would

photos of the tiny fiery skipper butterflies (see

need to be very close, so I also attached the

section 23) that land on these lantana flowers,

extreme close-up diffusers to the flashes.

when I noticed that many of the flower clusters

At life size, I captured the inset image with

contained a single flower that was different

an exposure of 1/250 second at f/16 and ISO

from all of the others. I have no clue why this

200. I was being lazy and hand holding the

was, but it struck me as an interesting subject

camera, but I know that this is fine with that

for a macro photo.

shutter speed and using flash for lighting. Yet I still wasn’t close enough for the image that I

Macro Lens and Exposure

envisioned.

In order to get close enough to make the photo, I started with my 105mm Micro-Nikkor

Close-Up Lenses

at 1:1 and mounted the R1C1 with two flash

So I started adding close-up lenses to the

units onto it. I set a 3:1 lighting ratio with the

105mm lens. You want the highest strength close-up lens closest to the camera lens, so I started with the Nikkor 2.0, which is actually +3 diopters. Eventually I added the Nikkor 1, then the Nikkor 0 close-up lenses to arrive at the magnification of the final image. Stacking the close-up lenses reduces image quality at the edges, and I needed to run a chromatic aberration correction to eliminate some color fringing. Other options rather than close-up lenses, such as extension tubes or bellows, would have improved image quality, but at the expense of exposure. I would probably have needed to mount everything on a tripod if I used them and I didn’t want to do that. As it turned out, the final result is sharp where it needs to be and very much how I imagined it.

Natural-Looking Lighting Since the butterflies only seem to feed when the sun is out, I waited until a few mornings later when the sky was overcast. overcast reduces the scene contrast and I am able to control the light on the flower with flash. 88 The Shoot Macro With the Nikon R1C1 macro flash system I can use a high enough shutter speed to keep the background dark but still have a natural-looking lighting ratio on the flower.

Shoot Macro 89

43 Showing Scale The Scale of Products

Lighting

My commercial clients are always interested

The black ring in these photos is the client’s

in showing the scale of their products—just

product. There are tiny holes in it that need

how small they really are. Invariably they have

to be seen, so that requires backlighting. I

a suggestion, such as the head of a pin, the tip

suspended a piece of clear glass over a sheet

of a pencil, or a match head. Unfortunately

of Plexiglas and positioned the product on

pins come in all sizes, pencil tips don’t look like

it. Because a light source suspended over the

pencil tips, and match heads have connotations

set would be reflected in the glass, I couldn’t

that most clients haven’t considered.

use one to put a highlight all around the ring.

There are actually very few items that look

For the basic product photos (not shown) I

good and are recognizable at high magnifica-

used side lighting and reflector cards and shot

tion. I have had the best luck with coins, cur-

straight down.

rency and stamps, which can be chosen for the market in which the product is designed to sell. At rare times the client gives you the opportunity to offer a more creative solution.

Scale Solution For the Asian market, we decided to photograph the device with an Asian stamp. I placed it next to the subject and lit the stamp with a fiber optics bundle to highlight the country name. I taped a blue filter to the Plexiglas and placed a flash head beneath. The edge of the filter was far enough away to go out of focus. For other markets, the client was willing to be more playful. We decided that M&M candies are uniform enough in size and recognizable enough throughout the world that we should use them. Green is a safe-color with positive 90 Shoot Macro connotations, so that was our choice. I placed it on the glass and lit it with a small softbox from the side the product was on. A strobe head beneath the Plexiglas gave a gradation to the background. While the main photo shows the M logo of M&Ms, I also shot the other side without the logo. That was the image the client used.

Shoot Macro 91

44 New Worlds Opened Subject: Malachite

However, the closer I focused in, the more

I feel this image is one of the finest examples I

interesting the piece became.

have ever made to illustrate how macro photography opens new worlds that we never imagined

Lens, Bellows, and Lighting

existed, and how these worlds can look like

With the 65mm Micro-Nikkor attached and

miniatures of our everyday world.

the Nikon PB-6 bellows full extended, I can

The sample came from the La Farola mine

achieve a magnification of greater than 8x,

in the Atacama region of Chile. The dark green

which is slightly greater than the lens is opti-

is atacamite, named for the region, and a rare

mized for. But I had found the area that is

secondary copper mineral. The lighter green

shown in the main image and I wasn’t about to

is malachite. Also present are blue lumps of

change my setup by changing lenses.

chrysocolla. The orange-yellow mineral on the

By shooting straight down on the subject

right is limonite, which is also present in the

I had a lot of options for positioning my fiber

adamite photograph in this book. Everything

optics bundle. I kept moving it to different

sits on blue azurite, which is also commonly

positions before deciding that the area looked

found in copper ore deposits.

best with the light a very low angle to bring out

There was very little to attract me to this

the texture of the tiny mineral structures on the

subject when I first saw it. I liked the colors,

surface. I tried adding a fill light with another

especially the greens, in the full rock, and I was

fiber optics bundle diffused through a piece of

hoping there would be some tiny blue crystals

plastic, but I ended up choosing this lighting

in the area below the crack in the inset. I set it

with its higher contrast and deeper shadows.

aside while I photographed other subjects that I thought would be more interesting.

Focus Stacking

I wasn’t going to photograph this sample,

Even though I was shooting straight down on

but it kept catching my eye, so I decided to

a relatively flat surface, at the middle aperture

take a closer look. I went looking for the blue

of the lens where it is sharpest, I still could

crystals, and discovered there were none.

not hold focus from the top of the crystals to the surface of the azurite. I used focus stacking again, but only ten exposures to assure that everything was sharp.

A Fascinating Macro World As I look at the final image, I see a blue lake or ocean, brown land, green hills and islands and puffy white clouds. 92 Shoot Macro

Image from the same session showing scale.

By shooting straight down on the subject I had a lot of options for positioning my fiber optics bundle. Shoot Macro 93

45 Optimum Aperture and Sharpness Assignment: Medical Device

if I could, stopping the lens down was a bad

Medical devices keep getting smaller and

solution because diffraction decreases overall

smaller, such as this basket that is threaded

sharpness—the image was equally out of focus

through the body to grasp and remove obstruc-

everywhere. The better solution was to take

tions in the blood path. The overall length

photos at the optimum aperture of the lens at

of the basket is less than ½-inch. The client

different planes in the subject and merge them

needed a dramatic photo for their marketing,

into one sharp image with software. This is

with the entire device in focus.

called focus stacking.

I lit the device with small

Focus Stacking Software

softboxes on either side.

the individual photos stacked in Photoshop

Focus stacking can be done manually and as I have done for other photos in this book.

Solution

However, in the studio for a high magnification

At a magnification greater than life size, the

subject where precision is essential, I use a com-

depth of field is very small. With this device,

puter-controlled device called the StackShot,

even with the lens fully stopped down I

and Zerene Stacker or Helicon Focus software.

couldn’t keep everything in focus. But even

Lens and Lighting For this photo I connected my D3s to a Nikon PB-6 bellows unit and attached everything to the StackShot as shown in the accompanying lighting diagram. The lens is a 120mm f/6.3 Micro-Nikkor that is no longer available. The lens is just marked in field stops from 1 (f/6.3) to 7. I try to use the 4 aperture setting, which I have found is the sharpest. I lit the device with small softboxes on either side. The heads in the softboxes are connected to a studio power pack. For the background I placed gelled flash heads connected to different packs behind a sheet of translucent Plexiglas. The gels are Rosco #12 (yellow) and #60 (blue). 94 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 95

46 Using Gels For Color An American Icon

Lighting

Living not too far from Disneyland, I have my

Since the sculpture is glass I immediately

share of Disney paraphernalia that I have col-

thought of shooting it using only transmitted

lected during various visits, including this glass

light. I have large sweep tables that I use when

sculpture of Mickey Mouse. It sits on a shelf by

photographing glass, but this piece is only a few

the business computer in my studio.

inches high. I set it on my Artograph 12x17-

One day I had been reading an article about

inch LED light panel to see if it would be

American business icons and, although Walt

large enough. With my 105mm Macro-Nikkor

Disney wasn’t mentioned, my mind made the

I could see the far edge of the light panel at

connection that a red, white, and blue Mickey

the angle that I wanted. By switching to the

Mouse would make a great photo illustration

200mm Macro-Nikkor I was able to keep the

for an article on American icons. I had the

angle and still have white background behind

sculpture and nothing better to do that day, so

Mickey.

I decided to create an American icon from my Mickey Mouse sculpture.

Exposure and Focus Stacking The Artograph light panel is reasonably bright and allowed an exposure of 1/30 second and f/11 at ISO 400. I could have stopped down and increased the exposure time to gain a little more depth of field, or even used focus stacking to have the entire sculpture in focus. But very little color appears below the head, so I am content with only the head being in sharp focus. An American icon indeed. Image before processing.

Gels for Color Once the white part of the color scheme was set, I needed to create the red and blue element. For these colors I looked through my collection of Lee and Rosco color gels. I have a large collection that has accumulated over the years. I utilize color gels often in my commercial work. A red #25 and blue #80 looked just right. To add the colors into the sculpture I laid them on the light panel. Unfortunately, by the time I moved the gels in close enough to be visible in the sculpture, theyMacro ended up in the shot, as you can see from the inset 96 Shoot photo. I removed them later, and added a little extra background around Mickey using content-aware fill in Adobe Photoshop.

Shoot Macro 97

47 Hand-Held Shooting Subject: Monarch Butterfly

morning until they dry their wings. Once the

In other chapters of this book you find high

sun is up, you can chase them all day without

magnification photos I have done of butterfly

getting a photo.

wings. Those were done in the studio under very controlled conditions. That photography

Lighting

started my fascination with butterflies and I

For lighting in the shade, I used the Nikon

decided to try the challenge of photographing

R1C1 Close-up System with two speedlights,

them in the wild. I discovered that there are

one on either side of the lens and a 3:1 light-

butterfly sanctuaries close by, and the people

ing ratio. I started with the focus set for ½ life

there are always friendly and cooperative. No

size magnification and moved in, rocking back

matter what you decide would be an interest-

and forth, until the camera indicated the head

ing subject, there are ways to gain access to that

was in focus. The first frame produced the inset

subject.

photo.

Knowing Your Subject Helps

Exposure

The same morning that I visited the butterfly

The Monarch ignored me, so I added the 1:1

sanctuary, a few Monarch butterflies showed

extension tube and set the focus to nearly 1:1.

up. I decided to hand-hold my manual focus

The R1C1 automatically adjusts flash output

105mm f/4 Micro-Nikkor at f/16 because

for near-perfect exposure every frame, so I was

I knew that Monarchs alight near the top of

able to concentrate on composition and focus.

a plant, and are fairly sluggish early in the

To recompose, I first set a magnification, then moved in and out until the area of the subject I wanted in focus was sharp, and then shot. With the R1C1 I was able to try different ratios, but 1:3 looked best to me. With a shutter speed of 1/100

second and a very short flash duration, I

didn’t worry about camera shake. The newer vibration reduction macro lenses could help in some hand-held close-up situations such as this, but it’s always best to use a tripod or flash. Autofocus and vibration reduction add weight to the lens and very seldom are useful.

98 Shoot Macro

To recompose, I first set a magnification, then moved in and out until the area of the subject I wanted in focus was sharp, then shot.

Shoot Macro 99

48 Manual Focus Subject: Oriental Lily

Lumix GH2 camera. With the large size of the

Oriental lilies are one of the giants among

anther and the small size of the sensor in the

flowers. The hero in the inset photo is about

GH2 (17.3x13mm), I used the Panasonic Leica

8 inches across. My original idea was to pho-

45mm f/2.8 Macro lens at 1:1 and still was

tograph the petal with a very shallow depth of

not be able to capture the entire length of the

field because the petal reminded me of the flesh

anther.

inside of a watermelon with black seeds. But as I was looking at it first with my eyes and then

Lighting

through my camera, I became more interested

With the image composed and focused using a

in the pollen-covered anthers and filaments that

bright continuous light, I was ready to set my

make up the stamens of the flower. I decided

actual lighting. I wanted to show the pollen

to concentrate on one anther and try to posi-

grains on the anther and show its cylindrical

tion it with a petal behind. I was hoping for a

shape, while also lighting the petal behind it.

watermelon-look in the background petal that

Showing the cylindrical shape called for a side

would also serve to visually show what plant’s

light, and lighting the anther without spilling

flower I photographed.

too much light on the petal called for a grid to limit the spill. After trying different grids, I

Mirrorless Micro Camera

settled on a 5-degree grid feathered slightly off

As with the gazania, gerbera, peso, and zinnia

of the background petal on a flash head to cam-

photos (sections 25, 27, 50, and 60), I used

era right. A white card reflector on camera left

the Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Panasonic

kicked some light back into the shadow side.

Rail Focusing Stage As I was shooting in the studio, I mounted the camera on my StackShot focus stacker so that I could use it to move the camera forward or back to adjust focus. With the Panasonic camera, in order to ensure you are at 1:1 magnification you must use manual focus, adjust the focus ring so that the lens is set to its closest focusing distance, and then move the camera forward or back until the subject is in focus. I use the StackShot to adjust focus, but any single rail macro focusing stage would do. With a camera as light as the Lumix, even the cheap import that I used for the zinnia photo works well.

100 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 101

49 Defining Macro Photography Defining Macro Photography

Annual and was selected for the poster pro-

I define macro photography as the capture of

moting the New York Art Expo of 1982. The

images at magnification ratios of 1:1 (life size)

poster appeared in Twilight Zone: The Movie.

to 30:1. I consider images captured at ratios of 1:10 to 1:1 to be close-up photos. Images cap-

Preproduction

tured optically at ratios greater than 30:1 enter

Preproduction took the vast majority of time

the area of micro photography as they must be

for this photo. I sharpened the colored pen-

captured through a microscope.

cils by hand and carefully set aside each pencil

The magnification ratio, therefore, must take

shaving that I thought I could use. I wanted

into account the size of the capture medium.

as many as possible to be close to perfect,

With a full-frame digital SLR camera, a life-size

with only a few imperfect shavings so that it

capture will be a subject that is 1x1.5 inches,

wouldn’t look like an illustration.

the size of the sensor. This book includes a few

After laying them out on large boards, I

images whose subjects are larger than this, and

started building the set inside of a 4x5-inch

qualify as close-up rather than strict macro pho-

film box, using stamp collecting tweezers that

tos. However, this isn’t one of them, though it

have broad pads. When I had an arrangement

would seem to be.

I thought would work, I laid the box on a low table and added the 4x5-inch camera pointing

Assignment

directly down at it.

This image was made on 4x5-inch transparency film

Lens and Lighting

of a subject that is just

The lens was a Rodenstock 210mm Macro-

smaller than 4x5 inches. I

Sironar f/5.6, a superbly sharp large format

thought of the concept for

macro lens for magnifications between 1:3

the photo just beginning

and 3:1. With the frame adjusted so that the

to promote myself as a

sides of the film box were not in the photo,

close-up and macro pho-

the resulting image is slightly larger than life

tographer. Art directors

size. A single 24-inch square softbox from the

sketched concepts with

upper left was used for lighting. I used a light

color pencils back then,

source that was very large relative to the subject

and I hoped they would

so that the highlights on the color strips of the

relate to this image. I shot

pencil shavings would not exceed the dynamic

it as a portfolio-marketing piece and it was

range of the Ektachrome film. After many

very successful. Pencil Shavings ran full page in

Polaroids and some adjustments to the arrange-

the 1981 Communications Arts Photography

ment, I shot the final image.

102 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 103

50 Lighting With An LED Ring Subject: Peso

a section of the 100-peso bill shown in the inset

I did a commercial project recently that

photo. With a depth of field of only 8mm, a flat

involved photographing medical devices

subject is the easiest to deal with, though you

and foreign paper currency to show the size

could use focus stacking with three-dimensional

relationship of the devices to an object with

subjects.

which the viewers in the countries would be familiar. Relative to paper money in the rest of

Magnification and Image Quality

the world, American currency is visually bor-

At 5x magnification, it can be difficult to take

ing, although some strides are being made to

meaningful photos. I photographed several dif-

improve its looks. I find that the peso currency

ferent areas of the peso note. The area shown

from Mexico is more visually interesting.

is the eye of the depiction of Xolotl, the Aztec god associated with lightning, fire, and the

The world looks very different once

afterlife. He is the dog-like creature on the peso

you enter higher magnifications.

to the right of center. The world looks very different once you enter higher magnifications. Image quality is quite good, but you need an

Lens and Focusing

electronic release to eliminate the possibility of

When I read about the Nanoha x5 Macro lens

camera movement to take full advantage of the

for Micro Four Thirds cameras, I was eager to

lens with its limited depth of field. Definitely an

see if there was a place for it in my arsenal of

interesting lens if you are using a Micro Four

macro lenses. I mounted the Nanoha lens on

Thirds camera for your macro photography.

a Panasonic Lumix GH2 body. The lens offers magnifications from 4x to 5x, with an aperture range from f/11 to f/32. It also includes a detachable ring at the front of the lens containing three LED lights arranged 120 degrees apart. The lights are powered by a USB connection. A portable battery holder is included that connects to the USB port to provide power. Also included are holders that attach to the LED ring to hold your subject at the fixed focus point. At 4x magnification the focus point ended up inside of the LED ring, but with the lens set at 5x and the LEDs on, I set out to photograph 104 Shoot Macro

Nanoha x5 Macro lens.

With a depth of field of only 8mm, a flat subject is the easiest to deal with.

Shoot Macro 105

51 Sense Of Depth In Cross Sections Subject: Radicchio

Camera and Lighting

I am often asked by photographers where they

With the 105mm Micro-Nikkor mounted on

should go to shoot macro photos, because

the Nikon PB-6 bellows, I attached the cam-

there seem to be no good subjects for them.

era and positioned all of this directly over the

I see macro subjects everywhere, including in

radicchio.

the kitchen. This radicchio is a perfect example.

I wanted some light in the recesses of the

Grilled with olive oil, or even eaten raw, it is

radicchio, but I knew contrast would be a prob-

delicious. But when you cut open an interesting

lem with the white areas of the cut and the dark

one, it can also make a fascinating design study

areas below. I settled on a flash head with a

for a macro photo.

7-inch reflector and a piece of diffusion material

As with the fuchsia I photographed (section

cut from a roll covering the reflector. I attached

24), the pattern of lines and the way that light

the flash head to a light boom and positioned

falls off with distance are what interests me

it as close as I could to the lens. The diffusion

with these subjects. The fuchsias are very three

sheet spread just enough of the light so that the

dimensional while the radicchio is almost two-

highlights from the moist surface didn’t blow

dimensional until you move in closer than life

out completely. I’m wondering now if I should

size and gain a sense of depth.

have gently sprayed it to make it appear fresher.

Cross Sections and Composition Attempting to photograph cross sections of vegetables is similar to attempting to photograph a geode you find— you don’t know what’s inside until you cut it open. I cut through several radicchio, took some photos of them such as the inset photo, and decided that they weren’t going to work for me. I finally came across the one I used in the main photo. I had cut the radicchio flat on the opposite side from the one that I was going to photograph so that it would sit solidly on the table under the camera. I had selected an interesting area by examining the radicchio with a loupe, but I needed to try different magnifications and orientations of the radicchio before I settled on this composition. It’s hard to say exactly why I feel that one composition works and another doesn’t. I just like the way my eye moves around the photo in this view better than in other views. .

An alternate image with different magnification. 106 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 107

52 Ring Light Orchid Subject: Phalaeonopsis

silk. Behind the diffuser I placed a Nikon

One of my favorite orchid plants, this veined

SB-900 flash covered with a purple gel, a Rosco

Phalaeonopsis, had reached the end of its

#49 to be exact.

blooming cycle when I decided to take its portrait. With only a single bloom, I knew I

Lighting and Exposure

could isolate it against a background. I wanted

My lighting concept for the flower called for

the viewer to primarily concentrate on the fine

the use of a ring light. I used a Ray Flash that

structure in the central column, but to still see

I attach to my Nikon SB-800 speedlight. With

the beauty of the veins in the sepals.

the Ray Flash I use either aperture priority or manual exposure on the camera. Either way

Gel For Background Color

I have control over the aperture setting and

Since I would be seeing background around the

therefore my depth of field, and still have good

bloom, I decided to use a colored gel behind a

exposure. For this photo I used manual so

diffuser that would pick up the purple around

I could control the shutter speed also. I was

the column in the center. I could have flooded

shooting inside and didn’t want any ambient

the background with color, but I decided I

light to combine with the flash.

wanted it to fall off in a natural vignette around

Without the diffuser in place, I would have

the flower.

triggered the SB-900 with the IR trigger built

For the background I set up a Chimera

into the SB-800. Instead, I used a RadioPopper

Studio Kit diffusion panel. This is an aluminum

PX transmitter on the SB-800 in Master mode

frame that you cover with different materials

and a RadioPopper PX receiver on the SB-900

that clip on the corners. I used the diffusion

in Remote mode. With the SB-800 set to f/11, I bracketed the SB-900 from full to 1/8 power. The image shown is with the SB-900 at 1/2 power.

Lens I chose my 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor for the lens so I could work as closely as possible to the flower. The SB-800 in the ring flash puts out enough light to use at greater distances, but I wanted as three-dimensional an effect as possible without going to a non-macro wide angle lens. I didn’t want the foreshortening effect of a longer macro lens. 108 Shoot Macro

I could have flooded the background with color, but I decided I wanted it to fall off in a natural vignette around the flower. Ray Flash ring light. Shoot Macro 109

53 Depth of Field Subject: Rose



I don’t usually frequent public rose gardens

tion reduction (VR) lens, and with the exten-

during rose season because of the crowds.

sion tubes attached at times, I was shooting

Besides, my desire to get as close as possible to

between 1:3 and 3:1 magnification. I decided

my subjects causes concern with other visi-

to shoot with the aperture nearly wide open

tors and security. So when I heard that a resort

to use a shutter speed of at least 1/90 second

in the desert with a rose garden had closed,

at ISO 100. This would give me minimum

I headed to it as soon as I could. Fortunately

depth of field, so I went looking for interesting

I never saw a security guard and I had hours

designs among the rose blossoms.

My 105mm Micro-Nikkor was not a vibra-

of uninterrupted macro photography on the grounds.

If you have a macro vibration reduction lens in addition to a

Shallow Depth Of Field Finding subjects that work with a shallow depth of field is surprisingly difficult. It takes a lot of practice. Our visual system works well to make

monopod, you are safe to shoot at

everything we see appear in focus, which is

fairly slow shutter speeds.

Focus stacking accomplishes what our visual

what draws me so strongly to focus stacking. system does. However, macro images that are

Depth of Field

focus stacked are peculiar because we know that

Because I didn’t know how long I could get

everything in a photo shouldn’t be in focus.

away with shooting there and to increase my

On the other hand, it is difficult for our eye to

mobility, I used a monopod rather than a tripod

naturally see with very little depth of field. Yes,

during the day. A monopod provides stability in

if you are constantly looking through the lens

one axis at least. If you have a macro vibration

it can be done, but that can be dangerous in a

reduction lens in addition to a monopod, you

deserted rose garden.

are safe to shoot at fairly slow shutter speeds.

Lighting and Form I was successful in finding images that I am happy with. Two of them are shown here. The main photo (upper right) is backlit, and I like the way the sunlight gives a bright rim of light to the petal, defining its shape. It reminds me of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at sunset. Backlighting is an excellent way to show form and add dimension to a subject. It is usually difficult to achieve in macro photography. The alternate photo (lower right) intrigues me with the way the shapes cause the eye to move constantly around the image, seeing new subtle nuances each time. Both photos are shot under available sunlight. See section 33 for another photo from that day.

110 Shoot Macro

Shoot Macro 111

54 Planes Of Focus Subject: Scabiosa Pod Walking through the wholesale flower mart I

Magnification and Depth of Field

came across these dry papery things that I had

With the size of one of the pods measuring

never encountered before. Apparently I need

about ½-inch, I decided to use my 120mm

to get out more because I have discovered that

Micro-Nikkor lens mounted on the PB-6 bel-

they are popular in settings ranging from bridal

lows. The 120 mm Micro-Nikkor is corrected

bouquets to super hip bars and restaurants

for magnifications of 1x to 4x, and I would be

in Los Angeles. They are the seed pod of the

shooting at about 3x. Depth of field alone at

scabiosa or pincushion flower, the black star-

that magnification would not achieve the sharp-

shaped center of the pod being the seed itself,

ness I was after. I mounted the bellows with the

or so I have been told.

camera attached to my StackShot focus stacker.

I brought the bunch that is shown in the inset photo to the studio for a macro photo. I

Lighting

wanted to emphasize one of the seedpods with

For lighting, I wanted the hero pod to be the

focus from the seed at the top to the base of

brightest with the surrounding pods falling

the pod, and have other pods gradually going

away in brightness. For soft overall light I

out of focus in the background.

placed a 12-inch square softbox on a flash head mounted on a boom arm above and slightly

Focus Stacking

behind the pod. To spotlight the main pod,

Twelve exposures at the aperture I was using at varying planes of focus would give me sharpness from the top of the pod to the back, and still leave the other pods slightly out of focus. After stacking the twelve captures in Zerene Stacker software, I cleaned up the final image in Photoshop and added a slight vignette to concentrate the attention on the central pod.

I used a 3-degree grid with a ring to further

Alternate image with lower magnification.

112 Shoot Macro

limit the light beam to camera right and aimed directly at the pod. I adjusted the light level of this main light to about 1.5 stops greater than the softbox.

Shoot Macro 113

55 Magnification Setup

Lighting and Exposure

The sodium chloride crystals of common table

I tried different lighting designs to see their

salt are one readily available subject for high

effect: backlighting only, a single top light

magnification photography. Table salt averages

only, both top lights only, and combinations

about 0.3mm on a side. To capture them at a

of the top lights and the backlighting. I settled

meaningful size I needed the 30x maximum

on a single top light skimming across the salt

magnification that I could achieve with the

combined with the light panel for backlighting.

Nikon Multiphot system. Thar called for the

I set the camera to tungsten white balance, and

use of the 19mm Macro-Nikkor lens and the

because the top light was tungsten balanced

maximum extension of the bellows as shown in

and the light panel was daylight balanced, the

the inset photo. The Multiphot is an extremely

salt crystals were white where the top light

stable platform designed for this type of work,

strikes them but blue where the daylight bal-

but a copy stand with sufficient bellows draw

anced light panel predominated. The exposure

and an appropriate lens could stand in for the

was 2 seconds at a middle aperture on the lens

Multiphot.

at ISO 400.

For the main photo, I sprinkled some table

A Multiphot system.

salt on my 4x5-inch Cabin light panel and placed this on the scissor lift. I chose the light panel in order to have the option of backlighting the salt crystals.

Live View For focusing, I use the two tungsten-balanced lights that are a part of the Multiphot system. With my Nikon tethered to Capture One software I am able to use live view to preview the image. I could see immediately that sharpness was an issue with this equipment at this magnification.

Magnification As magnification increases, so do photographic difficulties. The stability of the camera system becomes a vital consideration. Your ability to have enough light available to achieve focus is also an issue. At times, even finding the subject is difficult with the severely limited depth of field. And image quality tends to suffer also. Technical issues become the prime considerations and artistic issues tend to take a back seat. 114 Shoot Macro It makes sense with all macro photography to set the magnification you need first, and then move either the subject or the camera system on a macro rail in order to focus. At high magnifications this is essential. I tend to adjust the subject height at high magnifications and use a laboratory scissor lift for adjusting.

Shoot Macro 115

56 Highlights, Contrast, and Saturation Goal My thought was to photograph the two large crystals protruding from the top of the subject and use light and shadow to show the various planes while capturing the iridescence of the deposition.

Magnification Needing a magnification between 2x and 3x, I attached my 105mm Micro-Nikkor to the PB-6 bellows on my camera stand. With the subject

light boom as the main light. My initial lighting

sitting on a piece of black velvet to create a rich

with a 7-inch reflector covered by a diffusion

black background, I moved in with the camera

sheet resulted in the iridescent colors appearing

and adjusted the bellows until I achieved the

somewhat more saturated, but the highlights

composition I wanted.

on several of the facets were out of control. I knew I could add saturation in postproduction,

Lighting and Exposure

while controlling the highlights would be more

With the facets of the quartz facing at many dif-

of an issue.

ferent angles, I settled on my smallest 12-inch

The quartz lit by the main light alone is

square softbox on a flash head mounted on a

shown in the inset photo. It is too contrasty for my taste. I wanted more color in the facets on

These are lit by a main light alone.

the shadow side. This was easily remedied by adding a 12x18-inch white Gatorfoam reflector just out of the frame to the right of camera to create the main photo. The exposure was 1/125

second, f/32 at ISO 100. I did adjust the

contrast in postproduction and this increased the saturation while ensuring a deep black in the background. The final image is lit by a main light and a reflector.

Subject: Titanium Quartz Crystals I realize that I am offending my purist rock and mineral friends by including this subject, but I like the look of this specimen. This is a 1½-inch piece of common quartz that has been placed in a vacuum chamber, heated, and then a layer of titanium deposited on it. The thickness of the titanium film is close to the wavelength of light. 116 Shoot Macro Light reflecting from the top surface interferes constructively or destructively with light reflected from the lower surface, creating the iridescence. The iridescence is fascinating, but I’m a photographer, and I’m fascinated by all of the properties of light.

Shoot Macro 117

57 Useful Tripods Challenge: Shooting in Tide Pools

when you are centimeters off the ground. The

Living close to the ocean, I was always tempted

angle joint platform itself can move through

to photograph the interesting creatures in the

180 degrees to aid in positioning. In conjunc-

tide pools. But I didn’t want to trash my tripod

tion with the UNI-LOC or other ball head, it

by letting it sit in salt water. I thought the

was possible to position my camera precisely

carbon fiber tripods would be the answer when

where I wanted it.

they appeared on the market, but they all had metal fittings that would corrode also.

Equipment Choices

So my tide pool photography was limited to

To protect my camera and lens from a rogue

hand held, which I never found very satisfying.

wave, I used a 200mm f/4 Micro-Nikkor for

In the few moments between tidal surges when

this photo. The original was shot on film at an

the water was calm enough to shoot through,

exposure of 1/250 second at f/11. Afternoon

achieving reliable focus was difficult.

sunlight provided the lighting. While the tripod is perfect for the beach

Solution

and desert, it weighs about nine pounds, so I

Then I discovered the UNI-LOC MASYS1600

don’t carry it that far from my car. When I need

system tripod. The lowest section of each leg

the type of adjustments it provides, but not

nests outside of the section above and is com-

the environmental protection, I use my Benro

pletely sealed from the environment so the tri-

tripod that I discuss in other places.

pod can be placed in sand, mud, and salt water to a depth of about twenty inches. Even better, the center column itself is a unique design. It has one 3/8-inch mounting screw at one end for mounting a ball or pan head for conventional use much like any other tripod. At the other end of the center column are two more mounting screws set 90 degrees from each other on a short angle joint platform. This gives you the choice of mounting points

118 Shoot Macro

This tripod’s legs are protected from the environment.

Shoot Macro 119

58 Refracting in A Drop Subject: Water Drop

and higher refractive index, forms better look-

When RainBird Corporation was one of my

ing drops that hang around longer than actual

accounts, I photographed water sprays and

water drops.

drops in just about every imaginable way. These varied in scale from spraying water from

Setup

sprinkler heads in the studio to photographing

The foreground flower was clamped to an arm

a drop of water on the end of a blade of grass.

so that I could adjust its angle to the rest of the

I think that all those water photos cured me

yellow daisies. These background flowers were

of any fascination with water drops refracting

positioned between 5 to 10 inches behind the

flowers in the background.

foreground flower. There is likely some formula

But to prove that I could still photograph

that would tell you precisely how far behind the

a drop, I set up this photo in the studio with

drop these need to be positioned to form an in-

flowers purchased at a wholesale flower mart.

focus image in the drop when the drop itself is in focus, but I just moved the flowers forward

Refractive Index Of Drops

and back until I achieved the effect.

The water is actually drops of glycerin carefully applied with a toothpick to the yellow daisy in the foreground. Glycerin, with higher viscosity

This image is lit by a main light and a reflector.

Composition and Lighting As I so often do, I used the 105mm Micro-Nikkor on the Nikon PB-6 bellows. I began with the horizontal composition in the inset photo at about 1:1. I lit the background flowers with a 15-degree grid spot on a flash head to the right of the camera. This created a bright image of the flowers in the drop. I lit the flower holding the drop with a 12-inch square softbox from above and slightly behind the flower. With an aperture of f/16, the background flowers are too much in focus, and the water drop is too small. Moving the camera in until the magnification was about 2x, opening the lens to f/4, and switching to a vertical format improved the photo immensely. I left the same lighting on the background flowers, but adjusted their position until120 I liked the image in the drop. Shoot Macro With more attention now drawn to the foreground flower, I added another head, this one with a 3-degree grid from camera right, to brighten the foreground flower. The glycerin drops behaved perfectly the entire time.

Shoot Macro 121

59 Near Perfect Sharpness Subject: Wolf Spider

For lighting, I wanted to keep it simple with

This model is a male blonde wolf spider.

just a single 12-inch square softbox mounted

As with the jewel beetle (section 40) the

on a strobe head attached to a boom directly

blonde wolf spider is a Malaysian native. I

above the spider. This would put a square

obtained it from Butterflies and Things (www.

highlight in each of the eight round eyes. With

ButterFliesAndThings.com) where I obtained

ten captures using the StackShot and Zerene

the jewel beetle and the butterfly wings.

Stacker to stack them, this gave me the image

Overall, this wolf spider is about 3 inches

in the inset photo. After completing it, I real-

long, but I was only interested in his face, his

ized it would only read as a wolf spider to

blond beard, and the covering of blond hairs

someone who knew wolf spiders.

around his face. Wolf spiders have excellent eyesight, with eight eyes arranged in two rows. I

Adjustments

wanted to show the eyes as well as I could since

To make it recognizable as a wolf spider, I

they are a distinguishing characteristic.

decided to back off on the magnification and switch from a vertical to a horizontal format.

Setup

Having photographed the jewel beetle prior to

In order to shoot a tight vertical portrait and

this wolf spider, I decided to use a similar setup:

still achieve the near to far sharpness that I

to do the portrait with the wolf spider floating

wanted I knew that I would need to focus stack

in front of the camera with a glow in the back-

a series of images at different focus points. I

ground behind him.

figured that I would need close to 4x magnifi-

I clamped a microscope slide to a stand and

cation, and decided to use the 120mm Micro-

carefully balanced the wolf spider on the slide.

Nikkor and PB-6 bellows mounted on the

With the same lighting setup as the vertical

StackShot focus stacker.

portrait, I decreased the bellows extension to



include some of the legs, and refocused. Now that background was showing around the spider, I set a 4x6–foot Plexiglas sheet behind the spider. Behind this I set a flash head. After trying different grids to give the right glow behind the spider, I chose a 10-degree grid. To this I added a dark green gel. Even though I had less magnification, I now wanted sharpness further back. With twelve captures using the StackShot, and compositing them in Zerene Stacker, the main photo is the result.

122 Shoot Macro

To make it recognizable as a wolf spider, I decided to back off on the magnification and switch from a vertical to a horizontal format.

Shoot Macro 123

60 Using Mirrorless Cameras Subject: Zinnia

get in as closely as possible to the disk flowers

Zinnia is one of the few flowers native to

surrounding the center of the zinnia. The final

California as well as the Southwest through

magnification is 1.58x.

Mexico to South America. Many of the native flowers in southern California are actually

Focusing

native to South America.

After manually adjusting the focus ring on the

Zinnias always have a place in my garden for

Leica lens to achieve maximum magnifica-

their colorful flowers that last all summer and

tion, moving the camera forward and back is

attract butterflies and hummingbirds. They

the only way to bring your subject into focus

also have an interesting structure in their center

without changing magnification. A macro

that is the subject of this macro photo I made

focusing stage makes focusing much easier

of a zinnia growing in a colorful bowl of mixed

with the Lumix. With a camera as light as the

flowers on my deck.

Lumix, I used the inexpensive Chinese-made non-branded macro stage (opposite page) for

Setup

focusing. It also provides side-to-side adjust-

I used the Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds

ment to aid composition.

Panasonic Lumix GH2 camera for the zin-

I mounted the macro stage with camera

nia photos as I did with the gazania, gerbera,

on my Benro tripod with the center column

Oriental lily, and peso photos, but this time I

attached to the horizontal positioning clamp.

was out of the studio. The inset photo of the

I adjusted the angle of the center column to

full zinnia flower was taken with the Panasonic

position the lens above the flower where I want

Leica 45mm f/2.8 Macro lens without exten-

it (see photo below.)

sion tubes. For the main photo I added the 10mm and 16mm Nanoha extension tubes to

Exposure With the lens focused at its closest point, I used the focusing stage to move the camera until I achieved the focus and composition I wanted. The exposure for the main photo is 1/50 second, f/2.8 at ISO 1600. With a high overcast sky and a slight breeze, I kept increasing the ISO until I had an exposure time that I hoped was short enough to stop any movement.

124 Shoot Macro

Inexpensive macro stage. Shoot Macro 125

Index

A Angle, 8, 24, 40, 42, 62, 68, 78, 80, 96 Angle of light, 16, 20, 58, 92 Aperture, 10, 16, 74, 94, 108, 110, 112, 114 Aperture, optimum, 10, 14, 94 Autofocus, 36, 54, 98

Composition, 20, 56, 72, 84, 98, 106, 116, 120, 124 Contrast, 6, 8, 18, 34, 38, 60, 70, 74, 86, 88, 92, 106, 116 Cross section, 48, 106 Crystals, 5, 12, 14, 16, 22, 42–43, 56, 92, 114, 116

B

D

Backlight, 24, 26, 28, 50, 52, 58, 64, 65, 66, 68, 82, 84, 90, 94, 110, 114, 116, 122 Background, 10, 20, 22, 24, 28, 32, 34, 65, 78, 88, 90, 96, 100, 112, 120 Background, color, 22, 34, 46, 68, 84, 90, 108 Bellows, 8, 10, 12, 22, 30, 34, 40, 42, 48, 56, 62, 66, 68, 84, 88, 92, 94, 106, 112, 114, 116, 120, 122 Black & white, 18 Black glass, 24

C Chromatic aberration correction, 88 Close-up lens, 74, 82, 86, 88 Coin, 6, 42, 84, 90, 96 Color range, 8, 18 Color temperatures , 16, 18, 28, 65 Commercial photography, 24, 30, 80, 84, 90, 96, 104 126 Shoot Macro

Depth of field, 10, 12, 26, 64, 72, 76, 94, 96, 100, 104, 108, 110, 112, 114 Depth, sense of, 106 Detail, 6, 16, 20, 24, 30, 32, 34, 40, 60, 66 Diagonals, 20 Diffusers, 8, 12, 17, 24, 34, 38, 42, 62, 66, 68, 88, 108 Diffusion, 12, 34, 38, 66, 76, 106, 106, 116 Diffraction, 10, 94

E Extreme close-up, 8, 56 Extension tubes, 25, 32, 36, 54, 74, 88, 98, 110, 124

F Fiber optic, 6, 12, 16, 30, 34, 42, 46, 56, 66, 90, 92 Film, 36, 38, 118 Ektachrome, 102 Polaroid, 102 transparency, 66, 102 Fill light 32, 34, 50, 60, 62, 92

Filters, 14, 16, 22, 48, 68, 90 camera, 48 on lights, 14, 16, 22, 48, 68, 90 Flash, 10, 12, 16, 26, 36, 40, 44, 46, 50, 52, 54, 80, 88, 90, 108, 120 flash heads, 28, 36, 44, 46, 50, 54, 80, 88, 90 flash heads, gelled, 10, 80, Focus, 14, 16, 20, 30, 32, 34, 36, 52, 54, 58, 68, 70, 74, 76, 80, 82, 86, 90, 92, 94, 96, 98 100, 104, 110, 112, 114, 118, 120, 124 Focus stacking, 10, 12, 16, 34, 43, 54, 58, 80, 84, 92, 94, 96, 104, 110, 112, 122 Focusing stage, 10, 32, 100, 124, 125 StackShot, 10, 54, 5, 94, 112, 122 Foil, 6 Form, 60, 110, 120

G Gels, 10, 28, 68, 80, 94, 96, 108, 122 Gems, 46 Grids, 22, 24, 44, 54, 58, 64, 65, 80, 100, 112, 120, 122 Gradient, 22

H Halo, 24 Hand-held camera, 32, 72, 88, 98, 114, 118 High dynamic range, 70 Highlights, 12, 20, 22, 44, 46, 56, 60, 70, 72, 90, 102, 106, 116, 122

I Image quality, 88, 104, 114 Infrared focus assist, 52 Iridescence, 8, 60, 84, 116

J Jewelry, 5, 6, 24, 46

L Laparoscopy, 10 Lens diffusion, 76 Lens vibration, 98 Lensbaby, 74, 76 Light panel, 18, 28, 82, 96, 114 Light, reflected, 16 Light, transmitted, 16, 18 Light, continuous, 16, 56 Lighting ratio, 36, 86, 88, 98 Live view, 66, 76, 114 Low key, 44

M Magnification, 10, 58, 104, 112, 114 Magnification ratio, 82, 102 Marketing, 80, 94, 102 Micro Four Thirds camera, 54, 58, 74, 100, 104, 124 Minerals, 5, 12, 14, 22, 42, 48, 56, 92, 116 Mirrorless camera, 54, 58, 100, 124 Monochromatic, 18, 68 Monopod, 70, 110

Movement, eliminate, 26, 104, 124 Multiple exposures, 10, 80 Multiphot (Nikon) system, 30, 114 Museum wax, 24

O Observation, 6, 20 Olloclip, 80 Opaque, 14

P Patterns, 48 Platform, 30, 114 Photoshop, 10, 18, 24, 66, 68, 80, 94, 96, 112 Plexiglas, 10, 22, 24, 28, 68, 80, 84, 90, 94, 122 Polarizing filters, 14, 48 Positioning, 26, 28, 32, 42, 46, 50, 52, 56, 80, 84, 118 Postproduction, 18, 22, 24, 44, 48, 60, 62, 68, 70, 72, 80, 84, 116

R Reflected light, 16, 18, 40, 46, 54, 116 Reflection, 14, 16, 24, 46, 48, 56, 60, 80, 84 Refracted light, 12, 22, 56, 120 Resolution, 82 Rim light, 20 Ring light, LED, 104, 108

S Saturation, 18, 28, 34, 48, 56, 72, 116 Scale: 6, 12, 26, 34, 82, 84, 90, 93, 43 Shadows, 8, 12, 20, 44, 56, 60, 70, 72, 62, 54, 72, 92, 100, 116

Shape, 20, 44, 56, 60, 100, 110 Shutter speed, 16, 26, 28, 54, 88, 98, 108, 110 Smartphone photography, 82 Softbox, 22, 10, 26, 44, 60, 68, 94, 102, 112, 116, 122, Software, 10, 16, 18, 54, 58, 70, 80, 94, 112, 114, 122 Capture One, 70, 114 Focal Point, 70 HDR Efex Pro, 70 Helicon Focus, 10, 94 Zerene Stacker, 10, 16, 54, 58, 80, 94, 112, 122 Speedlights, 8, 26, 36, 40, 56, 62, 92, 98, 108 Spotlights, 44, 46 StackShot. See Focusing stage Sunlight, 8, 32, 38, 50, 72, 74, 110, 118 Surface, 6, 12, 14, 6, 18, 40, 42–43, 60, 66, 84, 92, 106,116 surface, polished, 18, 80 surface, detail, 6, 66 surface, metallic, 6, 40, surface, reflective, 6, 60

T Translucence, 14, 66 Tripod, 20, 26, 32, 38, 50, 52, 54, 76, 78, 86, 88, 98, 110, 118, 124

V Vignette, 44, 62

W

Wavelength, 8, 116 Wet, 14, 18, 48

index 127

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