Tips for Digital Macro Photography

Digital macro photography is among the most compelling ways to develop your photography. This is actually a completely different world when you are just a couple of inches feet away from your subject. This literally transforms your photography as subjects are magnified several times their normal size. This makes digital macro photograph tons of fun.

In essence digital macro photography is centered on capturing small objects and magnifying them. This usually means getting in close, in a couple inches to obtain the shoot. The vast majority of digital SLR cameras today have got a close focus or macro mode setting. A tulip shape typically shows close focus or macro mode and that should be located somewhere on your camera. In case the symbol is not visible there is a good chance that it could be part of the camera’s menu options. Once in close up mode you’ll be able to focus to within eight inches of your respective subject. This may possibly vary on different SLR camera types so check with your manual.

Making use of the macro mode on the SLR camera is a good start but if you want really great results for digital macro photography you might consider acquiring a dedicated macro lens. The manufacture website of your respective digital SLR should have details about the kinds and choice of macro lenses on offer. In addition you can also use close up lens that are single glass elements that screw onto the front of a standard lens and provided magnification. They are available several magnification strengths from 1 to 10 and also have a number of screw threads, so again check with your lens manufacturer for details. The beauty of close up lenses is that you combine them to increase magnification e.g. adding a 1 and 2 to get a 3. But take care not to combine too many close up lenses as vignetting could occur.

The following are a list of digital macro photography techniques to consider:

1. A Firm Base
Purchase a tripod to provide you with stability and avoid hand shake on extreme close ups that could lead to poor pictures. When using your tripod try to use a firm floor or a solid ground position to reduce camera shake. The main disadvantage of tripods however, is that they may well be bulky and awkward to carry around. An alternative may be a spider like tripod or grip provided the head is sufficient to take the weight of your digital SLR camera.

2. Depth of Field
As you move closer to your subject the less depth of field you have, so to retain a good depth of field you may have to back away from your subject. Alternative you could potentially close your aperture to increase depth of field using your SLR camera’s aperture priority setting. If you are battling with aperture try and obtain more light into the scene, forcing the aperture to close thus increasing your depth of field.

3. Mind the Background
This is very important and you probably want it to be very indistinct. As depth of field is most likely limited chances are the background could possibly be blurred. If you can, try to keep the background blurred. Other options include utilizing a plain or black background.

4. Flash
Try not to use your flash, but if you do need to, keep an eye on over exposure. The built-in flash unit may not be the best to use in some circumstance as this could leave very harsh shadows. Remote flash unit just may be answer or you could use the EV exposure controls to limit flash exposure.

On balance there are a number of factors to take into account when considering digital macro photography, however, the photographic rewards will very worth your time and effortand patience.