The TRUTH About Macro Photography that the PROS Know
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- Опубликовано: 20 июл 2024
- In this video, I’ll show you essential macro photography tips to take amazing photographs of things like flowers and what kind of equipment can enhance your photographs such as: extension tubes and macro lenses.
My photography website:
nicklongphotography.com/
Video on what makes a quality tripod:
• Is a TRIPOD More Impor...
Extension tube links - these are NOT affiliate links
Cheap extension tube (manual focus)
www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Exten...
Extension Tube with AF:
www.amazon.com/MK-N-AF1-Elect...
Mount options exist for manufacturers other than Nikon too
00:00 - Intro
01:07 - Feel the Power of the Tripod
02:23 - Paralleling Our Subject
02:54 - Lighting Our Subjects
03:49 - Why You Don’t Need Expensive Gear
05:47 - Outro
What a nice coincidence! I was looking for videos on macro photography and here you are sharing one at the right time. Thank you!
Ha! I had a hunch this was the right video to make. Thanks for watching!
Just got a macro lens myself and can’t wait to try it out! Thanks for the tips! 🤙🏾
Awwwsome! Take some beautiful photos with it. I got my Sigma 105mm 2.8 as a gift years back and hardly used it at first. Now( it’s one of my favorite lenses. Thanks for watching & commenting!
Spring is upon us and I needed this. Thanks!
I had a feeling this was the right video to make! Thanks for watching! Always happy to answer questions.
Visiting a flowershop sounds really great... thanks for that!
Your welcome!! My best flower photos have been taken at flower shops
Thanks for the video - really enjoy your content.
Think you are using a pretty loose definition of macro photography. "Real" macro photography is where the magnification of the subject is life size or greater on the sensor. Would have been nice to cover focus stacking technique and post processing too.
Keep up the good work! :)
Hey Thanks mate! Thanks for the thoughts as well. I did very intentionally use a loose definition of macro photography because of my personal experience with talking to people about taking photos of flowers and them feeling a bit daunted by not having expensive equipment and things like that. Macro photography in its truest form is taking photos when approaching life size magnification. The focus stacking is an excellent idea! I don't do a lot of focus stacking my self with my own work, but I am very intrigued by it. If you haven't already, you can check out my recent
videos on Darktable, where I show how I process my photographs.
@@deepskypics I found your videos because of your Darktable content. I'm an avid Darktable user :)
Unfortunately, it doesn't do focus stacking. I'm using HeliconFocus for that (only the stacking, everything else in Darktable).
Refreshing. Thanks for your common sense approach Nick. It's nice to see a vid from someone that does not promote all sorts of lighting techniques that involve buying a stack more stuff we don't need. I like your tip of taking photos in a flower shop.
Thanks, Ann. 😁
You are so very welcome! And thank you for the kind words Ann. Was just at a flower shop today myself hahaha. Natural light from our ⭐️ above always wins the day in IMHO. That flower shop shading is da best.
I own the Sigma 105 and it's great.
I know right! I absolutely love mine. Its exquisite optically, manual focus is smooth, and auto focus is fast. AF drive focus won’t work with my mirrorless Z50, but don’t care that much because I use focus peaking more and more now these days.
A number of your shots are low key with pitch black background. Would love to see an instructional video from you on how you get this effect, and if you can use the technique in flower shops.
Haha yes, I can absolutely tell you how I did that. And it’s a good video idea too! On its own or within another video. So here’s what you need:
-Black piece of reflective acrylic/plexi glass. Bigger is better for more working room. I got the Cranviech 12x18 on Amazon. Can do cool things with reflectivity too.
- Something to raise or mount the acrylic plate on. I use a cheap Amazon light stand and wedge it tightly between two extension pieces.
- Lighting-> I used a soft box light (50$ Mount Dog light I use for my videos - can get on Amazon) in dark space, can use window light, or outside light too. Positioned at ~45 degree angle.
- Camera + tripod positioned so that black background is behind flower. I used my 105mm macro for green orchid photos.
Most flower shop people are very kind from my experience and will probably want to help you with and get involved haha. You can take the acrylic plate in with you and position it behind flowers. They likely won’t mind if you temporarily move a flower pot too.
Let me know if this helps!
Very cool thanks Nick. I need to find it if Australian flower shop owners are as accommodating!
All's you need to get black background is use a flash and diffuser. no need for any tripods, card, paper or reflective acrylic/plexi glass. Just a cheap flash and a cheap £10 diffuser. Set shutter speed to 160 or 200, set f-stop to F11 have flash on full power and control flash output though iso. set iso to 100 to start off.
@@fromclicktoclickbeautifulp473 This is a cool idea I haven’t used before and I’m always open to new ways of doing things. I suppose with a bright enough flash your background would go black. And if it’s an external flash (not tethered to your camera body) you could control the direction of the light source so it not limited to front lighting. I learned about the black reflective plexi glass idea from someone who does professional drink photography, where creating reflections creates cool effects and can be used in so many ways. I incorporated it into my flower photography. But to be honest, I don’t use flash a lot in my work and I’m glad I learned something about flash today from you. Thank you for taking time to watch & comment!
Glad I could help. Yes flash and pro diffuser like the AK, MK and pope shield is the way to go for macro. If you do lots of macro walks then just need a cheap on camera flash and diffuser. For home setups, off camera flash or LED lighting. You get the black background with a flash by making sure your subject to background is deep, ie a 1ft or more. @@deepskypics
BTW I am a proud D300 owner too!
The D300 is a boss of a camera isn’t it!?
Not one true macro shot in the whole video...
I am going to have to disagree with you. There are pros who get better images than I have seen from you (though yours are great) that do not use a tripod, they rely on IS and IBIS and they use flash to freeze the subject. I have seen on youtube people using the camera to focus stack hand held, while the camera can shoot 12 stacked images in less than half a second handheld. While I think what you are saying is correct especially for people starting out or don't have this type of equipment, you should not be surprised other photographers are getting better images than you and not shooting with a tripod. Maybe look at some of your competition channels on youtube and see what others are doing with the latest gear.
Hey man! Thanks for being open and disagreeing with me. This video is definetly aimed towards someone starting out. I get asked all the time how I take these photos so I figured it is a video an audience wants. If you like the videos/photos of other channels I will empower you to go there ✌️. I will stand by my points 100% about a tripod though. IBIS/VR is a wonderful technological advent and sometimes if you have a quickly moving subject, like a butterfly, it may be not the right choice to setup a tripod. Outside of that, nothing replaces the consistency and stability of a well made tripod as well as the care and precision it leads too. Not having to strain your body in awkward positions is a plus too. Treating your camera like it is a 4x5 camera seems to be benefit your photography in almost every context. I think many people have never had the opportunity to use a good one.
Ok video, but taking to much about close up when you were meant to be talking about macro. So lets talk MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY 1) pros don't use tripods, unless focus stacking and even then only if staking over 5 photos. 2) Yes extension tubes good way of getting into macro, but cuts out way to much light and lets in to much dust. 3) Raynox lenses way better than extension tubes, no more dust, no loss of light, way more magnification, no loss of quality and way sharper photos. 4) Flash and diffuser is imperative with macro especially when magnification is 2X or more. Hope that helps, lost more I could mention, but we will leave it at that. Ps with macro gear rely dose matter especially a dedicated macro lens and flash + diffuser.
Thanks for dropping by my channel mate✌️. With the Tripods, there are certainly situations where a tripod may not be appropriate, like photographing bees or butterflies that quickly jump from flower to flower, where you can’t setup a tripod quick enough. I’m a nature photographer first and I myself and all the nature photographer’s I know who do close up work are adamant about using tripods whenever possible because it makes life easier. Easier to parallel a subject/composition, don’t need to strain your body in weird positions, forces you to take your time etc… But, explain your thinking more because you might have a new perspective I’m not seeing, which is a good thing snd I invite that.
All down to experience on this one. Done macro now for many years, never encountered any macro photographer using a tripod when out on macro walks. I know what you are saying but can honestly say tripods are not for macro unless focus stacking, they get in the way and make you life a misery. For macro walks you use flash + diffuser, old your camera in one hand and steady your subject with the other, or brace your lens with the other hand. Micael Widell did a brill video on tripods and way we don't use them. top notch that man is. @@deepskypics
@@deepskypicsFirst things first I haven‘t watched your video yet, but I am quite passionate about not using tripods in macro work. I do not know a singular very good macro photographer that uses a tripod, not a single one, at least not on a regular basis. Every single macro (not close-up!) photographer I know of does hand-held focus stacks, every single one.
Personally, I do very high magnification focus stacks of subjects out in the field, from a dorsal shot of a butterfly to 12x full-frame equivalent magnification out in the field, never using a tripod, at 6-12x ff equivalent magnification I place my camera on a beanbag, not always, but often, never on a tripod. All of my images are focus stacks, never single shots, always deep stacks, most of my images are between 80-140 shots stacked, handheld, out in the field, no reason to ever use a tripod.
After skipping through the video to look at your shots, unfortunately, none of these are macro, they are all close-up work, macro starts at 1:1, your video is on close-up photography, which isn‘t a problem, but better to make things clear.