Magnifique! Those are great tips that actually count towards good photos - thank you. In the field it's easy to forget when you've found something interesting, that you're really taking a portrait. Granted, it's a bit specialized, but it's still a portrait.
North Berwick retreat was fantastic. First time ever doing water drop reflection. It is tricky, but very satisfying. You are a super instructor. Thank-you John
The macro retreat was such a fabulous time...learned so much...I even learned to like taking macro photos of bugs. The instructors are a wealth of photography info and share in a way that even the novice photographer will come away with lots of photography knowledge
I attended the Maine Macro retreat and it was phenomenal! Emilie and the other OM Instructors were great teachers and very patient with individual learners like myself! I highly recommend attending one, I came away understanding SO much more about Macro which is my least experienced area, but still have a long way to go. This video is a GREAT review, and of course targets two of my weakest areas, focus and aperture. But as Emilie says, practice, practice, practice! Gotta zero in on those eyes!! Thanks Emilie! ❤️
@@DianeCamacho-l2g Thank you so much! We were so lucky to have all of you! What an amazing team of participants and great camaraderie. I can’t wait to see what you will photograph. Make sure to tag me :)
I’m new to the channel. I’m also new to Maine. We moved here about 2 years ago. I would love to hear more about macro retreats, especially Maine Macro retreats.
Hi Emily! I was at the Maine retreat. Great instructors, great location and so many great people! We had a lot of fun and learned a ton, and I came away with a bunch of photos that I’m really happy with!
Hi Sean! It was great meeting you at the retreat and thank you for sharing your photos with us too! I love seeing what everybody got. Such a fun weekend!
Background is very important,,,However, sometimes it can be better when you have the surrounding habitat in the photo, so people can see where they live.
Great time to be with all OM System Ambassadors at the Maine Macro Close-Up Retreat. I wish I worked the image more and moved around to get the right angles of the face of the insect. I did have some shots where I did not get the eyes/head in focus. I also wish I had borrowed the 90mm when doing the water drops to get closer. I guess, I will have to keep practicing...
I’m new to the channel. I’m also new to Maine. We moved here about 2 years ago. I would love to hear more about macro retreats, especially Maine Macro retreats.
Welcome to Maine! Join us live for more for info on our next event (this Wednesday at 5:30pm) or I also offer a macro workshop with Lisa Cuchara in Portsmouth, NH, on September 26th: www.lisatom.photos/photo-events/sept262024
Thanks for sharing I would add #6 Breath through your nose or hold your breath I thought at first the lens was scaring off most of the flying insects, but then realized through experience that it was my breath that was causing them to fly off; once I started slowly breathing throw my nose and/or using a face mask, my subjects stopped immediately taking off.
That looks like Eric Rock as one of the leaders. If it is, he's an excellent photographer and does a fantastic job in teaching others. I've been on a few photography tours with him as a leader.
Very helpful thank you , Im just starting out with macro using Canon R6mkii & RF100 F2.8 and the aperture and Flash /Defuser info i feel will help me out . hopefully AK defusers deliver to the UK . Thanks again Mark
Don't waste your money on that! I have 20 years of macro photography under my belt and that advice is poor, very poor. Flash is a surefire way to ruin any macro image, you get so many unnatural reflections, poor lighting angles, and the background quickly becomes it's own problem because you are tempted to hand hold the shots. Get yourself a small but sturdy tripod and a hand held diffusor and practice using those. If you look at her example images you will quickly notice an excess of reflections and poor lighting directionality losing the defining shadows the ambient light affords you.
Another "mistake" that has to potential to degrade a macro photo is the subject's motion blur captured when natural sunlight exposes the subject enough to make an image without the flash. Suppose you have 1/200th shutter speed and that, combined with your other settings, lets-in enough sunlight to create an image on the sensor with some subject motion blur not frozen by the shutter's 1/200th flash sync speed. No amount of super-fast flash performance will undo the motion blur captured from the sunlight's exposure. Shoot one shot with the flash turned off to confirm a black image and then you'll know that the flash can freeze the motion 😀.
@@EmilieT You too. I have recently bought a TG-7, so I don't have to worry about water damage (it rains a lot here in Lithuania). Looking forward to getting to know my new camera :) I'm pretty much a newbie. I have a Ricoh GR iiix and decided to get the TG as well for durability. I'm excited about the macro on it. I think I have already done the bug squashing from above, so I will try to improve after seeing all your tips! :)
Just like it is possible to improve a naturally lit portrait shot by using a flash, it's equally possible to improve a macro shot with a properly diffused flash. Of course, the opposite is true too 😐.
But big problem of using a very narrow aperture with flash is that the background will not be illuminated - that even happens af f/8. So, your backgrounds end up fairly dark if not black.
As you can see with my images, black background only happens if your background is not close enough to receive the light. This is an artistic choice. Hence pointing one one mistake of not working on various angles.
@@EmilieT It's often not a choice, especially shooting in the field where your subjects are not near a background. Spiders on webs have no background, or insects on a small leaf and may other situations. This is true even with a diffuser. You may not be able to move your insect close to a background if there isn't something near by. So, you could solve the problem by placing a background sheet behind the subject OR shooting at wider aperture, and stacking. Or just shooting wider aperture and lose some depth of field. Or maybe (not sure) shooting slower shutter speed.
@@G.CurtFiedler Yes that is true and focus stacking and bracketing are definitely great tools to have on the OM SYSTEM cameras. Lots of parameters to consider. For this video, I am keeping it simple as it is for beginner photographers.
Happy to see it is helpful. Congrats on your EM-1! The only diffuser I use is the AK diffuser. I absolutely love it. Here is a video I made about it: ruclips.net/video/jeTY7jY0cIo/видео.html
@@EmilieT Very poor results, unnatural direction, unnatural reflections, missing shadows, false colors due to the directionality all over the place with iridescent subject areas!. I wouldn't advise anyone to use such a gruesome lighting setup!
I just watched your Flash video after this one and am wondering what shutter speed you use with flash and TTL? Aperture priority at say f22 and let the camera pick shutter? Or does the flash need a specific shutter speed to work? Thanks! Scott
Hi Em, I have one question about OM-5, how many photos can i choose to be done in automatic stacking max.? What Is max. Fps and shutter speed in this mode, when synchronized with flash? Thank You very much!
Yikes! Focus focus focus! You can never forget about focus! Especially for macro. I think a higher iso is unnecessary for macro, and even more so with flash, I keep mine at 100, sometimes 200 maximum in the daylight.
i love olympus-OM cameras! so glaad youtube recomended your channel! 😊
Thank you :)
Magnifique! Those are great tips that actually count towards good photos - thank you. In the field it's easy to forget when you've found something interesting, that you're really taking a portrait. Granted, it's a bit specialized, but it's still a portrait.
I attended this retreat last week. It was a blast! Learned so much and had fun. Highly recommend this retreat!
Thank you Susan! It was so fun meeting you at the retreat!
North Berwick retreat was fantastic. First time ever doing water drop reflection. It is tricky, but very satisfying. You are a super instructor. Thank-you John
Thank you so much John! Keep up the good work and practice, practice, and practice :) So fun having you at the retreat!
Really great. Thank you very much.
The macro retreat was such a fabulous time...learned so much...I even learned to like taking macro photos of bugs. The instructors are a wealth of photography info and share in a way that even the novice photographer will come away with lots of photography knowledge
@@cindyroper412 Thank you so much Cindy! It was so fun having you at the retreat and OMG you refraction photos were amazing! Congrats!
You’ve helped me elevate my photography. This is a very nice summary of key points. I love it. Please continue putting out great content.
Thank you so much! I am so glad my content is helping you.
Good tips! The retreat sounds like an awesome experience👍👍
Thank you! Yes, the retreat was so fun! Tune in on Wednesday to learn more if you are interested.
Thanks Emile . . . great list. I'm just starting in macro. Keep the videos coming.
Thank you! Happy macro photography to you :) it is addictive!
I attended the Maine Macro retreat and it was phenomenal! Emilie and the other OM Instructors were great teachers and very patient with individual learners like myself! I highly recommend attending one, I came away understanding SO much more about Macro which is my least experienced area, but still have a long way to go. This video is a GREAT review, and of course targets two of my weakest areas, focus and aperture. But as Emilie says, practice, practice, practice! Gotta zero in on those eyes!! Thanks Emilie! ❤️
@@DianeCamacho-l2g Thank you so much! We were so lucky to have all of you! What an amazing team of participants and great camaraderie. I can’t wait to see what you will photograph. Make sure to tag me :)
I’m new to the channel. I’m also new to Maine. We moved here about 2 years ago. I would love to hear more about macro retreats, especially Maine Macro retreats.
Hi Emily! I was at the Maine retreat. Great instructors, great location and so many great people! We had a lot of fun and learned a ton, and I came away with a bunch of photos that I’m really happy with!
Hi Sean! It was great meeting you at the retreat and thank you for sharing your photos with us too! I love seeing what everybody got. Such a fun weekend!
Great information here, Emilie.
Thanks for watching!
Background is very important,,,However, sometimes it can be better when you have the surrounding habitat in the photo, so people can see where they live.
Merci pour ces précieux conseils qui me seront bien utiles pour ce week-end. Je vais tester le 60mm macro 😊
Bonne photo ce weekend :)
Great time to be with all OM System Ambassadors at the Maine Macro Close-Up Retreat. I wish I worked the image more and moved around to get the right angles of the face of the insect. I did have some shots where I did not get the eyes/head in focus. I also wish I had borrowed the 90mm when doing the water drops to get closer. I guess, I will have to keep practicing...
So great to have you in the retreat! Yes it is all about practicing and improving our craft.
Thanks
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! I really appreciate it.
Great tips. Thank you Emilie. Also, I really like your t-shirt!
Thank you so much :) I love moose and so this tee shirt is one of my favorite ahaha :)
Very interesting and informative. 👌 📷 🤩 I appreciate your help! 👍
Thank you so much and happy to help.
This was very useful. Thanks
Thank you!
I’m new to the channel. I’m also new to Maine. We moved here about 2 years ago. I would love to hear more about macro retreats, especially Maine Macro retreats.
Welcome to Maine! Join us live for more for info on our next event (this Wednesday at 5:30pm) or I also offer a macro workshop with Lisa Cuchara in Portsmouth, NH, on September 26th: www.lisatom.photos/photo-events/sept262024
Amazing video! Which diffuser do you prefer?
I always use the AK diffuser. Tailored made to my gear. I highly recommend it. Link in the description of the video if you are interested.
Oh I WISH I could have been there!!
Thanks for sharing
I would add #6
Breath through your nose or hold your breath
I thought at first the lens was scaring off most of the flying insects, but then realized through experience that it was my breath that was causing them to fly off; once I started slowly breathing throw my nose and/or using a face mask, my subjects stopped immediately taking off.
Excellent tip! Thank you for sharing
Thank you Very much for your valuable advice!
@@albertriviello6516 you are so welcome!
That looks like Eric Rock as one of the leaders. If it is, he's an excellent photographer and does a fantastic job in teaching others. I've been on a few photography tours with him as a leader.
Couldn't agree more! That is Erik and he does rock :) He is an amazing leader and photographer.
Thanks again
Very helpful, thanks so much!
Glad it is helpful! Feel free to share it with other people who might benefit from it :)
Very helpful macro photography tip. 1 Like for the video. Thanks for sharing. Greetings from Singapore.
Thanks for watching! I am glad it was helpful.
Very helpful thank you , Im just starting out with macro using Canon R6mkii & RF100 F2.8 and the aperture and Flash /Defuser info i feel will help me out . hopefully AK defusers deliver to the UK . Thanks again Mark
Hi Mark! Welcome to the macro family. I do believe the Ak diffuser does deliver to the UK for a fee.
Don't waste your money on that! I have 20 years of macro photography under my belt and that advice is poor, very poor. Flash is a surefire way to ruin any macro image, you get so many unnatural reflections, poor lighting angles, and the background quickly becomes it's own problem because you are tempted to hand hold the shots. Get yourself a small but sturdy tripod and a hand held diffusor and practice using those. If you look at her example images you will quickly notice an excess of reflections and poor lighting directionality losing the defining shadows the ambient light affords you.
Do you know if there are other macro retreats in the US? Thank you!
We have one coming up in 2025 and still have a few spots left: www.omsystemretreats.com/macro-close-up-photography-retreat-2025
Can you go through a budget setup for OM1 for macro? Lens, flash etc?
Another "mistake" that has to potential to degrade a macro photo is the subject's motion blur captured when natural sunlight exposes the subject enough to make an image without the flash. Suppose you have 1/200th shutter speed and that, combined with your other settings, lets-in enough sunlight to create an image on the sensor with some subject motion blur not frozen by the shutter's 1/200th flash sync speed. No amount of super-fast flash performance will undo the motion blur captured from the sunlight's exposure. Shoot one shot with the flash turned off to confirm a black image and then you'll know that the flash can freeze the motion 😀.
Thank you! 🙏
You are welcome! Have a great Sunday!
@@EmilieT You too. I have recently bought a TG-7, so I don't have to worry about water damage (it rains a lot here in Lithuania). Looking forward to getting to know my new camera :) I'm pretty much a newbie. I have a Ricoh GR iiix and decided to get the TG as well for durability. I'm excited about the macro on it. I think I have already done the bug squashing from above, so I will try to improve after seeing all your tips! :)
@@hannahshipman awesome! You are going to have a lot of fun with the TG7! Welcome to the OM SYSTEM family!
@@EmilieT Thank you! :)
Hi Emilie. Do you use only manual focus for the macro photography ? Thanks for your useful videos...
Hi. Thank you for the question. Yes 99% of the time I do manual focus.
Just like it is possible to improve a naturally lit portrait shot by using a flash, it's equally possible to improve a macro shot with a properly diffused flash. Of course, the opposite is true too 😐.
But big problem of using a very narrow aperture with flash is that the background will not be illuminated - that even happens af f/8. So, your backgrounds end up fairly dark if not black.
As you can see with my images, black background only happens if your background is not close enough to receive the light. This is an artistic choice. Hence pointing one one mistake of not working on various angles.
@@EmilieT It's often not a choice, especially shooting in the field where your subjects are not near a background. Spiders on webs have no background, or insects on a small leaf and may other situations. This is true even with a diffuser. You may not be able to move your insect close to a background if there isn't something near by. So, you could solve the problem by placing a background sheet behind the subject OR shooting at wider aperture, and stacking. Or just shooting wider aperture and lose some depth of field. Or maybe (not sure) shooting slower shutter speed.
@@G.CurtFiedler Yes that is true and focus stacking and bracketing are definitely great tools to have on the OM SYSTEM cameras. Lots of parameters to consider. For this video, I am keeping it simple as it is for beginner photographers.
Great video !!! Just picked up an EM 1 with a very low shutter count. Got a Flash. Any recommendations for a diffuser as I am a beginner ?
Happy to see it is helpful. Congrats on your EM-1! The only diffuser I use is the AK diffuser. I absolutely love it. Here is a video I made about it: ruclips.net/video/jeTY7jY0cIo/видео.html
@@EmilieT Very poor results, unnatural direction, unnatural reflections, missing shadows, false colors due to the directionality all over the place with iridescent subject areas!. I wouldn't advise anyone to use such a gruesome lighting setup!
I am a sony shooter and would love tonjoin this retreat next time can you please send me a link to keep up to date
Here is the link for our next macro retreat: www.omsystemretreats.com/macro-close-up-photography-retreat-2025
@@EmilieT thank you Emilie and bearblessings
I just watched your Flash video after this one and am wondering what shutter speed you use with flash and TTL? Aperture priority at say f22 and let the camera pick shutter? Or does the flash need a specific shutter speed to work? Thanks! Scott
I use 1/60 to 1.100 usually. I am in full manual
Hi Em, I have one question about OM-5, how many photos can i choose to be done in automatic stacking max.? What Is max. Fps and shutter speed in this mode, when synchronized with flash? Thank You very much!
with the OM-5 you can do up to 8 images in focus staking mode. shutter speed is max of 1/100sec.
Hello Emilie,
Can you please tell me which camera strap you enjoy using with the 150-400 mm lens? Thank you!
Hi Melody. I use the Peak design Slide to carry my 150-400: www.peakdesign.com/products/slide
Yikes! Focus focus focus! You can never forget about focus! Especially for macro.
I think a higher iso is unnecessary for macro, and even more so with flash, I keep mine at 100, sometimes 200 maximum in the daylight.
Another mistake could be the composition.
Yes definitely.
As demonstrated by practically every image she showed...
Thanks for this, you spoke slow so I could take it in. So many talk way too fast.
Mistake number 6. You become a bug.
Sadly the video link on screen didnt show for flash hints ,I will look back at your videos
Sorry about that. I just added it but here is the direct link too: ruclips.net/video/piDRkqvSP-Q/видео.htmlsi=z1H7I3poc0hPkUMm
@EmilieT Thank you so kind of you . Regards from the UK 🇬🇧
The quality of my images were dramatically improved once I got a flash and diffuser. It’s a necessity imho
I agree!
Then get yourself tripod, ditch the flash and learn how to use it, your images will make a bigger step forward!
I don't do such obvious mistakes