Help for the macro n00b please :P

[Travy]

Ok i just got my first macro lens.. a Tamron SP 90mm macro 1:1 DI f2.8

Now the pics arent very good and subject matter is a dead fly and a passing bee lol.. as they were the first things i found that were small

but what i want is advice/tips from any macro experts on focusing and getting the right DOF..

I realise you have a limited DOF with macro..

These are my first attempts.. hand held.








Thanks in advance

[sirhc55]

f/6.3 needs to be at least f/16 or greater plus use flash. You have already realised that the DOF will be very small so it’s important to focus on what you want to show. For example, the eyes or maybe the wings etc.

[Handlebars]

#3 looks pretty cool, it could probably do with a bit of fill light to remove the shadowing underneath.

[colin_12]

They look alright for a first go Travy.
Sirhc has it for you, stop down as far as you can and add more light to the subject.
With my d70s my regular settings are f57-36 with on board flash at 500th of a sec.
You will always have to play around a little once you are comfy with your new gear to get a set that works for you.
Regards Colin

[ATJ]

As the others have said, a small aperture (f/16+) is recommended. Flash will help you to achieve this without having to resort to very slow shutter speeds and will also freeze any movement.

A tripod is advisable, if practical, as it will mean that once you acquire focus you are less likely to loose it again before the shutter fires. If you can brace yourself against something sturdy, that also helps to avoid out of focus shots. Even at f/32, depth of field is quite limited and so even a couple of millimetres of movement can result in moving out of the DOF.

Be careful with the flash as it can cause some very harsh lighting and a softbox can help. They are easy to make yourself.

[Travy]

Awesome thanks for the advice guys.

Im using a 400D by the way

Is the standard flash on the camera ok to use for starters?
Or am i better off with a different flash?

[ATJ]

Is the standard flash on the camera ok to use for starters?

Do you mean the built in flash? If so, it's not going to work all that well for many shots. Being low down on the camera you may get shading from the lens itself. It is also going to be relatively a long way away from the subject so you will get the point light source effect resulting in quite harsh directional lighting.

A small flash mounted on a bracket so that you can put it close to the subject can work well, but can also be a bit harsh. I used that for a while for macro work but since I built my softbox I have been getting very pleasing results. For the soft box you'd need a fairly powerful flash, like the 580EX II, and you can mount it on the camera. You can also utilise TTL for the flash exposure which takes a lot of the guess work away.

[dviv]

Andrew,

Have you tried putting a second sheet of paper half way down the softbox so the light has to pass through 2 sheets?

It might help you get even more diffusion.

[phillipb]

With my d70s my regular settings are f57-36 with on board flash at 500th of a sec.

Out of curiosity Colin, what lens do you use that gives you f57?

[ATJ]

Have you tried putting a second sheet of paper half way down the softbox so the light has to pass through 2 sheets?

David,

No and in my opinion it is not needed. If you are referring to the fact that on the SB-24 the light doesn't go all the way to the edges (as in my blog), I have solved that problem with the SB-800. The SB-24 only goes to 24mm but the SB-800 goes to 14mm and this is enough to give me the lighting all the way to the edges. I will take a photo of that soon.

[DJT]

Is the standard flash on the camera ok to use for starters?
Or am i better off with a different flash?

You'll be on another level with a seperate flash unit. I think the canon one is the 580. By the way the Tamron 90mm is a ripper lens I love mine, works great as a portrait lens too

[blacknstormy]

Travy - I'm nowhere near being an expert, but do take a lot of macro shots - and never use a tripod ... I know that everyone says that it is best to, but to be honest, if I did, I'd never get a shot. The more you use your macro lens with your camera, the better you will be at taking the shot the instant it is in focus - it is more about technique in my opinion. And the more shots you take, the better you get.

An external flash makes a hell of a lot of difference, as the guys have said, the onboard flash doesn't make it over your lens, and you just end up with really harsh light, bad shadows and not the shot that you want. I use an SB800 with a PJ lightsphere - it gives a really good even light (in my opinion anyway), and while I had looked at getting a ring light, I'm actually really happy with the results I get with what I've got

I usually shoot with the flash set to full manual settings, camera at f22, and approximately 1/250 (depending on what I'm shooting) - and I seem to get reasonable shots (I'm shooting with an old d70, 105 macro lens and sb800 flash).

One of the most important thing to think about when you are taking macro shots is the angle of the shot - if you can take a shot parallel to the subject (with most of the subject running in a parallel line to the focal plane) you'll have less issues with DOF....

By far THE most important thing though.... HAVE FUN

Just my 2c worth anyway.

(if you want to see some of my insect macro shots, so you can see what I mean, this is a link to my pbase account
http://www.pbase.com/narellepower/narel ... hotography
I'm not a great photographer, probably not even a very good photographer, but I have fun )

[Travy]

ATJ.. i was looking online last night at the 580EX flash.. might add it to my xmas wishlist

blackandstormy (nice shots btw) i think you have hit the nail on the head..
I just need to start shooting and get more of a feel for it, i had a play last night with focusing it (not insects or anything moving just small objects) and using around f22-f32 and using onboard flash and i get what you guys are saying about the harshness from the onboard.

Hopefully i'll get a hold of a flash soon and make a softbox and will give me a bit more light to play with

thanks again guys, you are all very helpful

[chrisk]

DOF is purely subjective. personally, i like larger apertures and rarely use anything over f11 for my macros. here's n example of f8 which i prefer the look of to a smaller aperture which woiuld have given more detail.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10435080@N ... 838400114/

imo one of the key points about macro is lighting. flashguns are a must, you'll find your macros improve out of sight as soon as you get one. good to see another macro shooter here, look forward to you posting the results.

[colin_12]

Sorry Phillip missed this,

Out of curiosity Colin, what lens do you use that gives you f57?

I have the nikor 105 micro. It will only give me this as a readout on the camera body if i am at full extension of the lense. I don't know why it does as the lense only goes to f32. Electrical trickery maybe? It does however make a big difference to the shots taken (dof and light wise)

I have not as yet had any shaddow from my lense using the on board flash (d70s) even at full 105mm. The lighting is harsh as pointed out previosly though.

Regards Colin

[ATJ]

I have the nikor 105 micro. It will only give me this as a readout on the camera body if i am at full extension of the lense. I don't know why it does as the lense only goes to f32. Electrical trickery maybe? It does however make a big difference to the shots taken (dof and light wise)

Colin, it is because when you are at full extension you have actually increased the focal length of the lens. As the f/stop is actually the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of the aperture, the increase in focal length changes the ratio even though the diameter doesn't change. Not electronic trickery but optical trickery.

I get fairly high f/stops with my 60mm when it is set to "f/32".

I have not as yet had any shaddow from my lense using the on board flash (d70s) even at full 105mm.

That's the benefit of a 105mm over a shorter lens. You maintain a pretty good lens to subject distance.

[Travy]

Messing around with aperture settings and focusing etc and the camera to its own self portrait..

This lens is pretty versatile i have found (no images worth posting yet though waiting on a decent flash), but doesn't only need to be used for macro though.

[big pix]

to help you understand depth of field of a macro lens, or any lens, Photograph a ruler at 45 degrees at the various f stops and different amounts of being close...... or down load a focus chart, do a print, and then test...... study these on your screen and you will see a great deal of difference between the different f stops. Move back 30cm and do the same test again and you will have a different DOF......