Macro Photography: What is it, and how do I do it?

[GundamX67]

Macro photography is a very popular form of photography. Ranging from the images of the smallest ant, to the patterns of rocks or plants, Macro photography is an ability to bring out an entirely new world to the general view of every-day life.

That said, it is also one of the most misunderstood branches of photography in general. People have often asked me, “Why do you take pictures of tiny objects, instead of the big picture?” It has often been hard to answer that, but I think I’m getting close.

Macro photography and getting the “Big Picture” are two different parts of the same world. The ‘Big Picture’ is done almost all of the time. It ranged from one person, to a giant landscape. Macro photography, however, is an entirely different world. It allows you to work with things not commonly seen, or overlooked. A giant valley may wow you, but how many times have you been wow-ed by that small ant, or tiny sprout in a corner? Macro photography is aimed at capturing these tiny, unique subjects.

Kukkurovaca, a member of the popular photography site, “Flickr©”, is wise in saying,

“No genre of photography is important in itself, but any genre can be elevated to an art form in the right hands.”

Your subject will always be your own perspective, but after shooting macro, your outlook will be entirely changed.

Now you have a basic understanding of what macro is, and what people are saying about it. Now it’s on to technical training and advice. First off:

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The Camera: Point-and-Shoot or “ Pro” SLR-camera?
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The camera is the most important thing in your journey through macro photography. But how do you choose the right one, out of essentially thousands of cameras?

There are two categories of cameras:

Point-and-shoot (POS, as typed from now on), and Single Lens Reflex cameras (From now-on typed as SLRs). Both have their strengths and weaknesses.

POSs:
+ Small and inconspicuous
+ (Relatively) cheap
+ Most are pretty high-quality.
- Quality suffers from small sensor size
- Not designed for macro. Will not be able to get “true” macro, which has a life-size ratio of 1:1

SLRs:
+ High picture quality
+ Intechangeable lenses allow for different focal lengths. (Crucial for getting a 1:1 ratio and life-size)
+ More control over light getting in and shutter speed
+ Bragging rights to having a better camera
+ Most can give you more creative control over your resulting images
+ Lets you seem like a “;Pro” photographer
- Price (Translates to $$$$)
- Bulky

SLRs have more benefits, but the trade off is the price and size. Which one to get is up to you, but I’ll be discussing the SLR-method for this article.

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The Lenses: Getting that 1:1 Ratio
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SLRs require attachable lenses to focus and work. These lenses are not cheap. They may range from $100 for the basic ones to $1000+ for the telephoto or “ Pro-grade” lenses.

Luckily for those of us on a budget, there are other options.

1. Screw-in magnifying filters
2. Reverse-mount ring

The Screw-In Filters

Screw-in filters work by screwing into the threads at the front of the lens, and providing another layer of magnification. This lets you get in deep and close to the objects you’re capturing. However, there is a trade off: the quality = cr*p.

Reverse-mount ring

One of the cheapest, and simplest, way of getting macro shots without a dedicated macro lens is to use a reverse-mounting ring. It essentially switches position of the lens 180 so the front is into the camera, and the back is facing out. This will get you a tremendous magnification on the object, but be sure to have lot of light at hand. This thing cuts off light like nothing else.

How you use these is up to yourself. But for me, it works just fine.
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After getting the materials, it's time to getting those shots. Start taking pictures of whatever catches your eye. An interesting pattern, texture, insect, flower, plant, animal, whatever. This will translate into more practice and more familiarity with your camera and the world of Macro Photography.

Once you start macro, it'll become a point at which you'll be entranced with the world of photography. Start small, and work your way to larger things! That's one way of training, and affordable, too. :]

Hope you enjoyed the article! If you liked it, or have something to add on, post a comment. I'll try and get around to writing an article either from the point-of-view of a point and shoot camera, or go off to a different subject.

(I originally posted this on DeviantArt, but I thought it was a decent article, so I reposted it here.)