Macro shooting skill

The longer we are photographers, the more we will find ourselves interested in the tiny details of things around us (these tiny details are often not recognized by most people), and then we will have a strong desire to shoot these tiny details truly and clearly. The shooting of tiny details is macro photography or microphotography.

Macro photography can make some seemingly ordinary flowers, still life and insects so delicate, crystal clear and lifelike. It is no exaggeration to use the word "details tell the truth" Just right!

First, psychological preparation.

We must hold the idea of great hardship. Macro photography can be said to be a kind of "peeling" photography activity, a kind of "sharpening the mind" photography activity, and a kind of "great sadness and great joy" photography activity. The reason why you say "peeling meat" is because you have to fight the heat in flowers and plants and the cold in snowstorms; Why do you say that? "hone your mind" because you want to listen to thunder in a quiet place and see the wonderful in the invisible; The reason why you say "great sorrow and great joy" is because you have to bear more regrets and enjoy more surprises. Please take your time!

Second, the equipment preparation

Macro photography is by no means the same as other photography. You should prepare relevant equipment so that you can shoot easily.

1. Familiar with macro function: Nowadays, cameras, especially digital cameras, generally have macro shooting function, so you must know its operation method and shooting range. It's important to know the shooting range. If the object is not within the specified range, it will not be able to focus accurately. If your camera doesn't have macro function, you need to prepare one or several close-ups that can be enlarged to achieve macro effect.

2. Release of base and cable: When macro shooting, the magnification of the lens is very large, and slight vibration will affect the clarity of the image, so a tripod is needed. Sometimes using a tripod can't guarantee absolute stability, so use a cable to release it and minimize the vibration.

3. Cardboards of various colors: In order to make the main body stand out in macro shooting, different cardboard can be used instead of messy background. You can prepare more colors for later use.

4. Fine wire and watering can: When shooting flowers, we can make them pose beautifully or take a bath in advance. Let the photographed flowers be more colorful.

5. Other spare items: flash lamp, fill light board, knife and some medicines. Pay special attention to two points: first, there are many mosquitoes in the wild, so pay attention to protect yourself; The second is to make the best use of natural light.

Third, cognitive preparation.

Macro photography is to capture a certain detail or feature of something, which can be color, shape, expression and behavior. With cognition, we can accurately grasp the object to be photographed. To fully understand, the only thing to do is to carefully observe the internal relations of things in the theme. Please don't rush to press the shutter!

Fourth, be patient.

Shooting insects in the wild is the first choice for many macro photographers. However, it is difficult to photograph or photograph insects easily, and patience is needed at this time. Don't expect to catch and photograph insects once or several times or a dozen times. Waiting for a rabbit is a common method, and patience is the most important.

V. Use of light

Painters paint with pigments and photographers paint with light! It doesn't matter who said it, but it makes sense.

1. Guang Shun. Also called frontal light, it refers to the light with the same projection direction and shooting direction. In this light, the subject receives light evenly, the scenery has no shadow, and the color is saturated, which can show rich color effects. However, the scenery lacks contrast between light and shade, losing its sense of hierarchy and three-dimensionality, and it is best not to use it.

2. Backlight. Also known as backlight, also known as contour light, the light is opposite to the shooting direction, which can outline the brightness contour of the subject. The scenery under the backlight has distinct layers, prominent lines and vivid pictures, and the photos taken have a strong sense of three-dimensional and space, which is most suitable for expressing the dark scenery under the dark background and is an ideal light. You can use it to capture the silhouette, and the effect is good. I like it!

3.？ Side light. Refers to the light whose projection direction forms an angle of more than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees with the shooting direction. The objects in the sidelight have good contrast between light and shade, strong stereoscopic impression, good color reproduction and rich shadow lines. Among them, the side light of 45 degrees is the best, because it conforms to people's visual habits and is the most commonly used light.

4. dome light. This means that the light comes from above the subject. Under the top light, the horizontal illumination of the scene is greater than the vertical illumination, and there is no intermediate level, which makes the scene and characters look lifeless and is an unsatisfactory light. But for the elderly and other special people, dark circles, prominent cheekbones and wrinkles cut by knives are very expressive.

5. Bottom light. It means that the light comes from below the subject, and natural light refers to the sunlight that just rises or will fall in the morning and evening. The scenery taken under the background light is very lively, and this kind of light has a low color temperature and a warm red tone, which has a special color effect and is an ideal light.

6. Scattered light. Also known as false negative light, the illumination is average, the light is soft, the light ratio is small, the color difference is small, and there is no obvious projection on the subject. This kind of light is very suitable for girls and naive children who express a quiet and beautiful life.

One of the special reminders: use natural light as much as possible, and fill the light as a last resort! When using flash as fill light, we should pay special attention to controlling the output intensity of flash. If the output light is too big, it will lead to no theme level and no vitality!

Special reminder 2: be sure to pay attention to the accuracy of exposure, and it is best to use spot metering (it is best if you can prepare standard gray boards for standby). If the camera itself has no spot measurement function, you can change the exposure combination and take more photos until you are satisfied. POCO's good friend BBOBBO told me: the painter paints with addition and adds color constantly; Photographers use subtraction to show only what they need!

Sixth, the shooting direction

1. Frontal shooting: Frontal shooting is beneficial to show the positive features of objects and can fully show the horizontal lines on the screen. This kind of frontal shooting is easy to appear solemn and quiet, and it is easy to show the symmetrical structure of the object. When taking portraits, you can still see the complete facial features and expressions of the characters, which is very intimate. However, improper use of such composition will make the work appear dull, lacking three-dimensional sense and sense of space.

2. Back shooting: Back shooting means that the camera is directly behind the subject. Shooting in this direction is often used to blend the subject with the background. Things in the background are the objects that the subject pays attention to. Backshot does not pay attention to the expression of the theme, but pays great attention to the expression of the heart with the gesture of the theme, mainly the expression of body language.

3. Frontal shooting: refers to shooting from the right or left. This direction is suitable for expressing the prominent features of the subject and helps to highlight the front outline and lines of the theme.

4. Oblique shot: refers to the left front, right front and left rear, right rear. The characteristic of shooting in this direction is to make the horizontal line of the subject become diagonal on the picture, which makes the object have obvious changes in perspective, and at the same time can expand the capacity of the picture and make the picture vivid.

Seven, shooting angle

1. Flat shooting angle: that is, the camera and the subject shoot on the same horizontal line, and the subject is not easy to deform. Shooting people's activity scenes makes people feel equal and kind. When shooting natural scenery, it is very important to deal with the horizon. Generally speaking, we should avoid the situation that the horizon divides the picture equally, because by doing so, the distant view and the close view will be compressed in the middle line, and the picture will appear unremarkable.

2. Upward shooting angle: The camera shoots upward below the subject, which is conducive to highlighting the tall momentum of the subject and fully unfolding the upward-growing scenery such as trees on the screen. Using backhand near the ground can be used to exaggerate the movements of moving objects, such as flying and jumping. Try not to pat people with chubby backs.

3. prone shooting angle: the camera shoots down higher than the subject, just like looking up at the distance. At present, the scene from near to far can be completely spread out from bottom to top on the screen, which is beneficial to display the level, quantity and position of the scene on the ground plane and can give people a broad and far-reaching feeling.

Eight, highlight the theme

1. Use shallow depth of field: Under the premise of sufficient illumination, open the aperture of the lens as large as possible to blur the background of the subject, and the out-of-focus imaging is the best. We can choose "aperture priority" mode or manual mode. I use Canon Budweiser, and often choose the maximum aperture F2.8 for shooting. The imaging quality of consumer camera lens is almost the same as that of non-professional 135 macro head. When you are completely close to the subject, you can appropriately narrow one or two apertures to ensure the imaging level and clear image quality. Note: the aperture of shooting scenery film should be as small as possible!

2. Use telephoto segment: Try to use the longest focal length of the lens, such as EF70 to 200mmF2.8LU, and use 200mm focal segment. One of the biggest benefits of this is that the long focal length can compress the distance of the scene and blur the background to highlight the main body.

3. Use the closest distance: The closer the camera lens is to the subject, the narrower the clear range of the subject (the shallower the depth of field) and the more prominent it becomes. There is a prerequisite that the camera lens should be able to focus manually or automatically when it is closest to the theme, otherwise it will not be clear no matter how it is focused.

4. Use big contrast: bright themes should be set off with a dark background, and dark objects should be set off with a bright background. Therefore, when shooting flowers, insects or other objects, it is necessary to "set the light (color subject) with a deep background" and "set the light (background) with a deep color subject". This is a eight-character decision, remember!

5. Use a far background: If you can't effectively blur the background by using the above four tricks at the same time, then you should consider whether the distance between the subject and the background is too close. Therefore, if the shooting scene allows, you can move the background to make the subject farther away from the background, so that you can blur the background to highlight the subject to the greatest extent.

Nine, the opportunity to shoot insects

1. Clear up after the rain: POCO's friend Pistachio told me that the peak of insect activity is to clear up after the rain in midsummer, and at this time, due to the rain on the wings, the activity frequency of small insects is obviously slowed down, and the lighting conditions are ideal, which is indeed the best time to shoot.

2. The sun rises. Kuaiyimen, a friend of POCO, told me that when the sun rises, after a long night, insects start to get warmer and usually come out to move. This is an ideal time to photograph insects. Dew not only slows down their activities, but also oblique sunlight is said to be a brilliant light. But at this time, the light is weak, and it is difficult for civil digital cameras to have the best performance.

3. preset trap: POCO friend Zhidong told me that insects have certain activities. You can use the method of "waiting for the rabbit", focus in advance and measure the foil (such as a flower), and fire as soon as the prey enters.

4. Love season: When insects mate, they are very lingering and often can't catch up. It is not difficult to film this romantic moment. I once photographed a pair of butterflies in love, so I can pick them up and shoot them in any background!

X. Insect shooting skills

High definition is the key to the success of macro insect photography, mainly focusing. Most friends think that the autofocus of the camera is almost unreliable in macro photography. So learn to use manual focusing skillfully. Only in this way can you have more chances to shoot insects well! When focusing, the focus should generally be on the eyes of insects. If there is an opportunity, you must make full use of it and take as many photos as possible.