Introduction to macro photography

Introduction: Macro photography is an indispensable category in photography, and it is the product of people's curiosity and exploration of tiny things. Compared with the scenes visible to the naked eye, people have more expectations for subtle life or things that are difficult to see with the naked eye. Therefore, shooting and recording with a camera has become the mission of a macro photographer, and at the same time, it can share that magnificence with more people.

Macro photography is to shoot at a relatively close distance from the subject through the optical ability of the lens, and you can get an image with the same magnification or higher than the real thing 1: 1. Objects close to 10cm are often difficult for human eyes to see clearly, and smaller objects such as plants and insects. It is more difficult to observe their details, so shooting ecology is the mainstream theme of macro photography, but how can we shoot fresher and more creative works on the basis of this originality? Today, the editor shared with you three slightly innovative macro photography contents.

Macro photography looking for a unique perspective

1, water droplet reflection macro photography

Just taking pictures of flowers and plants, it gets a little boring after a long time. Why not try this interesting creation? Shoot the reflection of water drops on plants. We have seen some wonderful works, and we may appreciate similar works. Is all this accidental? Of course not. These are specially designed by photographers.

We can shoot with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. The shooting method is simple. Spray water droplets on the main flower with a watering can, fix the reflection flower behind the shooting subject, and adjust the distance of the reflection flower to make the whole picture reflect in the water droplets.

The magnification of the macro lens is 1: 1 or 1:2, and we can get the same size or even more enlarged images in the picture. Because the actual shooting situation is different every time, the shooting distance cannot be unified. In order to focus quickly, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM lens adopts three shooting distance range focusing modes to choose from.

3m-0.5m, 0.5m- infinity, 0.3m- infinity. All three modes can focus within the range of distance. The first two distance modes have faster focusing speed, and the third one has certain requirements on speed, so don't set the distance of 0.3m- to infinity every time to save trouble, or choose the mode according to the actual shooting.

Water droplet reflection macro photography

Macro photography reflected by water droplets is easy to realize, even in natural light, which adds interest and beauty to shooting, not just taking flowers, right? Picture in picture? .

2. Consolidate moisture

Water flows in our eyes. Sometimes, in order to see its fixed appearance, we throw things into the water to splash and enjoy a short solidification. We can try to splash in various ways and enjoy the frozen water. It is best to take pictures with all kinds of brightly colored objects. This method is also applied to commercial photography.

The selected shooting equipment is a macro lens and a high-performance fast-focusing SLR camera, such as the combination of Canon EF/KOOC-0/00 mm f/2.8L ISUM+Canon EOS-/KOOC-0/D X. Shooting solidified water requires a high-speed shutter, and the high-speed continuous shooting of EOS-/KOOC-0/D X per second/KOOC-0/4 frame can help shooting.

This kind of shooting light is exquisite, so it is necessary to distribute extra light on the vessel, add side lights and atmosphere lights to create a light atmosphere. The light should not be too strong, it will be more natural to be softer.

To take this photo, first find a square glass container and take it from the front. Continuous shooting pressed the shutter when the fruit touched the water. Special note: Because shooting running water is not easy to focus, it is necessary to simulate the splash position with a fixed object and focus manually before shooting.

3, fruit and bubble fusion

Seeing the advertisements shot by many beverage manufacturers, the beverage bubbles with fruits look attractive and evoke the taste buds of the viewers. This can bring the same unique shooting effect in macro photography, bring the taste of summer, and look at the photos very refreshing and enjoyable.

Shooting method: Put the fruit slices into a transparent glass bowl, pour in bubble water and shoot directly above the bowl. When shooting, you must pay attention to the shooting time and shoot with fresh bubble water. After a long time, the bubbles become smaller and it is not easy to take satisfactory photos.

In order to make the picture more colorful, we can also put various colors of background paper under the bowl. The shooting time is limited, so you can shoot the whole picture first and then compose and edit it later.

When shooting the above macro photography, it is necessary to consider whether to shoot with a hand-held camera or use a tripod to support shooting. Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM lens is equipped with dual IS image stabilizers, which can realize the shutter compensation effect of hand jitter equivalent to 4-stage shutter speed.

The optical anti-shake function is designed for hand-held shooting, so the anti-shake setting on the lens needs to be turned on when hand-held shooting; When the tripod supports shooting, you need to turn off the optical image stabilization setting.

What if there is no macro lens?

Can I take macro photography only with a macro lens? The editor recommends two accessories for you, which are equivalent to the macro lens. You may wish to have a try.

1, close-up shot

The use of close-ups is relatively simple. Just install a close-up with the same caliber in front of the camera, and you can experience the fun of high-magnification close-up. The price is relatively cheaper, and it can make your original lens play a greater use value after adding a close-up lens.

2. Add quilt extension tube (close-up)

It is an accessory installed between the camera body and the lens, which reduces the nearest focusing distance and brings macro effect. With electronic contacts, you can use automatic exposure, which is suitable for close focus. Although these two accessories can bring similar effects to the macro lens, they will have a slight impact on the imaging quality, so they can be used as experience or backup.

Macro photography is an important and fascinating branch of photography, which observes the world from a brand-new perspective. We explore and record tiny things through more detailed equipment, hoping to bring you novel discoveries.