Somebody at another forum I sorta kinda don't really frequent anymore, but made friends with him when I did asked me to write up an introduction tutorial to macro. So I did, and I'll post it here as well, in case anyone cares to feel free to add to it. I'm sure a few of you can, in fact, I'm sure a lot of you can. Any questions, or things I types so badly you can't understand? I'd be happy to answer, the only stupid question is one you should have asked, and could have been answered
Beware, very long readStep 1. Learn the lingo
Ok, first step to learning how to shoot macro? Learn to talk macro. Macro like any other form of photography, has it's own dictionary, and by learning this, you can go on. Ok, the words, in no particular order:
Magnification: Magnification is how big something is on your sensor, as a ratio to real life, written like this sensor:real life. It looks something like this 1:2. The one means that for every inch that is on the sensor, there is two inches of it in real life. So if a flower is 48mm wide, and your shooting at 1:2, it will be 24mm wide on your sensor, and for APS-C sensors, this means that it covers edge to edge. At 1:1, every mm outside, is 1mm on the sensor. SO if your shooting that same flower at 1:1 now, you can only fill the frame with 1/2 of the flower, but you get much more detail
Mirror slap: This is only if your shooting on a tripod. Macro, like long telephoto, is very affected by mirror slap. It is the small vibration your mirror in your DSLR when it swings upwards. This is enough, in macro, to seriously affect IQ. If your camera has Mirror lock-up, use it. If not, stay out of the 1sec-1/15 sec exposure range.
Diffraction: When shooting, you always start to lose detail due to diffraction at small apertures. The more pixels you have in a smaller spot, the quicker this happens. For examle, the D300 shows diffraction at f/11 normal shooting, while a D70 might not show it till f/16. However, at macro distances, you tend to lose between one and two stops. More if the lens is not a dedicated macro lens. An example, my Sigma 70-300 macro, I tend to lose detail about 2.5 stops earlier in macro rather than regular shooting. arounfd f/8 rather than f/18.
Focus stacking: This is a technique used to achieve a larger than possible area of focus, escpecially without stopping down to small apertures. What you so is, shoot "slices" of in focus area, and combine them in software. I have yet to be too succsesful at this, but it's outhere. The program (free) that I use can be found here. This is a windows only program, but Helicon focus and PS CS4 both do the same thing (just not free)
Close focusing vs. Macro: Big diffrence, and this is more of a pet peeve of mine than anything else, but still. Close focusing and macro are two TOTALLY different things. My kit lens can focus within ~5" of something at the widest end, but it's magnification is less than 8:1. Not macro at all, which many consider only 1:1, but I extend tht to 1:2, call me generous, lol. So close focus is not macro.
Working Distance: Distance between front lens element and subject focused on. The smaller Focal length, the smaller the working distance. Small working distances are good for studio shots, where you want to reach around and adjust stuff. Larger working distances are ood for slitish/dangerous animals. Average distances (with Focal lengths of ~100mm) are good averages, and thus, a good starter lens.
Step 2. Get that magnification
Ok, now you now a lot of the lingo. Now, how do you get close enough for macro. There are several routes to get there, I'll go over five.
Route one: Buy a macro lens. Before you think this is a HUGE investment, figure this. I bought my recent Tamron 90mm for less than 250$ used, and that lens has a reputtion like few others in the macro community. Not that bad at all, and you can buy shorter focal length ones for cheaper. Check out Keh for good used lenses.
Advantages: You have a good, fast prime, very sharp! AF isn't the fastest, but you won't really use that in macro (more on that later), and you can likely deal with when non-macro shooting. One huge advantge is, these can then be stacked with other methods for more magnification easier than any other way. Yes, yu can stack others, but they start to fall apart real quick.
Disadvantages: Most expensive option. That's it.
Route two: Extension. Ok, there is a technical reason for why this works, but all you really need to know is, the farther the lens is from your sensor, the closer you can focus. However, you lose infinity focus this way, and the more extension you add the less far away your farthest focusing abilities are.
You will want to get Kenko tubes (probably the three pack). There is no other option for Nikon, and I don't believe there is for Canon, unless you are shooting lenses with a manual aperture ring. And with the kenko tubes, you retain AF (relativly pointless, read later) and auto-aperture stop down. Very useful, but they cost 175$. If you have a 50mm 1.8, this is a particularly attractive option. By the 25mm kenko tube by itself (for ~80$) and you have a steller, if shot working distance, macro lens.
If you can live with manual stop down (and if your a hand holder that means focusing at stopdown as well!) and have a lens with an aperture ring, then you can find some for much cheaper, say, 30$.
Your magnification is dependant on ength of tubes and focal length of your lens. If your lens is 90mm and your tubes are 60mm, your magnification at (what would be) infinity focus is 60:90 or 1:1.5, but then you can focus closer as well.
Be careful though, you extend it enough, and pretty soon, your focus point is inside your lens, good luck with that!
Advantages: Can be used with any lens, and the wider works better. Many different combos can be used as well
Disadvantges: Infinity focuse cannot be achieved with it while the tubes are on, so you must take them off when you want distance work. The extension means your lens loses light due to the light having farther to travel. Most likely the second most expensive option out there.
Route Three: Diopters. Ok, dipoters ar a mixed bad. You lose IQ (how much is dependant on diopter quality) The Canon 250D or 500D, or the Nikon 5T or 6T (nikons are both discontinued, but findable) are all top notch. However, these are also just filters, and they have the same problems all filters do, lowering of IQ, flare, etc. Plus, you can only use them on one lens size only, or you must buy step rings. When you see a diopter say + (a number) the higher the number, the closer you can focus. These are the oposite of reverse rings, where the shorter focal length works best. With diopters, the longer focal length the better.
Finally, these are not much, cheaper than the kenko tubes if you buy large, the 77mm version is 150$! But the 58mm version is much more managable, at less than 90$. Lightloss is minimal to non-existant, but like the extension tubes, you lose infinity focus.
Now, there are cheap closeup filters, for say, 30-40$ or less. DO NOT BUY THESE, cannot stress that enough. I have one, and even downsized to web, and sharpened like heck, it looks so soft, and such chromatic aberations, you wouldn't believe. Biggest waste of money ever.
Advantages: Small, easy to fit in a pocket if need be (granted you have a case for it), one of the cheaper options if you get a smaller one.
Disadvantages: almost as pricey as kenko tubes if you buy big, but with IQ loss, loss of infinity focus, less working distance than tubes (big deal if you shoot anything moving!) Can only be used on one lens size, or you need step rings. If I were you, I'd get a reverse ring (see next one), working distance TINY
Route Four: Reverse Lenses. Almost the same as a diopter, but a better option IMHO. I'm not talking about the reverse a lens over another lens, as that's not a practical solution 9 times out of 10, but reverse one by itself, using one of these. It basically attaches to yur camera like a lens, but instead, it has filter threads on it, and you screw in your lens to that, and wala, reversed. Best of all, any lens will work (and the wides again work with more magnification that teles, like an extension tube) but the ideal focal length for most people is ~30mm, but it even works with a zoom, so try many focal lengths. Other best of all? It's less than 20$! Check them out here
Advantages: Cheap, get's you a wide range of magnification
Disadvantages: Uses a filter thread, and only available in limited sizes, so a step ring is almost a must (but little risk of vignetting)
Route Five: Teleconverters. Ok, telecons, for macro. Pretty basic. If you have a 2x TC, and you were getting 1:4 magnification, you get 1:2, if you were getting 1:2, your getting 1:1, just divide the second number, by the TC value. Or, increase your working distance by close to, but not fully, that number on the TC.
Advantages: Can be used for other things, besides macro. Retains infinity focus. Can be used with any lens.
Disadvantages: Lose light, 1-2 stops, depending on TC power, lose IQ, depending on power and quality of TC.
Step 3. Tripod or handheld?
Ok, there are advantages and disadvantages to each. In fact, you'll probably shoot both. And, I'll say this now, you WILL manual focus, unless your trying to capture Bugs in Flight. There are some few cameras that do a pretty decent job with AF on macro, but when missing the focus point by 1/16th of an inch is a HUGE difference, how much do you want to rely on AF? One example (the only one I've expirimented with that works) is the D300's AF, so I assume that if you need to, the 50D and up, or the D300 and up will work for both model lines.
Tripod: Tripod is good for just about everything but bugs and tight spaces. With the narow dof you'll get (think, <3") you'll want a way to not let that dof sway in and out, like it would handheld, so even if SS isn't an issue (and it will be) a tripod is still a good idea. And you'll want to stop down, so SS becomes an issue as well, ecpecially since macro, like telephoto shooting, magnifies camera shake. But you don't want to be chasing bugs with a tripod...
You will want to use the timer mode, or the remote funtion (as well as Mirror lock up if possible, remember) if your not using flash, as most likely, your SS will be slow, like 1/20 or below. The pressing of the shutter at these magnifications, particulary with a cheaper tripod (like mine, lol) will cause some serious blur. For timer mode, 5-10 seconds are best. But the problem with the timer, you have to guess the wind in 5 seconds, which ain't easy. Wind is a big macro enemy. With the remote, you can shoot when you want.
Wind is a tripod shooter's worst enemy. It not only causes subject motion, but it also moves the subject out of the focus zone so even if flashing, you may not be in focus! And it is much harder to move tripod focus rather than handheld.
Handheld: Good for fast moving things (bugs come to mind). However, a flash is almost a must to stop shake. And for longer focal length lenses, this option is almost kaput. But a monopod is a good balance Also, busrt shoot! Remember that slight movement changes dramatically the dof? Well, if you burst, your more likely to get something in proper focus, plus you have some samples of all over in focus for potential focus stacking.
The best way to focus handheld is to slightly move your body back and forth, rather than the focus ring.
Step 4. How to flash
Ok, I'll say this once, once, and only once. Get that flash off your hotshoe, or reflect it off your hotshoe. The light is cruel, and in macro, will often be blocked by your lens. There are several ways to do this.
Ring Flash: You can buy sets for little more than than 100$, or adapters to get your regular flash into a ring flash while fired from the hotshoe (not recomended, expensive!), or even make your own adapter (like this one or this one). Very nice, easy to use, cheap, but there is very boring lighting, as it's only one kind, every time, for hundreds of pics...
Twin light flash: Example the Nikon R1C1 system (I do not know the canon equivilent, sorry). it's like a ringlight but, fully customizable. Unfortunatly, the extra over the light is matched with the price tag, the nikon system is over 500$! I have a knock off system on order, for only 130$, much better, but still yikes!
Wireless transmitters or sync cord+standard flash: Can be pricey, but for most macro, if it misfires once, no big deal, so Cactus trigers work fine, and at 30$ for the set, get my stamp of highly recommended. The only issue is, now you have one less hand holding the camera while it's holding the flash, and that's less stable. The cord, less recommended, but not too bad, you won't (usually) move the flash far, but since they are almost as expensive, or more so, then the cactus triggers, I'd get the trigers. Here is a link describing the different wireless systems.
Bonus. Extra Accesories you'll want
Ok, bonus accesories, and why you "need" them. All of these, I recommend name brand, of course, but they all work perfectly fine non-name brand, and much cheaper as well.
Macro focus rail: Very nice accessory for you tripod shooters. What it does is, instead of either forcing you to move your tripod, or change your magnification, it screws into your tripod, and let's you slide your camera along it to achieve perfect focus. Very handy indeed. Pricy, but handy. (Brand name, off brand)
Remote: Tripod shooters, try shooting without one. You'll quickly decide it is worth your while when yu set the timer when the wind is calm, and then it picks up just before the shutter releases.
RIght Angle Viewfinder: Have your camera at ackward positions? Want to zoom in on your viewfinder to check focus? This is what you need then. You can get look at your viewfinder 90 degrees to it's normal position, and it rotate's all the way around, very useful, since macro is all about low angles most of the time. Plus, with a flick of a switch, you zoom up, usually to 2x your viewfinder, and can really check focus. (Brand name, off brand)(oddly enough, I did not see any from canon brand)
Flashlight: I kid you not, it really helps. Focusing, under any conditions, is a pain at best. One thing i find that really heps, particularly when a tripod is freeing up a hand, is shine a flashlight on the subject, the extra light really helps. I use a small, one LED light, that measures approxamatly 1/8" around, 1/2" long, so i doesn't have to be much.
Some tips
Focus: Unless you have an artistic reason, bugs eyes should always be in focus, and for flowers, the center of the flower, or the tips of the stalks in the flower should always be in focus.Angle: Get down, most of what your photographing (in nature at least) is at knee level. Get down to that level to find those pics, andmost likely, you will take them from that level too. It's like shooting children or dog's standing up, it doesn't work so well.
Flash: Many use the flash to expose for the subject, while allowing them to underexpose the background. There are many levels you can go to. One extreme is have the whole scene, front to back, evenly lit. The other, is to have the subject lit, and the background pitch black. I, personally, don't care for either. I like to have my subject well exposed against a underexposed, but still there, background, helps it pop, while adding context.
Watch the background: Many will assume, ah, the backgrounds oof, no big deal, right? WRONG. The background will need to be very oof, or very clean. This is, IMHO, more important than almost anything else, past focus. Get your dof perfect,and set it against a good background (bright and colorful, or smooth and almost one color)and that will be the best thing you can go towards making a pick. Also, watch what your backdrop is. If it's your fence, set the timer, and hold a leaf back ~12-18 inches behind your subject (adjust as needed, the less dof, the less distance you need) It adds a nice, natural, green backgroung.
Macro Scenic Mode: Ditch it, now. Shoot A(v) or Manual. Macro mode is not meant for macro photography, but consumer closeups, such as those you might get from a kit lens. So even if your used to the picture modes, ditch this one.
Lighting: Ok, most of you have some knowledge of what makes lighting good. Don't forget it in macro. Off Camera Flashes, diffusers, reflectors, backlight, hair light, dramatic lighting, soft lighting, all of these play just as much with macro photography as in portraiture. I use reflectors (white foam or aluminum spread over cardboard), flashes all over, diffusers, both for sunlight (for shooting flowere in the sun, rarely, shoot a flower in the sun without diffusing that light if possible, it just looks ugly, until you get the hang of it, then there are occasions where it can look right nice), and flash, and all sorts of other tools to light my subject, or combonations of them all.
Selective focus: Your shooting close up, your dof is nil, get used to it, use it to your advantage. Use it to really highlight your subject.