Health & Fitness
How to Take Close Up (Macro) Pictures
Professional photographer Maris Ehlers shares some tips for up close or macro photography by showing detailed "ring shots" from a recent wedding in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
There are two meanings of the phrase macro photography. One is "close up", and the other less used but perhaps more accurate definition is "larger than life", meaning that the subject is shot so that it appears larger than life and the detail that comes from that can be absolutely incredible.
I love to shoot macro, but as a portrait photographer, I rarely get the opportunity unless I create it myself. The exception to this is at weddings. We typically start the day off by doing macro shots of the rings, programs, shoes, veil, and anything else that where the larger than life detail can create an interesting shot.
We photographed a wedding on Friday and we were able to take some time to play with the rings and shot some fun macro shots of the details. Here are a few along with some tips to taking better close up images.
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Tip #1:
Get in as close as your lens and camera will allow you to. Eliminate as much background as possible and focus on the subject.
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Tip #2:
Some people will tell you to open your aperture as wide as possible (lowest number), but I often find I like the results better if my aperture is at a 5.0 or even higher. Macro photography is meant to have excessive detail, and an aperture that is wide open will not allow you to capture the detail you might be looking for.
Tip #3:
Don't forget to compose your shot. Up close is great, but you still should have a composition to your shot and a focal point.
Tip #4:
Try interesting props / backgrounds. In macro photography, because things are so close up, using an every day object as a prop or background can be a lot of fun. The other benefit is that the item you are using will frequently not even resemble it as our eye sees it because it is so close and large. The ring picture with the mostly green background was taken by slipping the rings over the end of a pointed Christmas ornament, and then the rest of the background is crumpled lime green tissue paper that the flowers came wrapped in.
Tip #5:
Practice. A lot!
