Get close with digital macro photography

Have you taken macro photographs? Why not submit your own for comments at the bottom of this page. And if this is something you haven't tackled yet read on, learn then practise. Then YOU can come back and show us how you got on.

Let's start with an explanation of the term macro. This is generally used for photos taken from a closer than normal distance. True macro photographs result in an image on the digital camera sensor that is the same size or larger than the object being photographed.

Modern digital cameras and macro lenses have the capability of close focusing down to as little as 1cm away from the subject. In fact some even allow you to touch the object you are photographing! But getting this close can create problems with depth of field (how much of the photograph is in focus).

Depth of field in digital macro photography

With only centimetres to play with you will need to decide which part of the flower to focus on.

In this shot you can see the detail in the petals closest to the camera but rest are blurred as the depth of field drops off. To

If you wanted to get all the petals in focus it may be better to shoot from above so that they all lie a similar distance from the camera.

However in the shot below that has resulted in anything in front of or behind the plane of focus being blurred, including the flower centre.

These photos were taken on an overcast day therefore the light levels were only enough for me to use an aperture of F/3.5 at ISO 200. For more information on these settings check the Understanding Exposure page.

Check this page for more information on macro photography. Flowers are covered in more detail and there are lots more photos.

Insect macro photography - Bumble bees

Don't only take one shot in a situation like this, keep shooting and check your memory card later. Out of a hundred shots you may only get a few really good ones.

In the shot above, for example, although the picture obeys the rule of thirds it is a shame that the bee is facing the corner of the photo rather than the centre.

Another reason to keep shooting is that after a bee has visited a number of flowers you will be able to see the pollen on its fur. In the shot below it almost looks as though it has been snowing!

Sometimes you may even get lucky and find extra bugs in your photograph!

The photograph below was a lucky accident, with the second insect perfectly positioned in front of the light area of leaf. The sun shining on the blackberry flowers and leaving the leaves in shadow also served to highlight the main subject throwing the other insect into silhouette.

This was also the last shot of the session, as I had filled my memory card!

Digital macro photography - Butterflies

The Ringlet below, obligingly settled just where the dappled sunlight highlighted the fine hairs along the edges of its wings and one of its antennas.

With its wings folded the creature was all in one plane and an aperture of f/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/250th sec was enough to give adequate depth of field. This photo was taken from a little further away and then cropped on the computer to eliminate a distracting leaf which had caught too much sunlight.

In the following photograph the butterfly had its wings slightly apart and therefore only the wing furthest from the camera is in focus.

This illustrates another point about depth of field. Two thirds of the plane of focus is behind the focus point and 1/3rd in front. You can use this information to make the most of the depth available.

I wanted to get the butterfly's antenna in focus so focused a little further back, rather than on the closest wing.

The prettiest butterfly pictures can be taken when its wings are fully opened. The full beauty of the colours are then apparent.

For the next shot I cheated by using a long zoom lens from a distance. By shooting from further away you disturb the creature less and can still get a closeup photograph.

I have only covered flowers and insects on this page about digital macro photography, but of course you can take pictures of anything from close up. You could even ask other people to guess what they are!

Have fun and get close.

Get close! Show us your results.

Why not try out some of the techniques on this page and get really close to your subject. Then share your pictures here and see if others can work out just what you have photographed!

Call it a sort of mini photo contest without prizes, just for fun.

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Encounter With Giant Dragonfly 
I was visiting my mom who lives near Kansas City, Kansas last summer and saw this dragonfly resting on a blade of pampas grass.

With my Canon Powershot ...

Aphids on new rose leaves  Not rated yet
This picture was taken by my wife using a Nikon D70s with a Nikor 105mm f2.8 macro lens.

Bee in Flight  Not rated yet
Taken with Nikon D300 using Nikor 105 mm f2.8 macro lens

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