My 1st attempt at a macro

pisto1981 · Apr 25, 2013

Ok, so this is my first attempt of a macro photo. If you can call it that?

While Im pretty happy with it, looking at it now, Ive made it too under exposed in lightroom?

Also, I was unable to focus correctly on the centre flower. I tried different pre settings and manual focus and didnt get anywhere. Any advice on what I could try next time?

Camera Settings;

f/8
Exposer time 1/80
ISO-400
Metering Mode Pattern
No Flash

Rafterman · Apr 25, 2013

pisto1981 said:
While I’m pretty happy with it, looking at it now, I’ve made it too under exposed in lightroom?

Also, I was unable to focus correctly on the centre flower. I tried different pre settings and manual focus and didn’t get anywhere. Any advice on what I could try next time?

Yes, it's a bit under-exposed. I'd try using a tripod (if you already didn't) and a longer exposure time. If that's not an option, shoot in brighter conditions or try adding flash to the shot. As for your focus issues, the solution is two-fold: 1) for macro shots, you typically use a very small aperture to increase the DoF (Depth of Field) so that as much of the subject as possible is in focus. Not sure what lens you used, but while standard lenses usually only stop down to f/16 or f/22, dedicated macro lenses can frequently go down to f/45 in some cases. Unless you're going for a certain look (for example, a shot of a frog where only his eye is in focus), you would close the aperture quite a bit, at least around f/16 or so. 2) You mentioned having difficulty with manual focus. For macros, you want to be in MF almost all the time. If you can, look at the live view on your camera's LCD screen and zoom in as you focus on the subject manually. This technique, combined with using a small aperture, will result in more of your shots coming out sharp.

Not bad for your first attempt though! :thumbsup:

pisto1981 · Apr 25, 2013

Thanks Rafterman,

Yeah defiantly went a bit over the top with the exposure function. Good job I kept the original J Yes, I used a tripod but not sure how to change exposure times. Will be getting the manual out later or checking the old trusty google! I wasn’t sure if flash would take the affect that I was looking for away but will definitely have a look. With regards to my focus settings, I had it on the pre-setting for close up objects but my aperture was f/8 so not sure why it set itself so low. Point 2 I was not aware that I was able to use live mode to manually focus. Another thing ive learnt today J

tirediron · Apr 25, 2013

Good points raised by Rafterman. Close-focus work has a very shallow DoF, and true macro work often has a DoF measured in millimeters. This presents a real challenge, especially given that today's cameras are not designed to be manually focused. One suggestion I would make that may help is use a flashlight or other, similar source to illuminate the subject while you're focusing. You may also want to search the term 'focus stacking' which is a technique that uses multiple images and software to create close-up/macro images with impossible depths of field.