Close up / Macro Photographic Info

Outdoor Macro / Close Up Photographs

Taking close up macro photographs outdoors can be quite tricky. Bright calm days are best, not necessarily bright sunshine, just generally bright. This allows for faster shutter speeds and helps keep things in sharp focus. Any kind of strong(ish) wind makes things almost impossible as the small things you're trying to photograph move in and out of focus. Tripods can help, but not on windy days! They'll keep the camera still, but what use is that when the flower is moving around anyway?

Shutter speeds for handheld macro should generally be faster than a 125th of a second. You can use slower shutter speeds if you can find something to rest the camera on, but even then you must remember that the thing you're photographic is probably still moving slightly even on a calm day. (obvoiously if you're taking pics of rocks or bark then they're probably not moving).

When using a tripod you can use slower shutter speeds which will increase depth of field. But unless it's a really calm day the insect or flower may still be moving, so be careful and try to take several versions of the same shot just to make sure you get what you want.

Fill in flash can be useful even in full daylight, it helps keep shutter times fast and will help to isolate foreground objects from the background. Try going out after a Spring/Summer shower, everything looks more interesting when wet.

Try different auto focus modes if your camera has them.

One shot mode AF - this is the mode where when you press the shutter half way down the camera focuses, usually on whats in the center of the frame, but the focus doesn't adjust if you move after half pressing the shutter. In this mode, for hand held macro you need to be quick. As soon as the focus point lights up you need to take the shot, any slight delay and all your photos will be out of focus.

The servo AF mode - this mode tries to keep the camera focused all the time you hold the shutter half pressed. It does this by making fine adjustment to the focus point to compensate for small movements by you or the object you're photographing. This will only help for small movements and you still need to react fast when the focus indicator lights up.

The servo mode combined with the multi shot drive mode can be quite affective - hold the shutter release down and take about 5 shots in quick succession, this way you're more likely to get at least one in sharp focus.

If you want a good depth of field in close up photograph, you'll need to use a high 'f' number f16 - f32. (Using fill in flash makes this possible without the need for direct sunshine). Getting outdoor macro shots with a good depth of field is very very difficult hand held, a tripod becomes essential. This is because the higher the 'f' number the longer the shutter has to stay open to let enough light onto the sensor/film.