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Sunday, September 16, 2007

Digital Camera Tips: Shooting Macro Pictures

It's a Small World After All

I always hear people saying how they only get their camera out when something special is going on like relatives coming over, Christmas, birthdays or traveling somewhere. When I ask them why they don’t get the camera out more often, they usually say there is nothing to take pictures of. Most of us hardly notice the little things right in from of us, but there is another world that can be captured with macro photography.

Macro photography can be a fun and educational thing. Macro photography allows you to take close up pictures of basically anything. It's amazing to look at these extremely close-up photos of insects or flowers or even moss. I recently took some photos of snow on a branch and the little ice crystals are amazing.

Here are some tips to get started:

  • Like any other photo that you take, simplify.
  • Fill the photo with your subject.
  • Sharp focus is a must.
  • Try shooting from different angles. If you’re looking for deep saturation of the colors, use front lighting. If you’d like to bring out the texture of your subject, side lighting is the way to go.
  • due to the narrow depth of field, the background will usually be thrown completely out of focus, which allows the natural background to be nice backdrop,. Just make sure you don’t have anything distracting in the back that’s recognizable (branches, cigarette butts, etc.).

Try taking a photo of a bee in resting in a flower. You’ll be astonished by all the little details your camera will pick up. Now I know for some of you that’s a bit of a risky thing. So try taking a picture of a little pebble. You wouldn’t believe how nice nature photos are when taken close up. A picture of a raindrop barely clinging to a leaf or tree branch can really get some good reactions from friends.

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