What are the skills and key points of macro photography?

? Do you need a reason to shoot macros? In the past, film cameras used either macro lenses or large telephoto lenses, both of which were expensive. For digital cameras, macro photography is one of the specialties of digital cameras, which has great advantages in shooting some small things, such as water drops, jewelry, flowers and birds, fish and insects. Even many civilian-grade low-end digital cameras are equipped with macro or even ultra-macro functions. Although not as good as professional macro shooting, it will let you try the beauty of the macro world. If you haven't tried macros, please come with me.

The macro world is very beautiful, because the macro can enlarge the micro world and get things that we can't see in our daily vision, so it has more visual impact. Macro-themes are very extensive, such as potted flowers, chopping vegetables on the kitchen chopping board, small ornaments at home, water drops falling from the eaves, and the insect world in the grass downstairs. ...

Macro photography generally refers to shooting an image larger than the normal size of an object, that is, the ratio of the image size to the physical size exceeds 1: 1. The traditional camera lens has a long focal length, so it needs to be equipped with macro lens (including standard distance of 50mm~60mm, medium distance of 90mm~ 105mm, long distance 180mm~200mm), tripod and other accessories to better realize macro photography. The CCD sensor of digital camera has a small area and a short focal length, and some even have only a few millimeters, which can have quite ideal macro function. Even an entry-level photographer can easily become a macro photographer, shooting butterflies gathering honey among flowers, reptiles crawling on trees, and small flowers with rich layers and blurred backgrounds. ...

Although digital cameras are quick at macro, traditional cameras don't need a good macro lens, and they need enough experience to achieve a wonderful "hit it off". However, it takes a period of practice to take good photos with digital cameras. In the process of real shooting, we should pay special attention to flexibly grasp the relationship between several important factors that affect the film effect, such as aperture, focus, depth of field and light.

Macro mode

At present, all digital cameras on the market have macro shooting function, which is relatively easy to use. However, when using macro mode, it must be noted that when the distance between the camera and the object is less than 20cm, it is best to use LCD to view the scene instead of optical viewfinder, because there is little difference between the optical viewfinder and the range captured by the lens when shooting the distant view, but when using macro mode, the gap is large. In addition, macro photography will make the shutter speed very slow, and using autofocus function is even slower than manual operation. In order to generate perfect macro images, some digital cameras are equipped with self-timer, which can effectively prevent camera shake.

Macro mode marking of digital camera

Choice of focus

Different focus choices can produce different image effects. When moving the focus, the subject should be in the middle of the picture. In general, you should choose the most attractive part of the picture, that is, the part you want to show most, and keep the shutter half pressed. After focusing (wait a moment for the camera to focus), press the shutter calmly to avoid weakening the photo.

Generally speaking, in the macro mode of digital camera, the closer the lens is to the object, the bigger the object will be. If you don't pay attention to the finishing touch, the picture will look very dull. For example, when shooting a subject like a small insect, the choice of focus should fall on the insect's eyes. Eyes are the aura of life, the clearer you shoot, the better. Especially tiny creatures like bees, caterpillars, ants and insects, we should pay more attention to the expression of our eyes.

Focus and depth of field

Depth of field is often the key to the success of macro photography Because the lens is very close to the scene during macro shooting, the depth of field is generally shallow and the background is almost invisible. But sometimes in order to emphasize the picture effect, it is necessary to strengthen the depth of field appropriately, so special attention should be paid to the adjustment of focal length and depth of field.

Depth of field usually depends on three factors:

1. aperture size. Under the condition of constant focal length, the larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field, and the smaller the aperture, the deeper the depth of field. In order to show the details of flowers, birds, fish and insects, and to increase the clarity of the subject in the vertical direction, it is generally suitable to use a larger aperture value to deepen the depth of field.

2. The distance between the lens and the scene. The farther the distance, the deeper the depth of field, and the closer the distance, the shallower the depth of field. When shooting, it is best to put all the objects to be shot in the same plane perpendicular to the lens axis, otherwise some objects may not be sharp enough. If possible, you can configure a wide-angle lens, which will not only increase the depth of field, but also bring you closer to the scene.

3. focal length. The greater the focal length, the shallower the depth of field, the smaller the focal length and the deeper the depth of field. Different combinations of aperture and focal length can produce different depth of field. Learn to use the combination of aperture and focal length reasonably, which can not only blur the background, but also ensure the clarity of the subject. If you take macro shots with remote zoom, the photos you take will not be ideal.

Exposure and background

The exposure procedure of macro photography is slightly different from that of ordinary photography, because the objects shot at macro are generally small, occupying only a small part of space, and the exposure procedure is likely to be fooled by the background, so it is best to add the background manually when shooting, which can make the theme stand out.

To add a background, you can generally choose neutral gray paper as the background. On the one hand, using gray can make the exposure more accurate, on the other hand, using gray can make the background look bright, which can be matched with ordinary colors. You can also use white or black background, but pay special attention to it, because they can easily lead to inaccurate exposure, resulting in overexposure or underexposure. At this time, it is necessary to use exposure compensation to adjust. If the background is too dark, increase the exposure; if it is too bright, decrease the exposure. ?

Control of light

The light control of macro photography is essentially to adjust the proportion of natural light and artificial light, and the correct running light can create different atmosphere and artistic conception. But generally no flash is used. Although the flash can shorten the exposure time, get a deeper depth of field, and reduce the influence of jitter or object movement during exposure, it is more difficult to use the flash in macro shooting than the normal mode, which is easy to cause overexposure. Therefore, general photographers should pay attention to the irradiation direction of light when taking macro shots, make good use of natural light as far as possible, and ensure that light shines evenly on the subject. In most cases, the light on the side can highlight the texture of the object. If the natural light is insufficient or the light is not properly irradiated, you can use a flashlight or a white foam board (as a reflector) to fill the light.

Matters needing attention when shooting

If you are shooting a still life of flowers and plants, you can carefully consider the use of light and modeling. Large aperture can help you get excellent shallow depth of field, and the light transmittance is large, so that the film is not easy to break, and at the same time you can get artistic aesthetic effect. However, because it is a microscopic world, the camera lens is very close to the subject, which is likely to block some light, so auxiliary light is essential. If shooting indoors, please use a high-power household lamp or something. It doesn't matter whether it is incandescent lamp or fluorescent lamp, because DC has white balance adjustment, so it's no big deal to try it several times. In addition, it is also a good suggestion to fill the light with a whiteboard. In order to get a clear picture, you need to help stabilize the tripod and monopod of the camera.

If the subject is a small insect that is afraid of being disturbed and moves quickly, a high-speed shutter is the first factor. There are three ways to get a high-speed shutter. One is to use a large aperture, which can increase the shutter speed accordingly when the amount of light entering is sufficient. The second is to use high ISO, but high ISO will make the picture rough and enhance the graininess. Because the microscopic world must be finer and better, it is not recommended to use it unless you can get a sufficiently fine picture under high ISO (many new SLR digital cameras can also get transparent films under ISO800). The third is to use a flash. For example, in order to take a picture of locusts with a clear sense of depth, you can only get it through a small aperture, but the negative effects brought by a small aperture are the decrease of light transmittance and shutter speed, while fast-moving animals will not give you the opportunity to play auxiliary lighting for a long time. Flash is the only choice, and the action should be fast. To avoid direct exposure, please add a soft mask to the flash. ?

The hint you need.

1. Use the remote control or cable release to get clear photos, or use the camera's self-timer function.

2. In photometry focusing mode, there is no need for spot measurement as much as possible, because the focus measurement is not accurate when spot measurement is made. The general consumer-grade DC manual focusing function is weak, but when the subject is small and it is difficult to focus accurately, you can hold a watch and other large objects at the same distance to assist focusing.

3. Use the LCD screen to view the camera, because the macro itself is very close to the subject, and it is not only indecent to use the viewfinder to view the camera, but also difficult to stabilize the camera. Using the LCD screen to view the scene, the photographer can compose the composition calmly and easily see the final shallow depth of field effect.

4. Pay attention to the background. Although macro can generally blur the background well, we should also pay attention to the seams between background objects, sometimes it will destroy the overall effect carelessly.

5. Cleverly match different photographic equipment. Some colleagues have successfully used E20P. At this time, the meter head in turn becomes a magnifying glass, which can get better macro effect. Although there are black circles in the imaging, it is enough to use large resolution for cropping.

6. Try the backlight effect properly. In particular, plants with thin and transparent edges, such as flowers and leaves, will show special aesthetic feeling under backlight.

7. Tourist attractions, such as wind-eroded stone carvings and rusty door locks, will show strong texture in macro shooting.

Carry-on necessities

Black cloth: it is convenient to manually arrange the background and highlight the subject photography.

White cloth, white cardboard (with a certain hardness), small clips: First, it can easily fill the light, and second, it can keep out the wind and prevent flowers and plants from swaying with the wind.

Water, watering can: it is especially useful when taking pictures of flowers and plants. Spraying some water will make the photo particularly brilliant. A simpler solution is to bring mineral water, which is the most convenient to spray with water in your mouth.

I hope my answer is useful to you. Thank you for your adoption.