Macro Photography: What is it?
If you’ve been following along with my social media posts recently, you’ve probably seen a few shots really, really close up to my subject. Some of those photos have included bugs, and others have highlighted flowers.
What they all have in common is that they fall under the category of macro photography.
Macro photography, by my definition, is when you choose a subject that is incredibly small and get extremely close up to it so you can capture even the smallest of details. The end result is an extreme amount of detail given to the the tiniest of things.
Macro photography, by my definition, is when you choose a subject that is incredibly small and get extremely close up to it so you can capture even the smallest of details. The end result is an extreme amount of detail given to the the tiniest of things.
This isn’t just something you can accomplish with any lense though. To really make a macro image come alive, you need to make sure you are using a lens designed specifically to this type of photography. Now, I would say it’s not a requirement, but it definiltey helps - this is me speaking from experience. In the past, I’ve done some macro shots without a macro lens, but once I borrowed my brother’s lens, they started to come out far better than ever before.
The lens I borrowed from my brother is a Canon 60mm Macro lens. Basically all that means is that I can’t zoom in to get closer or further away from my subject - I have to physically move the camera around to change where my subject sits in the frame or the angle that I’m shooting from.
The lens I borrowed from my brother is a Canon 60mm Macro lens. Basically all that means is that I can’t zoom in to get closer or further away from my subject - I have to physically move the camera around to change where my subject sits in the frame or the angle that I’m shooting from.
In the little bit of time I’ve been playing with macros, I have got to say that I thoroughly enjoy these images! They present their own challenges as far as composition, but they are incredbily fun to take and look phenomenal when they come out as planned!
Have you enjoyed viewing the macro photos I’ve shared recently? Let me know, and feel free to check out some more examples of them in my Sea Glass Collection!
UPDATE (12/2/2022): When this piece was first written, I mentioned that I was shooting macros using my younger brother’s 60mm Canon Macro Lens. He has since reclaimed that, and any macro photos you’ve seen shared since about March or April of 2022 were shot on my 105mm Sigma Macro lens.