Getting Light into Tight Places - how to use flash in extreme macro photography

[@joefranksmith]

If I only knew what you have forgotten... Thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom.

[@Ahmadrahimify]

Thank you great effort in this video 👍👍👍

[@hermanmunster4949]

Bravo..!

[@gianlucarossi3709]

Wonderful .from Italy

[@klauswl007]

Great video

[@barryarnold1241]

Hi Allan. Another very useful tutorial on macro lighting; thank you. Macro and garden photography is all we can do right now - very glad I built the 'Allan [Lighting] Cage'. A live video would be great; anytime before 17:00 CST would work for me (in UK). Best wishes, Barry.

[@yobalin]

Thanks Alan Walls. I am starting in the extreme macro world and I have struggled a lot with lighting, your video has been of great help to me. greetings from Mexico

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thank you sir!

[@Mark-ks9jj]

Brilliant as usual Alan well done

[@ernstsibberson5256]

Watching this gave me an idea how to back light marbles. Cut a black foam core to the size of a speedlight. Cut a small hole in it and taped it to the flash head. Works perfectly!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Ernst - that is also a great way to shoot jewelry and watches.

[@tandonbinny1]

One of the best video,thanks.

[@juancarlosplaza8301]

I liked the video a lot. Specific and clear explanations as always. I'm learning a lot from your videos.

[@garypannett2756]

Thanks for the work you put in with these videos some of the best if not the best macro videos I've ever seen 👍 What's your opinion on the mp-e 65mm macro I have it and I'm going to try much harder and get more serious about my macro all due to you and the information you share thanks I love watching them 👍

[@ace4mma]

Lovely video Allan! Thank you and God Bless!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thank you, and it is my pleasure!

[@patrickguilfoyle8884]

I have to say that finding your KZbin channel has been a great find during thiese difficult times. Thank you for your wisdom.

[@selwol2]

Great Alan, just what i was waiting for. Keep them coming please. Cheers Mark

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks Mark!

[@pearcemachineshop5200]

Brilliant mate just brilliant, just starting photography this is the most informative on this subject I've found, by a long way. Thank you Al.

[@barryt09]

Hi Allan, I am slowly working my way through all of your excellent videos. The lighting video was, once again was very informative and covered a subject I needed to know more about. Many thanks, Barry.

[@colinbooth5959]

Hi Allan, Thanks for the video

[@jbpastora]

Hola Allan, muy buenos videos que hace usted, yo estoy empezando con el macro extremo, uso tambien la nikon d7500, podria decirme en que modo de disparo utiliza usted y que parametros usa? gracias

[@gnax73]

Hi Allan....I like your metallic plamp...do you have a video for plamp construction?

[@stephenstevenson1900]

Great video Allan! I love the Scottish flag for your backdrop.

[@pervindis5126]

Very informative - tks. I can't find bendy arms like yours - where did you buy it?

[@photografiaaustralis2131]

Love the video Allan. I hope you're well and safe my friend. Greg

[@williamyoungman1887]

Love the Saltire !!!

[@williamyoungman1887]

Another great Video Thanks !!!

[@stephenallen1128]

Yet another great video Allan, thank you so much!

[@CarlS100]

Excellent tutorial, Allan! Thank you for sharing.

[@renatocortes7479]

Great and clear video, thanks!

[@wassim2364]

Ty ☕️🍰

[@BasselHadak]

Exactly what I wanted to learn , thanks for the informative vedio

[@bjsmith996]

Thank you for all of your very educational videos! I have just retired and have learned a lot from you and am putting together the things I need to try macro photography with a 4x objective. You shared your camera shutter speed and ISO settings for this, and said that the aperture is fixed by the objective, but what do I set my camera aperture setting on? I am anxious to give this a try!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Gosh I am so sorry for the slow reply - Well, as you won't have a lens on the camera, there will be nothing to set. When you adjust the aperture on a camera, the message is passed to the motor in the lens, which opens or closes it per your instruction. But with some extension tubes or bellows, there may or may be connections that would connect camera to lens, but it doesn't matter because the lens you are using, the objective, has a fixed aperture. If you shoot with Nikon, the aperture display should have three little dashes but no f/number. You question gets a more interesting answer when you start using infinity corrected objectives. Then you might have to adjust some settings. It took me so long to answer this, you have probably already written your first two books on macro photography! Sorry. Good luck!

[@richardlewis9868]

just found your channel, looking good, great tips

[@MarcelloBranca]

Those tiny bendy forks you are using to hold the white foil folded into a cilinder you are using as a diffuser, what are those called? I need them 😊😊😊

[@SomeGuyInSandy]

I finally ordered a set of bellows. I really appreciate the inspiration! Thanks!

[@Puffer001]

Great video as usual, love your banter. Would love to be part of live feed, just built your cage, great idea. And your right it's a very complicated subject. Never shot indoors never used a speedlight its a huge learning curve. But with your help in going to master this. Ive got the next 6 wks at home to learn. Cheers

[@Noidvape]

Hello,I would like to ask why you don't use a led tunnel but you also use flashes at home?Isn't it better to use a set of led lights?Create a led tunnel?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Good question - LED light is not as a pure full wavelength white light like flash, it flickers, and requires monger shutter speeds. Flash is a better choice for minimizing motion artifact from vibration. Flash increases the percentage of good images I make.

[@Noidvape]

@@AllanWallsPhotography Thanks for the reply.I have always shot with flash and have been happy.I have created a led tunnel and use two led lights.I am not happy with the results.I get better results with flash.I use a godox tt350 and have added another one.I will go back to flash.Thanks for the great videos they are informative and inspiring

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

@@Noidvape I think you are making the right choice - you can some things with LEDs but you can do everything with the TT350!

[@Noidvape]

@@AllanWallsPhotography Thank you.I did another test yesterday.The results with the flash are much nicer.I like the drawing better.Thanks for your time

[@caltari]

Where do you get the silver and white shapeable reflector paper? Thanks in advance

[@Namaste..]

Like your background!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

I found it in a box that hasn't been opened in 10 years (that's how bored I am in social isolation). I got it the last time I was at Murrayfield.

[@bplain80]

Hi Allan, did you use a Raynox 150 in this set up with the microscope lens? Or just the lens directly to the bellows? If so, why? Id like to understand and your great at teaching

[@draknagar]

Highly innovative approach!! What do you prefer to use as a microscope lens? an 10x objective or 10x eye piece sir?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Only the objective provides the necessary correction of field and color aberrations - so always the objective lens.

[@Joel4JC]

Can you post your equipment list in the video description above. Thanks

[@havarsigurjonsson4128]

Hi Allan, Thanks for the video. I´m not this far into macro photography yet but find this fascinating. I would be very interested in a live session. Plenty of questions.

[@stephenwoodburn2970]

Great video, Alan. I find it so very interesting to see how such simple ideas provide such amazing results. As always, you do a great job explaining it all. I would definitely take part in a live Q & A video if you take the time to do one. Hope you are staying safe, but looking forward to you going a little more mad, just to see your next compositing video. Cheers.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Stephen - thanks for the feedback - I'll start doing my homework. I have a disturbing compositing video in the works, too.

[@draknagar]

can Godox X1T-o TTL Wireless Flash Trigger Transmitter mounted on panasonic camera trigger godox TTL 860 VII N flash, meant for Nikon?

[@Joel4JC]

I'm interested in the webinar. Do you have video on how to program and use the focusing rail?

[@TarekMidani]

"The only difference is that our models like to eat doodoo and they're about a millimeter long" 😂 Love it. Thanks for the video

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Cheers Tarek!

[@kamatchinmay]

That was very insightful. Now I know why I'm gravitating towards macro photography, and it's because my wife doesn't have patience while I set up the flash etc.

[@DalsPhotography]

wow I loved that magical arm stuff, did you build that yourself? It's absolutely amazing.... thanks for sharing all these secrets!!!

[@fesmuelakagong8921]

Hello Allan, i would like to know what is the name of the 50mm adapter that connected the microscope objective to the nikon bellow. I tried to search in shashinki and ebay but cannot find.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi - you will never find the name of that adapter because I made it myself! It is a Nikon body cap and the lid to the objective case, epoxied together and with a hole drilled through both. But there are suitable adapters that can be purchased... This will give the same result... www.ebay.com/itm/322899008377?epid=1471203109&hash=item4b2e47db79:g:2McAAOSwQItUBIZM

[@roybixby6135]

Very interesting Video. Would you recommend an economical microscope eyepiece. I dont need to shoot sub micro very often but I find LEDs on stalks very useful.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Roy - The correct eyepiece for use with a microscope would very much depend on the type of microscope and the objective you are using. With some objectives, ones that do not correct for chromatic aberration, the eyepiece is designed to make such corrections. Are you wishing to incorporate an eyepiece into a photomicrography setup, or do you have another purpose in mind? If you are looking for a way to adapt a microscope to use with your camera (i.e. having the camera capture images through an intact microscope), the best place to start looking for adapter solutions would be LM Scope (www.lmscope.com). Feel free to email me directly ([e-mail]) if you would like to discuss this further. By the way, I also use flexible LEDs, and fiberoptics, for some of my work (video coming!), but the purpose of this video was to demonstrate how excellent lighting can be accomplished with the gear most photographers already have.

[@ArvindVallabh]

Use ZOOM for talking and showing your screen for demo of your work and live view of your work even with a second camera to show what ever you may want.

[@mkoeske]

Where did you get the platform and goosenecks to hold the specimens?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

They are made by a company called QuadHands. I found mine on Amazon.

[@richardmiller8912]

Hey Allen, this may be a ridiculous subject, but could you, at least, touch on the best way to clear or purge Lightroom and Photoshop of projects, files and photo’s after you have completed a project. For some, it can be confusing having old photo’s and files floating around if they are not needed. I can understand those who use those programs to make a living and need to keep them, but some are strictly for a hobby, and no longer need input files after an output image is generated. Thank you!

[@CarlConstantine]

If you have just a moth/butterfly wing, no insect to pin and use a setup like this, how would you light that?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Carl, that would depend very much on the specimen. But as a general rule you will be using high magnification and will want to be shooting the wing at an angle, so that the scales would reveal their ridges and will cast shadows at their edges. For this effect, I like to hold the wing in a very small clamp (hairpins work well) and angle the wing at about 45 degrees, facing to the right, and have a single light source just to the right of the objective. I may add a small reflector immediately below the wing to bounce a little fill back up into the shadows. It is easiest to shoot at the leading edge of the wing to avoid contact with the objective. The light intensity will vary, depending on the color and reflectivity of the scales. From there is all about tiny adjustments to get the look you want (use a good XYZR positioning device to make these adjustments). I have been experimenting with a DIY fiberoptic device for more subtle lighting effects and the results are promising.

[@CarlConstantine]

Allan Walls Photography can’t wait to see the results of that.

[@enriquediaz8939]

Hi Allan!! It’s great to see you again. Allan thank you very much for sharing these tips, they cleared up many doubts about how to do extreme macro lighting, I have not been able to practice because my sight is not very precise yet and I despair of not being able to see well on the camera screen. I was in a live broadcast two days ago with Stewart Wood and it is a very profitable experience that type of sessions when the participants talk about their experiences and how they solve their problems in practice. I would very much like to participate in a live broadcast of yours and at the moment I do not think I will have a problem in the schedule that you propose. My best wishes to you and thank you very much for your videos. By the way, I recommended that people who were on the broadcast with Stewart subscribe to your youtube channel.

[@Lysander-Spooner]

Allen, excellent video. You should have more subs based on your excellent content. BTW, my sanity has been slowly disappearing since Viet Nam War days...

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Lysander... I appreciate your confidence, but from my perspective 3K subs are about 2.99K subs more than I ever expected - so no complaints here! I'm not sure that I was ever sane to begin with.

[@jacksmith62]

Really enlightening video. Sorry if I missed this but do you use rear curtain sync for your stacking?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Jack, I didn't bring up rear curtain sync - I should have mentioned it. I seldom use RCS for a number of reasons. It doesn't offer a noticeable advantage over my usual shooting sequence (Mup with long delay before shutter release). The slow shutter speeds used with RCS require a dark space, which is hard to achieve in my studio, and ambient light getting into my composition causes more problems than the ghosting that I would use RCS to avoid. But the main reason is that my flash triggers are very unreliable when using RCS. I am not entirely sure why this is, but I get a lot of missed shots with RCS, unless I use a sync cord (PC) from the camera. I would be interested to know if you use this technique, and if you have found ways to avoid the problems I run into. Thanks again for the great question!

[@vchai84]

hihi !!any different between plan vs din objectives? they say plan can make a bit more distance

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Tyler, DIN refers to an industry standard that sets the distance between objective and eyepiece (160mm) - important when using finite objectives. Plan, on the other had, refers to a type of flat-field correction that occurs within the objective itself. So they are are not really comparable terms. I am putting out a video this week that will include a detailed discussion of the different types of objectives used in photography - hopefully that will make this issue clear!

[@korhancharlotte3619]

Hello again Allan. I was wondering if you can find out that there is any free to download programs on the internet for focus stacking and post a video to teach us. I’m pretty sure few of us can’t afford to sign up for those paid websites. I appreciate for your helps. Thanks 😊

[@SomeGuyInSandy]

You can join Adobe creative cloud, and get access to Photoshop and Lightroom for $10 per month. It's a pretty good (cheap) deal for top drawer software.

[@mariomifsud1302]

Yes I think ii's a good idea to make a group conference. I like to ask a question. When you are taking photos with the bellows do you leave the camera settings such as focus point and aperture etc. Thanks for your informative tutorial in which you share your knowledge with such dedication.

[@wrecktech]

Mario Mifsud with bellows work you are in complete manual focus so point focus and other settings don't work.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Mario - good to hear from you! When using the bellows, all the focusing is done by physically moving camera/lens/bellows as a group (on a focusing rail). The aperture is either fixed (for a microscope objective) or set manually (with a camera lens or enlarger lens). You will still need to set the ISO and shutter speed yourself.

[@mariomifsud1302]

@@AllanWallsPhotography Thanks Allan I vave send you some info on your FB.

[@Jdlucas44]

Always great information and instructions Allen. Do you happen to have a list of reflective and difussion materials that you use for the demos?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks John, I don't have a list, but I'll make one now! The best tracing paper for diffusion at this scale is Master's Touch Premium Tracing paper. I get mine from Hobby Lobby, where you can also get it online (Amazon has it too). The reflectors that I use can be found at any craft store, in the card stock section. It is highly reflective (silver and other colors) on one side and white on the other. I have also used silver "envelope liners", pieces of aluminium foil, small mirrors, and small pieces of highly polished stainless steel. The thing is, nothing works in every case. There is no "best reflector", as it depends very much on the rest of the lighting setup and the subject you are shooting. Whenever I see something shiny (and cheap), I'll buy one and put it in my bag of tricks for later experimentation. Sorry for the vague answer, but it really is all about experimentation and luck!

[@Jdlucas44]

@@AllanWallsPhotography Your KZbin video sparked an interest in the reflective card stock of which I could find many uses. Keep up the great work, love your videos.

[@philippebillig5487]

Hello and thank you so much for your videos that I find very interesting By the way, you look like the actor Robert Duval :-) Greetings from France

[@darkMarshalle]

Oh, my God, why do I understand English so poorly, it upsets me terribly, because I don't quite understand what you're talking about, but your work is admired. Can you say approximately how much such equipment will cost? And will it fit on the Nikon D5300?

[@drfarzinjazayeri9442]

Dr.Allan I,m interested in chatting with you and share our ideas .Any time .We are +4:30 GMT. in Iran . Cheers

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Great - shoot me an email to [e-mail] and give me your contact information and we will set it up. Thanks!

[@tello_yo7546]

Hi Allan I really enjoy watching your videos. you're very creative. I have a question, what rail do you use, also are you using a motorize rail?, please any help would be so much appreciated. I'mm into the macro photography too, thanks.

[@rommme]

The rails he's using is the cognisys stackshot which is motorized.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Greeting Rogelio! Thank you! Yes, I do use a motorized rail. I use the StackShot from Cognisys and it is absolutely superb. I recently did a short video comparing most of the common macro focusing rails (kzbin.info/www/bejne/eIrHdWSthbiNpZY) that you may find helpful. But everything I do with the StackShot can also be done manually - it just takes a lot of patience!

[@tello_yo7546]

@@AllanWallsPhotography OMG, I looked at he price for the motorized rail, never though it would be that expensed. wish I can afforded now, but eventually i will find a way to achieve it. I absolutely love your work Allan.

[@fusion-music]

Are you missing home with the Saltire hanging Allan? The Astro Imaging Channel do live chat videos. I forget what platform the use, but Ill do a quick search and post back if I find out. Zoom is a good platform for that type of thing, but I don't know if it integrates with youtube. You can record Zoom and then post the chat, but that sort of defeats the objective. Other than that, its KZbin LIVE and punters type in questions, the you verbally answer. That format works well, as its not a free for all.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Greetings Steve - Indeed I am! Found it in an old box. I bought it the last time I was at Murrayfield. Fond memories! Good advice on the chat. Someone else suggested Twitch.TV, which I know nothing about. I'll check out all these suggestions today. Thanks!

[@scottg.8137]

Hi Allan: Nice picture. Where did you get the objective? Someday I might experiment with making a led flash system that I can clip onto the objective that would be nicer that big flashes. Scott

[@rommme]

You can buy the objective on Amazon.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Scott - I picked up this little AmScope 4x objective on Amazon after reading an article about how sharp it was. It cost $20, so I wasn't expecting much from it, but I will be recommending it to anyone just getting started with high magnification. It must be the best deal ever, for macro optics. I have built a miniature LED ring light for use with objectives and will probably do a video on how to make one at some point. The problem is with diffusion, but I have some ideas I am currently experimenting with. Let me know if you have any success with your project - I'd love to see what you come up with!

[@johnwolf1951]

Hi Allan. You mentioned "high quality tracing paper" in some of your videos. Can you please provide the brand that you use, just to give a starting refernece? Thanks.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

I sure can... the stuff I use is called Master's Touch Premium Tracing pad. I get it from a local craft store (Hobby Lobby) - 50 sheets for $7.99. It is the best I have ever found, both as a diffusion material for macro and for drying and prepping insects.

[@wrecktech]

Where do you get the reflective foil cardstock?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Art. The last batch that I bought was from Hobby Lobby. They sell single sheets of the card stock in the paper department (ripoff) but in the poster supply area, they have a packet of 10 sheets (2 red, green, blue, gold, and silver) for the same price (about $3). But any shiny card stock, envelope liners, even tinfoil, will work just as well.

[@LyleMead]

So did you actually set your camera for F22 even though you didn't have a lens with an aperture you could adjust or did you just shoot wide open?

[@rommme]

If you're talking about the microscope objective, then no. Microscope objectives have a fixed aperture, so you can't adjust it with the camera.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Lyle... There is no connection between the camera and the lens/objective when mounted on the bellows. Your aperture is fixed and is determined by the objective. It gets confusing because the microscope objective has a fixed numeric aperture (in this case, NM=0.1) which corresponds to an effective aperture f/20. But you can't change that. If you are using a camera lens on the bellows, and you can change the aperture of the lens, you need to bear in mind that your effective aperture drops with magnification. If your lens is set to f/8 and your are using bellows or extension tubes to increase the magnification ratio to, say, 4:1, the effective aperture will drop to f/32 (magnification multiplied by lens aperture). You need to know this number because as your f/ number increases, your chances of losing image quality due to diffraction also increases. This is not nearly as big a problem with microscope objectives (which is why I use them whenever I want more than 3:1 magnification). Hope that helps!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

CORRECTION: I made a mistake giving you the formula for calculating the effective aperture when using extension tubes or bellows. It should have been effective aperture = lens aperture x (magnification ratio + 1). So in the example I gave (F/8 at 4:1) the effective aperture would be 40, not 32. Sorry for any confusion!

[@ronaldhoppus9015]

Love your videos Allan and would join the chat! Thanks

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks Ronald! I'll be announcing the live stream later today, but it will be on Wednesday 4/8 at 1PM central time (GMT-6).

[@onegreenev]

I continue to work in our local Hospital and Im interested in live video feeds. I just picked up the MJKZZ Qool Rail and ready to put it into action. I did a mosquito head using my camera on my microscope and using my old 10x objective. I picked up the 4x plan objective you recommended and the 10x which is on the way. I'll show a pic of my setup later but here is a link to my mosquito image I did. I used only one light source and no reflectors but I did have a diffuser. The objective is old. mid 1950's from my fathers microscope he used in college and gave to me. shorturl.at/quvWZ

[@johnwolf1951]

Is this some kind of joke? Your link goes to an ad for feminine hygiene products. It's not funny.

[@jimhiggins7494]

Hi Allan: Would love to do a live chat. Thanks for the videos

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Great! There has been a pretty good response to the idea, so I'll start looking into it. Thanks Jim.

[@WilliamBanik]

Well done and informative video Allan. Count me in for a live chat. You have my email, feel free to contact me as you see fit.

[@teleking58]

Great video. Very informative as always.If you are interested in a live stream I would suggest you look at Twitch.tv. Seth Miranda (LastXWitness) does a photo nerd stream on there and it's great fun. He also has a Discord channel for the community members to post work, interact etc..

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks Robbie! I have heard of that but have not looked into it - I will now. I have a lot to learn on the subject!

[@teleking58]

@@AllanWallsPhotography There are a lot of folks looking to live stream at the moment. Seth also did a couple of videos on Live Stream set ups and required equipment. Search Last X Witness on youtube for those tutorials. Highly recommended.