MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY: Techniques and tips from my front garden!

[@RobertSteiner-nw9yp]

Have been glued to the videos since I started a few days ago. They are really good, very informative and for somebody who used to take a lot of pictures with my old Nikormat 45+ years ago but have not done anything for many years it is really refreshing and helping me to understand the new world of digital photography. Thanks Andrew

[@willfoster7]

Fantastic video, Andrew! It's a rare gift that you have and it is much appreciated!

[@cp.ramosphoto]

thank you for the advise!

[@PhillipMcCallum]

Excellent video, thank you

[@spex357]

A small roll of thin gardeners wire can be used to hold things steady if it's as draughty as on your day. It's not that bright in the uk for very many days in the year, if any. I try and shoot macro video if possible on our best days. Some of my garden spiders suck brains out for breakfast. I find a monopod is less likely to knock the stems, and three legs are still in play after all.

[@naturesimagephotography]

All good tips. We all have our different ways of doing things and yes, the tripod can knock things around a bit getting into position. Not a fan of monopods myself. Luckily with this video done in my home garden, I had plenty of time to work at it.

[@spex357]

@@naturesimagephotography Yes, Time and Macro photography are made for each other.

[@cuevaaked]

Any thoughts on macro extension tubes Andrew. Great video, many many thanks.

[@naturesimagephotography]

I don't have much experience of them except seeing some of my students try to use them. They are an OK option for people who want to dabble in Macro without spending big bucks on a new lens. But they are a compromise. The pro is that any lens you own can be turned into a macro lens. The con is that once you fit the extension tube, your focus range becomes very limited. I'll try to explain. A macro lens can focus from very close up, but also focus to infinity, which is why they can double as a good portrait lens. The filters can only focus within a very limited range. Let's say for a hypothetical example, that a lens can focus from as close at 15 centimetres and as far as 20 centimetres. But that lens now can't focus from 21 centimetres or beyond. If you buy a set of three, then you need to swap them around if you want to increase/decrease the distance. To make it just a little harder, if you use a zoom lens on an extender, the distance range changes as you zoom the lens in and out. Now to be clear, I have only had limited experience and perhaps there are others out there that are more versatile. But I suspect if I had ever owned one, my patience would run out pretty quickly.

[@Lizerator]

Love your channel, so much great information!

[@KerstenPhoto]

Nice video about macro photography. Thank you for sharing this.

[@frankmartinez5114]

Wonderful lesson! Thank you Andrew!

[@doghouseriley4732]

Great explanations regarding DOF, light and speed. Thanks

[@Bevlyn20]

well worth watching with great tips for Macro work

[@KGsPhotography]

Some great tips and some great images to show for it. Macro can be so hard sometimes.

[@stevesanzari7294]

Nah just takes Dedication Practice and a Good eye ! Learn your Subject ! Their Habits ! Stay a good distance about 3’ for Bees And Stinging insects ! Good luck !

[@MichaelGerrard]

Very helpful tips, thank you. I have to learn more about controlling the shutter speed so this was helpful. Although I think with my GX80, as it has IS, it is easier handheld.

[@jeangoupil8129]

What if you use the G9 for macro, does not the IBIS permit to use slower shutter speed ? And with post focus, could you not have deep of field that you want, even using wide open lens ?

[@naturesimagephotography]

This video was not about the G9, it was about tips for macro using any camera. In fact I don't have a macro lens for my G9. But to answer your question, yes I expect the IS system would let you get away with slower shutter speeds, but the closer you get to the subject the more critical it becomes so I would prefer to use a tripos. Regarding post focus, you could try that and I expect it would work better on some subjects than others. I have found post focus does not work very well when there is a complex background.

[@JoseManuelHiniesto]

Wonderful video, enjoyed watching.

[@elsiepoynton9576]

Useful thanks x

[@Ale7]

Could you make a video in making Star trails with the Lumix G9 & the best settings for it?

[@naturesimagephotography]

I don't have a suitable wide angle lens for star trails on that camera, but if I get one I will certainly try.

[@spex357]

Set a wide angle lens at infinity focus on a tripod. I point mine at the North star. There is a formula for lens diameter and longest shutter speed allowed before blurring occurs. My full frame 28mm i keep it below 20 seconds per frame. If your going for a continuous star trail video then blurring is ok. Adjust the iso to get further into the star field and increase the amount of stars. Take a test shot, it's possible if you have live view that it might pick up a bright one and you can zoom in on it and focus. If not set it at infinity, set your timelapse for the seconds plus the time it takes to save it. Make sure your battery is fully charged and wait until the dew has fallen before starting. Check online for dew times in your area.

[@johnbates9671]

Thanks Andrew. Very informative. You mentioned manual versus auto focus, but you didn't discuss the types of focus. For macro photography, are you better using single point focus rather that AI Servo, which is what my camera is usually set on?

[@naturesimagephotography]

Hi John, do you mean single SHOT vs. AI Servo? Personally I prefer single shot, with the method I explained of moving back and then moving back in on the subject. But it is probably more a question of what you are used to and most comfortable with. Ultimately I prefer manual focus over both for macro photography.

[@johnbates9671]

@@naturesimagephotography Thanks Andrew. That clarifies it for me.

[@aramb]

Congrats on the 3k!

[@siouxb4999]

You just described in a nutshell my frustrations over the last few months! The only thing you didn't mention perhaps was extension tubes and how that adds to the mix of increased image size but less light! I'm not a fan of using a tripod with macro but will give it a go, although I think handheld using flash is probably the path I will take to get the kind of crisp action shots I aspire to get. Then again, that will take quite a bit of experimentation to get it just right but it is definitely worth the effort! Great video, well explained. Love the pictures at the end.

[@WaterlandFilms]

I love your works bro!

[@naturesimagephotography]

Glad you like them!

[@davidf9494]

Excellent video Andrew - I'll look forward to watching more in the future. For my macro tips; I use mirror lock-up when not using LiveView to avoid additional camera shake due to mirror slap. Also, I use Liveview on the maximum magnification and then manual focus for a tack-sharp photograph. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

[@naturesimagephotography]

Great tip! Thanks David, I have never been fond of live view, always preferring the viewfinder. But for tripod work I see your point.

[@niallbradley700]

Great tips explained to make perfect sense, thank you.

[@ferryleonardo1032]

For recording this video, what camera you use?

[@naturesimagephotography]

The video was recorded on my Panasonic Lumix G9. The stills were taken on a Pentax K3ii

[@mikekay6288]

Congratulations on reaching 3000 subscribers; hence more ads by KZbin. Have you a recommended lens for macro for the G9? That preying mantis looked menacing; top shots. Thanks, as always. Mike in Oz

[@naturesimagephotography]

Hi Mike, I think the extra ads in this case is simply because the video is so long. They don't normally place ads mid-video unless it is over a certain lenghth. I still only have the two lenses for my G9 which is why I shot these photos on the Pentax. So no, I can't recommend something and never would unless I have used it myself.

[@timeyre9220]

Given that's is a MFT mount, pretty hard to go past the Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm 2.8. It doubles as a great portrait lens as well. Though not technically Macro, the Olympus 40-150mm 2.8 can take some reasonable Macro shots as well, especially when coupled with the teleconverter.

[@naturesimagephotography]

@@timeyre9220 Thanks Tim...might even look at that myself when I am next shopping for gear.

[@timeyre9220]

@@naturesimagephotography it's also worth looking at the third party lenses like Laowa. They are good quality, but fully manual. I have their 7.5mm f2 zero distortion lens and it's great for astro. I am really happy with the MFT sensor size, for the purposes of what I use my images it's perfect.

[@stevesanzari7294]

Been doing Photagraphy for 50 yrs ! Never Use a Tripod ! Waste of time ! Use Natural light ! Except at night will use a Flash ! Got Really good macro photos ! Use Natural Leaves some times as a Difuser so not to get sharp contrast and too sharp shadows ! Don’t need a Expensive Camera ! Use a Canon SX50HS Now and that’s it ! When going outdoors go Light !

[@richardrizzo_photography]

great tutorial, thank you. Anyone using a Pentax K3 gets my subscription. :)

[@naturesimagephotography]

Yes it's been a great camera. I have the Lumix G9 and most of the videos I create are about that because it is more current on the market and therefore a lot more people interested in it. But the Pentax is my camera for macro, landscapes and general purpose photography.

[@UKRichardHK]

But surely there are only very few occasions where a tripod works with photographing insects. The very small focus area, the need to go searching for the subject and the fact your subject does not usually keep still for very long makes it very difficult for me to use a tripod?

[@naturesimagephotography]

There is no doubt what you say is true, which is why I devoted more than half of this video to hand-held macro. However there are insects (like the praying mantis) that will keep still for long periods. I did make the point that the tripod approach only works if the subject is still and the wind is not blowing etc.

[@jfphotography69]

Macro with a tripod, no thank you.

[@robcourt9727]

Well, if you had a REAL camera instead of a stupid Pentax, you would not have all these problems. Try a 5D Mark it with a sigma 150mm macro lense and you will be AMAZED how you can get a whole flower in the frame perfectly sharp with the camera doing all the stuff you tried to figure out yourself much better and faster.