40Driggs wrote:
I'm planning on getting more into Macro photography in the future. I find it to be very enjoyable, but hard to master. Here are a few of my favorite shots.
A promising start.
I took a look at your EXIF but didn't see all I wanted too.
You seem to have a choice of good camera bodies.
The only aperture showing is f5.6. Personally, I use f11 most of the time,occasionally f8, almost never f5.6. That is with m4/3 with the x2 crop factor.
I see focal lengths of 300mm and 500mm. For dragonflies and butterflies I would tend to agree with the choices. For smaller subjects and I mostly use 50mm or 100mm but have used 30mm a lots in recent months. For the highest magnifications I use 25mm.
You seem to be shooting JPEGs. Although they are supposed to have improved a great deal now, RAW respond to processing and to compression better. Also, you can correct the white balance easily.
I took a look at your EXIF but didn't see all I wanted too.
You seem to have a choice of good camera bodies.
The only aperture showing is f5.6. Personally, I use f11 most of the time,occasionally f8, almost never f5.6. That is with m4/3 with the x2 crop factor.
I see focal lengths of 300mm and 500mm. For dragonflies and butterflies I would tend to agree with the choices. For smaller subjects and I mostly use 50mm or 100mm but have used 30mm a lots in recent months. For the highest magnifications I use 25mm.
You seem to be shooting JPEGs. Although they are supposed to have improved a great deal now, RAW respond to processing and to compression better. Also, you can correct the white balance easily.
I generally use an a7r III and 90mm Macro. I also have used a long telephoto as noted for subjects such as dragonflies. I shoot RAW and then convert to JPEG during my editing to post. I have been shooting more stopped down recently and am also starting to use focus stacking more.
Got my table top tripod and focus rail set up and took it for a spin for the first time yesterday. Full stack of Vivitar Nikon F extension tubes + Zörk multi-focus system (but straight, just as another extension tube) + Rodagon Rodenstock 80mm.
I want to get closer. And figure out something to hold the specimen so I have more composition choices. Laying it on a table was an exercise in frustration!
Only semi-macro, but I've just got the Vogitlander APO-Lanthar 65mm at the moment. Feel free to criticize! All of these items are tiny, flowers don't get very big in the desert out here.
These are the first macro images that I have taken. I was happy to find jumping spiders in the back yard, but they are certainly elusive for the most part. Please let me know what you think. Thanks Ken.
kwc98 wrote:
These are the first macro images that I have taken. I was happy to find jumping spiders in the back yard, but they are certainly elusive for the most part. Please let me know what you think. Thanks Ken.
That's the sort of shot that I have not quite achieved and I have been shooting macro for decades! Very well done!
I just took my first macro images a couple weeks ago with a 50mm STM and some extension tubes and now I'm hooked. I've been working a ton and I've only been able to shoot 20 minutes or so on the way to work each day. Looking forward to a day off when I'll have more time shoot.... critiques are welcomed and appreciated.
Just got an RF 100 2.8 lens abd I'm really liking it so far. It's getting me quite a bit closer than the 50mm with extension tubes. The last image of the jumping spider was my favorite but I front focused a tad...
e6filmuser wrote:
Both sets are very good and belong in their own topics, not here with newbies. You need to work on composition but they are spot on technically.
I can't wait to see what you will produce when not rushed!
Harold
Thank you. I've never taken an actual macro image before last week so I considered myself a newbie. I have taken borderline macro pics with a 100-400 IS II + 1.4x iii extender though. I just created a new topic for them. Are there any specific composition changes you would make by chance. I would have liked to get eye level with the paper wasp instead of looking down at it. The Beetle could probably use a 1:1 or even a vertical crop I guess (was trying not to crop too much). Enjoy getting feedback as I'm always looking to improve...
mdees88 wrote:
Thank you. I've never taken an actual macro image before last week so I considered myself a newbie. I have taken borderline macro pics with a 100-400 IS II + 1.4x iii extender though. I just created a new topic for them. Are there any specific composition changes you would make by chance. I would have liked to get eye level with the paper wasp instead of looking down at it. The Beetle could probably use a 1:1 or even a vertical crop I guess (was trying not to crop too much). Enjoy getting feedback as I'm always looking to improve...
I don't think all need changes. The guidance is no different for macro than for other photography. The "rule of thirds" generally works but a circular subject may work well centrally in a square frame. Sometimes it is worth rotating the subject, if your software allows, then you have to crop. Yes, getting down to their level, to give a view as if you were of their size, is usually preferable. In general, some people like a tight crop and others like plenty of habitat included. Some like shallow DOF but others, like myself, like to see more detail. Here, you may get hundreds of viewings* and you can't please everyone so please yourself.
* Not in here but as free-standing topics.
I'm not a moderator, nor do I have any authority, but I take an interest in this string. Anything I say is my opinion and no more.
