Macro Photography

I enjoy macro photography or flowers and other subjects with a macro lens.  This kind of photography is very artistic and offers a different kind of view.   There are so many kinds of subjects and they are simple to photograph.  They have many different colors and interesting shapes.  There are different angles that can be done on the same subject and get a completely different kind of photograph.

What I Do

When planning my day for this kind of photography, I usually go out early in the morning or late in the day.  Because macro photography is being remarkably close to the subject, the best lighting occurs on a nice cloudy day and brings out a lot of color.  Once the sun is high enough in the sky, shadows start to be a problem, so I carry a reflector to help block the sunlight.   The best time is just before sunrise where there is enough light but no shadows.    

I will almost always use a tripod so I can take my time to create the composition I want.  Also, because I am so close to the subject, I used a remote shutter and set the camera to move the mirror up and use a two second delay for the shutter.   I use my Canon 90D crop camera or the Canon 6D ii full frame, but always use my Canon 180 F/3.5 macro.   The longer focal length allows me to get close and not spook a subject like a bee.

I will use a soft diffuse flash sometime, but since I am on a tripod this is not used much.  When I want the macro set at a 1:1 ratio, I will set the lens that way and use a focus rail to focus.   The focus rail is also needed when I do focus stacking.  Focus Stacking is a series of shots taken as I move the focus rail to get different areas in focus.