Close-up photography is similar to macro photography in that it makes small objects look large, but it’s done by photographing objects at a very close range with a standard, non-macro lens. To get as much of the subject in focus as possible, it’s necessary to stop down the aperture of the lens. For fast shutter speeds to avoid blur caused by subject or camera movement, you need a lot of light. Opening up the aperture will let more light in and diffuse the background, making the subject stand out.
While the hard part of macro photography is steadiness, focusing, and depth of field, lighting is the second thing that people have to deal with when they’re new. When you get too close to your subject, you end up blocking the light and end up with a bad image.
To achieve true macro photography, there is a wide range of macro lenses available for select digital cameras (most DSLRs) that are optimized for achieving as much as 10x magnification for professional macro images. But even with the right gear, pro macro photography can still be hard to execute without knowing how to properly adjust your camera settings to suit your shooting requirements, or without knowing how to create a more favorable shooting situation before clicking the shutter, unless you hire professional photo retouching services to edit the flaws in your photo. So what is macro photography? and these tips on how to get better macro photo lighting.
1. Shoot by a Window When Indoors
You can shoot by the window almost any time of the day. All you have to do is place your subject beside the window and you start shooting. Just make sure the one you choose is letting in enough natural light because they create soft lighting around your subject.
2. Stabilize Your Camera as Much as Possible
The blurring effects of even the tiniest movements are exaggerated at high magnification and very close range, so keeping your camera as motionless as possible is key to getting the best shots. You can use a tripod and a remote shutter release, or at least set up your shots so that your camera is as stable as you can make it.
3. Keep an Eye on Any Shadows
If you’re going to use the sunlight as your primary light source in your macro photo with no other lighting available, you’ll want to be careful about the sharply contrasted shadows the sun can create, which can ruin a macro photo. Try shooting with the sun directly overhead, which will minimize the size of the shadow or shoot with the sun very low in the sky, which will create some pleasing light.
Read also: Product Photography at Home for Beginners
4. Shoot Inside a Studio if Possible
If you have the option of shooting your macro photographs inside, such as in a studio, you have a lot more options for lighting equipment, as you don’t have to worry about whether or finding electrical connections. Shooting indoors, you also can completely control the lighting situation, making it a preferable option for many types of macro photos. Of course with some macro subjects moving indoors won’t work.
5. The Distortion
Digital compact camera optics are a compromise between size and price. With budget cameras you will probably encounter spherical distortion: shots taken at the wide end of the zoom will barrel out at the edges; shots taken with the zoom set to tele may show distortion which forces the picture edges to bow inwards, like a pincushion.
Try shooting a square subject — like a stamp — and you’ll see what I mean. The solution is to use the Spherize filter in Photoshop to straighten the barrel distortion on the affected image.
Having a basic knowledge of how to take a shoot macro photography is far easier than using any other editing software. However, it still requires a lot of time and effort to perfectly master the techniques, we hope with this knowledge you can try to do some editing by yourself.
But, if you need faster and great macro photos that should need to be edited, use the product image editing services available on Dropicts.
Done by professionals, your product image will surely become more elevated. You can always count on the professional photo editing services by Dropicts! It’s an end-to-end solution for all your product image needs.
