Macro Photographs; Getting Really Up Close and Personal With your Objects

Shooting macro photographs is one of life’s little pleasures and something that can be enjoyed even in the warmth and comfort of your own home. You don’t need much, maybe a lightbox and an interesting subject or two and you can be off in no time at all. And the best part is, unlike with the unwieldy attachments and extension tubes you need to take macro photographs with a film camera, your Digital Camera comes equipped with a small button which you can press to get your macro photographs.

Some even come with a super macro mode as well, and these are something to behold for the photographer who loves taking macro photographs. But what are macro photographs? Not everyone is a camera buff, and I’m pretty sure there’s a few of you reading this article right now and thinking, “huh� No need to worry, you don’t need to rush off to get your thesaurus just yet, instead I’ll do my level best to explain it to you.

Macro photography, in the simplest of terms, is basically getting really up close and personal with whatever object you’re photographing. To use an example, if you want to take a shot of the stamens on a tulip and make them appear almost larger than life in the picture, or if you want to take a shot of a butterfly sipping at flower you could use your normal lens, but to little effect.

What you would ultimately get would be a photograph that’s either blurred, or one that includes the whole of the background in the same shot, and not the spectacular larger than life shot you wanted. There’s a reason for that, and that has everything to do with your lens and the focal range of it. Most normal lenses have a particular focal point at which they’re at their optimal best. And these normal lenses are generally good for macro photographs.

However, if you want to take macro photographs, or in other words if you want to get in real close to your subject, something perhaps along the lines of a mere 10cm away from your intended goal, then you need a lens with the appropriate focal length.

And that’s why you need different lenses or extension tubes attached to your film camera. These additions will normally have the desired focal length for you to be able to take macro photographs.

With the majority of digital cameras however, these add-on lenses and extension are quite unnecessary as, the camera has the built-in ability to become a macro camera at the push of a button. So shooting macro photographs just became easier and since easier equates to more pleasurable, you now have the ability to make your photographic one filled to the brimming with macro photographs.

Panasonic Dmc-LX3: Macro/Close-up

WhiteOaks Photography Floral Prints – After the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros – Mugs After the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros Mug is new. Why drink coffee out of an ordinary mug when an imprinted mug is so much cooler? Microwave safe, FDA approved. Image is printed on both sides of the mug. Dishwasher use is not recommended….

WhiteOaks Photography Floral Prints – After the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros – Tile Napkin Holders After the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros Tile Napkin Holder is measuring 6w x 6h x 4d. Made from high quality solid maple wood with satin finish and two 4.25 commercial grade mirror gloss ceramic tiles. Holds napkins, mail, letters or files. In addition, customized engraving, on the face of the item, is available on request….

WhiteOaks Photography Floral Prints – After the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros – Trivets After the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros Trivet is measuring 8w x 8h x .75d. Made of solid wood with padding on back that protects your furniture. Framed trivet comes with 6w x 6h ceramic gloss tile attached to the wood frame….

Advanced. Macro& Close Up -Underwater Photography- (with the Nikonos V) $48.78 Martin J Sutton Introduces the Nikon way to brilliant Underwater Photography. The second in the series of instructional video-tapes that feature the Nikonos V and how to achieve professional results with the world’s most trusted and popular underwater camera. 50 minutes (does not come with the camera)…

Pollen from Elefantenfusses – 36W x 24H – Peel and Stick Wall Decal by Wallmonkeys $51.99 WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won’t damage your paint or l…

Orange Tulips – 18W x 12H – Peel and Stick Wall Decal by Wallmonkeys $30.99 WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won’t damage your paint or l…

Tomato – 24H x 24W – Peel and Stick Wall Decal by Wallmonkeys $33.99 WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won’t damage your paint or l…

Patricia Sanders Flowers – Sunflower Close Up Macro Photography Flowers – Coffee Gift Baskets – Coffee Gift Basket $44.99 Sunflower Close Up Macro Photography Flowers Coffee Gift Basket is measuring 9x9x4. Contains 15oz mug, BONUS free set of 4 coasters, biscotti and 5 blends of gourmet coffee. French Vanilla, Kenya AA, Decaf Colombian Supremo, Chocolate and Italian Roast Espresso elegantly presented in our signature black planet coffee gift box. A very nice and thoughtful gift for any occasion….

Florene Macro Plants – Pod Up Close – Coffee Gift Baskets – Coffee Gift Basket $44.99 Pod Up Close Coffee Gift Basket is measuring 9x9x4. Contains 15oz mug, BONUS free set of 4 coasters, biscotti and 5 blends of gourmet coffee. French Vanilla, Kenya AA, Decaf Colombian Supremo, Chocolate and Italian Roast Espresso elegantly presented in our signature black planet coffee gift box. A very nice and thoughtful gift for any occasion….

Florene Macro Nature – Nautilus Up Close – Coffee Gift Baskets – Coffee Gift Basket $44.99 Nautilus Up Close Coffee Gift Basket is measuring 9x9x4. Contains 15oz mug, BONUS free set of 4 coasters, biscotti and 5 blends of gourmet coffee. French Vanilla, Kenya AA, Decaf Colombian Supremo, Chocolate and Italian Roast Espresso elegantly presented in our signature black planet coffee gift box. A very nice and thoughtful gift for any occasion….

30mm f/2.8 Macro Lens $249.99 Gain entry into another dimension and focus on close-up objects with this macro lens and your compatible Sony α DSLR camera.

50mm f/2.8 Macro Lens $629.99 Get incredibly close to small subjects with the SAL-50M28 macro lens. It allows you to easily capture the most subtle details with spectacular clarity.

100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens $849.99 Get incredibly close to small subjects with the SAL-100M28 macro lens. Its superb clarity gives you professional results in almost any shooting situation.

+1 +2 +4 +10 Close-Up Macro Filter Set with Pouch (58mm) $99.95 Digital Concepts +1 +2 +4 +10 Close-Up Macro Filter Set with Pouch (58mm)

Sealife Macro 3X Close-Up Lens & UW Filter for Sealife Cameras – Rated up to 20 $21.99 Sealife Macro 3X Close-Up Lens & UW Filter for Sealife Cameras – Rated up to 20

180mm f/3.5L USM Macro Lens $1469 Another telephoto macro lens with a maximum magnification of 1x. Life-size close-ups can be taken from a farther distance without disturbing the subject (insects, etc.). The internal floating system minimizes fluctuations in aberrations caused by changes in the focusing distance. Optical performance is outstanding from 1x to infinity.

EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens $979 Canon’s newest L series lens is its first mid-telephoto macro lens to include Canon’s sophisticated Image Stabilization. With the highest quality optics available, combined with near-silent Ultrasonic focusing and life-size close-up capabilities without an adapter, the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is simply unrivalled.

100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens $559 A totally new version of the popular 100mm f/2.8 macro lens. Focusing over the full range from infinity down to life size (1:1 reproduction ratio), this lens will impress any serious photographer with its combination of versatility, image quality and superb handling. A high-performance ring type Ultrasonic Motor provides fast and silent AF throughout its focus range, and even more significantly, allows full-time manual focusing permitting the close-up or macro shooter to instantly override the AF whenever necessary.

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM Lens $1459.99 14 Elements in 12 Groups 180 mm 1x 2.40 lb 2539A007 3.20″ 3.5 7.30″ 72 mm EF Extender 1.4x and 2x EOS (SLR) Camera Systems Another telephoto macro lens with a maximum magnification of 1x. Life-size close-ups can be taken from a farther distance without disturbing the subject (insects, etc.). The internal floating system minimizes fluctuations in aberrations caused by changes in the focusing distance. Optical performance is outstanding from 1x to infinity. Canon Canon, Inc EF EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM Lens Lens Macro www.usa.canon.com

MT-24EX Macro Twin Lite Ringlite Flash ( 2357A002 ) $779 The new Macro Twin Lite gives serious close-up, nature, and macro enthusiasts a different option in macro lighting – a directional quality of light, as opposed to the rather “flat” character of the traditional ring lite. Two separate flash heads can be swiveled around the lens, can be aimed separately, and even removed from their holder and mounted off-camera. Like the MR-14EX, the new Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX is fully E-TTL compatible with all EOS bodies, including digital SLRs, and even allows Wireless E-TTL flash control with one or more 550EX and/or 420EX “slave units”. It also provides easy ratio control of each flash head’s output, over a six-stop range.