Tips for photographing with a macro lens

If you want to take a macro photo of a flower, you take the photo from up close without zooming in. Make sure you use a camera with a short focal distance. Otherwise, the camera can't focus on the subject from such a short distance. If you want to photograph animals or insects, you do zoom in on the subject without coming too close. That's to avoid scaring them off.

With macro photography, you usually use a shallow depth of field. That way, the subject that you're focusing on is sharp and the background becomes blurry. You can create this effect with a large aperture. When you come up close to the subject, you also make the depth of field more shallow. The further away the camera is from the subject, the larger the sharp part of the photo. This last part is only the case if you don't use the zoom.

The closer you bring the camera to a subject, the more susceptible the image is to motion blur. That's why you should always use a fast shutter speed to take macro photos. If the shutter closes quickly, you're more likely to get a sharp photo. This is also useful when you're photographing animals. Animals and insects can jump at the sound of the camera. With the fast shutter speed, you can take the photo just in time.

With macro photography, you use a tripod to prevent any motion blur. When you take photos with a fast shutter speed, you'll usually succeed in taking a sharp photo. But if you want to lower the shutter speed for more light in the photo, it's useful to use a tripod. In addition, we also recommend a tripod when you photograph close to the ground. When you use a tripod that you can set low to the ground, it's easier to bring the camera up close to the subject.

When you photograph close to your subject or zoom in closely on the subject, it's best to focus manually. Since you're focusing from a distance of a few centimeters, a small movement can cause you to loose your focal point when you use the autofocus. In come cases, your camera can't even manage to find a focal point. That's why you should manually select the focal point on the screen of your camera or use the lens ring.

Keep in mind that your macro lens doesn't project the subject on your sensor in actual size. You can check the ratio on your lens. The ratio can be 1:1.5. With a 1:1 aspect ratio, the subject is projected on the sensor in actual size. A 1:2 ratio means that the subject is twice as small on the sensor. If this is the case, you should move in even closer to your subject.