21d (edited) • General discussion
“How can I do that?” — Understanding Close-Up vs. Macro Photography
In my last in-person photography class I showed this photograph of a close-up image of a bluebell with a single drop of water on the leaf. Bluebells are a ground cover and flower for a couple weeks in the spring here in Ohio. The flower leaves are about an inch long. One of the students looked at this close-up flower photograph and asked, “How can I do that?”
My answer was simple: to create this kind of image, you need to understand the difference between a lens that focuses close and a true macro lens.
Many zoom lenses have a close-up feature or may even say “macro” on the lens. That means the lens can focus closer than normal about a foot away from the subject. This is helpful for flowers, leaves, small details, and product shots. But most zoom lenses do not create a true life-size image on the camera sensor.
A true macro lens is different. A real macro lens can usually reproduce the subject at 1:1 magnification, meaning the subject appears life-size on the camera sensor. My Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Micro lens is a true macro lens. Nikon uses the word "micro," but in practical photography, it means macro.
The other big difference is control. A true macro lens gives you sharper close-up detail, better background blur, and more working distance so you are not right on top of your subject.
This photograph works because the flower is small, the lens focuses very close, and the background falls beautifully out of focus. Macro photography opens up a whole new world of details that most people walk past without noticing.
A photo challenge for you is find a flower, leaf, coin, watch, or small object and photograph it as close as your current lens will allow. Then notice how close your lens can focus, and how much of the background becomes soft.
You may not need to buy a macro lens right away, but understanding what your lens can and cannot do is one more step toward getting off Auto and taking the photographs you imagine.
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“How can I do that?” — Understanding Close-Up vs. Macro Photography
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