Diffused lighting creates reflective lighting. There are hardly any shadows with reflective lighting. In Virginia, during the summer, there is a lot of reflective lighting from all the humidity in the air. The sunlight reflects off of the microscopic air drops and creates diffused lighting. Diffused lighting is better, but too much diffused lighting causes the colors to be subdued. Consider boosting the color saturation setting on your camera. For example, use the landscape mode on your digital camera. Also too much diffused lighting can create no shadows with the insect or flower.
Without much contrast the insect sometimes doesn’t have that much character. If you want more shadows to create contrast with a lot of reflective lighting then hold up a black umbrella on the side you want to be shady. This blocks the diffused lighting from one side and creates some contrast.
In California there is a lot of direct sunlight. This can create dark shadows creating too much contrast. The digital camera doesn’t do well revealing the details in the shadows (see What is Dynamic Range? atcommonsensephotography.com ) The shadows conceal too much detail. There is mostly washed out bright areas or deeply shadowed areas. To create diffused lighting in direct sunlight hold up a white umbrella to "shade" the subject to decrease the shadows. Also by holding a large white card or reflector on the shady side of the flower can show details that are in the shadows. This can greatly illuminate the subject.
If you are taking your macro images indoors consider using backgrounds such as a muted material or water color paint swirls. Green cloth or paints make the picture more natural like it was taken outdoors. I place the background several inches behind the subject; it makes a pleasing blurred background. Black backgrounds are dramatic once in a while but when they are overused they get old.
This 3 inch PVC pipe creates a white background. If you do this remember to overexpose by 2 stops to correctly expose the subject.
4”x6” glass from picture frames (just the glass can be bought at craft stores like Michaels) make a good aquarium for small pond life. The little aquarium contains the little creatures making it easier to focus on them. Simply glue the slides together with a waterproof glue or adhesive like silicone caulk for bathtubs. Wash off the insects or fish first with clean water before placing them in the clean water. Microscope slides can work for micro aquarium also, if you can find them. Edmund Scientifics sells small microscope slides in bulk cheaply. Using a small aquarium like this confines the subject to a small area and makes it much easier to get the photograph of them.
Common water bug
I use the freezer just to slow the insects down. Small ground dwelling yellow jackets are really hyper for example. Chilling them slows them down. As they revive from the chill there is a brief moment to take their picture before they start buzzing all around again. Frozen insects make lousy macro pictures, they look frozen. Wait until they revive before taking their picture. All they need is about 5-10 minutes in the freezer. No, it doesn’t hurt them; they go back to being completely normal with no harm. I don’t want to alarm the insect rights people. I also let the insects go free afterwards.
I also use clear glass cups or a micro aquarium to cover the insect and keep them confined. I can compose the shot, and wait for the insect to calm down and get into the right position without worrying about it flying or crawling off. Then at the right moment I press with shutter button with a 2 second delay, I take off the cup slowly and presto, another great macro photograph. Hopefully the insect doesn’t fly away before they get their picture taken. Sometimes this takes a lot of patience!
Taking Macro Panoramas requires some specialized equipment, but are very rewarding and fun!Panoramas in mycommonsensephotography.com site.
Baby crawfish
Side to side shifting for micro panoramas is minimal. My existing ball head attachments allowed for a little sideways movement and that is all I need.
Another technique for inside macro photographs is to include a flower or leaves for the insects to rest on. Bumble Bees are a lot calmer and more at home on a flower and also it looks more natural.
Smear a little sugar water for wasps and bees. They will stay in one area to eat the sugar while their picture is taken. Just don’t get distracted watching them eat on your live view screen and forget to take the picture.
Some insects are attracted to light, others attracted to the dark. Some insects, like some spiders, are repelled by human breath. This can be used to manipulate them to move to the right area to take the photograph.
The Macro Photography equipment described here can give professional quality macro photographs, so the rest is up to you!
There are several different ways to get macro photographs. Some equipment is expensive like macro lenses . Some cost about $20 or less like a stacking lens filter using the lenses you already have! Many of the lens and attachments described here can be used in combination for greater magnification or for a better working distance.
Consider how you would want to use your camera. Do you like the idea of going around outside, waiting for the wind to stop, the lighting to be just right, and the insect to pose for you? Natural settings can produce some of the best macro photographs, but you need a portable set up that can be quickly moved. You might not want to use a tripod. Using equipment indoors, especially with a flash, makes it easier and faster but the settings and lighting are not as natural.
Using 1X to 5X macro equipment creates the need for a tripod usually. Close up photographs 1/4X to 1X can be taken hand held much easier.
Insects get scared if you get close. If they are poisonous you might be scared! We have some really unusually orange/red colored Japanese hornets that are fun to photograph, but they are very painful! The main consideration in picking the macro equipment is the amount of magnification you want, the working distance, and portability.
Picking the best lens depends on what type of macro photographs you want to take! Macro lenses range from 50mm to 200mm and are used in very different settings. A 100mm macro is a good macro starter lens because it can be handheld easily and has a good working distance when it is needed. However, a higher priced 200mm macro lens gives double the working distance and gets photos of insects that would dart off with a 100mm macro lens barreling in on them! A 200mm macro requires a tripod usually, due to lens shake, but using a tripod is easier because of the extra working distance.
But what if you want to just take macro photographs in a table top setting of coins and stamps? The 200mm macro lens would require you to have it high over the table. A 50mm macro lens would be much more practical!
Canon and Nikon both have great websites to get the details of each lens. Also, retailers like Adorama and B & H Photo have the same details as the manufacturer websites but also often have reviews from owners on the performance of the lens, and what they liked and disliked. That way you can get a “group” consensus on how each lens does, depending on the number of reviews.
Macro Photography is referred to as "micro photography" by Nikon. Macro photography and Micro Photography usually mean the same thing although sometimes Micro Photography refers to photography using a microscope.
All of the lenses and attachments discussed here are professional quality and can get great image results. So the rest is up to you!
50–65 mm is used for table top photography and small inanimate objects. There is limited distance between the lens and the subject. This makes it easier for the tabletop with a flash system but difficult for subjects outdoors or small creatures that move.
The Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro Lens is only 1:2 (.5X) magnification and you need an expensive optional accessory Canon Life Size Converter EF to get to a true 1:1 (1X) macro magnification. The lens is not really that well built but would do for tabletop macro photography.
The Canon Macro Photo MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1X- 5X Manual Focus Lens for EOS is an excellent advanced and expensive lens that you might want to buy later after some experience. It allows for extreme macro photographs! You could take a close up photograph of a grain of rice! Just in case you wanted to double check those rice grains you can get with engraving… The manual focusing is very critical so you will need a tripod and probably a focusing rail. This is a dedicated macro lens that is all you will use it for, so having it manual focusing is a good thing since auto focusing isn’t need at these close ranges. The amount of depth of field ranges from 2 mm at 1X to only about 1/3 of 1 millimeter at 5X! Considering a millimeter is about as wide as the wire on a paperclip, it doesn’t take much to get it out of focus. The working distance ranges from 100mm at 1X to about 40mm at 4X. A flash will come in handy to stop the action, and to get light on the subject that the lens is blocking so it is so close. This lens is very well built and solid! It comes with a tripod collar on the lens that can be rotated or removed also. This is a very nice feature to have since you will very likely be using a tripod on this stellar lens!
The Nikon Normal Macro 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro Nikkor Auto focus Lens gives 1:1 (1X) magnification with an 8” working distance. It is a decently priced lens with sharp image quality and can be used for all around photography also.
The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens is excellent. It has the ring type focus which works very well. It focuses quick and sharply. It can also be used as a portrait lens! This is a very practical lens which you will likely use more than any others. It is also a good lens to start out with. It has a working distance if about 6 inches which is pretty good. It won’t blur your backgrounds as well as the Canon EF 180mm f/2.8 USM lens, but it costs less and doesn’t require the use of a tripod as much!
The Nikon Telephoto AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR (Vibration Reduction) Auto focus lens gives 1:1 (1X) macro ability at 12 inches of working distance! Plus Vibration Reduction! This lens can also be used for portraits and is a very practical lens.
The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens is very sharp, but focuses slowly. It is very well built. It allows for a working distance of about 5 inches at 1X. It is a bargain lens.
Stag beetle
150–200mm lenses give more working distance for insects and small animals. These lenses blur the background very well, giving more emphasis to the subject. This is probably the maximum focal length lens you will want to use. Longer lengths produce too many problems and are too awkward. Even very small lens movements during exposure can cause blur in the photographs. Careful use with a sturdy tripod and ideally a tripod telephoto lens attachment can help overcome this, especially with some stacked lens arrangements. Make sure the tripod center post is less than 4" from the top of the legs to avoid vibrations.
These lenses are top of the line macro lenses and their prices reflect that!
The Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L USM Macro Lens is very well built with excellent quality. It has the nice ring type USM focus but it focuses slowly. It has a very nice working distance of about 18 inches at 1:1 (1X) magnification.
The Nikon Telephoto AF Micro Nikkor 200mm f/4.0D ED-IF Auto focus Lens has 1:1 (1X) magnification at 18 inches and can be used for portraits and other photography.
The Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM Macro Lens and the Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX DG HSM Macro Lens are giving Canon and Nikon have some stiff competition! Both lenses have good build quality with very sharp images. The Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM Macro Lens has a working distance of 15 inches and the Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX DG HSM Macro Lens has a working distance of 18 inches also with excellent image quality. The Sigma 180mm is a good bargain since it is about $500 cheaper then the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L USM Macro Lens.
Wide angle lenses can give neat wide distorted close up views with a lot of Depth of Field. For example with a 24mm lens everything 8" away at f/22 is in focus. With a 35mm lens everything 12" and farther at f/16 is in focus.
The Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM can focus at 11 inches and has a magnification of 1:4 or 1/4X at 40mm with the 250D, the 500D will magnify up to 1/5X. Zooming out to 17mm at this distance gives a dramatic perspective. Adding some extension tubes shortens the closest focusing distance and gives macro world views. A 12mm tube gives about .8X and a 25mm tube gives 1:1 magnification.
Use the 250D Canon two element close-up filter with wide angle lenses to get even closer focusing and more magnification. Using a 250D can increase magnifications also by about 30% for most wide angle lenses.
There are some cheap alternatives to using expensive macro lenses which are discussed here. They can also be used with macro lenses to increase the magnification of a macro lens.
Getting professional quality macro photographs using your existing equipment for about $20 can be invigorating. You get do to something for cheap that you thought would cost you a lot of money! I remember using my first lens to lens stacking filter attachment . There were incredible size images! Suddenly no insect was safe; all insects found were subjected to having their picture taken! Minuscule small flowers that normally don’t make good photographs like a single violet filled my whole viewfinder and suddenly had my full attention! For $15! There is a real beauty in small natural objects we normally miss as we go about our busy lives.
This is the best choice if you want to move quickly around and not have to use a tripod. You don't even need a macro lens! Get one that has two elements of glass bonded together! They cost about triple what a good UV filter is but are really worth it. (The older close up filters had only one element and didn't work that well, they produced fuzziness). You simply take off your UV filter if you have one, and screw on the close up filter. Now you can take photographs much closer, with no loss of light! This produces high quality photos that can be used commercially. Canon and Nikon both make 2 element close up filters. This is the most economical way to get into macro photography with really good results.
Canon makes the 500d (the d stands for dual glass elements). Canon also has a 250d for lenses less then 70mm in focal length lenses for use with wide angle lenses.
Nikon makes the 5t and 6t. It doesn't matter which brand you get since they both have the same screw type filter attachment. Two element close up filters are about double the weight of a standard filter. However, they are much more compact and lighter to carry in the field than a macro lens! Especially when hauling my equipment for long distances! Sometimes I don't have room for a macro lens, but carrying one of these filters gives me a little insurance in case I suddenly need to do a really close up photograph. The disadvantage is that infinity focus is lost when the close up filters are attached. A close up filter is easier to add on then an extension tube or multiplier.
A dual-element lens cemented together controls chromatic and spherical aberrations (color and image distortion). Dual-element close-up lenses are usually recommended for use with telephoto lenses since they need extra-low dispersion elements to reduce the chromatic aberrations. What all this means is they work a lot better than the single element close up filters. For a rough guess on the magnification benefit to your lens, figure you will get about 30% to 50% more magnification.
Below is a list of dual element close up filters with their magnification strengths.
Focal Length Filter Apx. Magnification 70mm 5T 0.20 70mm 500D 0.40 70mm 6T 0.30 200mm 5T 0.50 200mm 500D 0.60 200mm 6T 0.80
The 500 stands for the millimeter of working distance available when the master lens is set to infinity focus; however, this working distance is reduced to about 330 mm when I have my 70-200mm lens set for the closest focusing distance. The d signifies that it is a dual-element achromatic lens.
A Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens is normally 1X. With the 500D the magnification is increased to 1.3X! For the Canon 180mm macro lens the magnification is increased from 1x to 1.5X.
The Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L zoom lens gives up to 1:4 (0.33X) magnification at 200 mm and the closest focus I can get. By adding a Canon 500D, I can get everything to about 1:1.5 (0.60X) with no light loss.
Extension tubes can increase the magnification by about 20-50% depending on the focal length of the lens. The longer the lens, the less effective they are. For example, with a 50mm lens and a 25mm extension the magnification would be about .7X or about 30% more magnification, but with a 100mm lens it would only increase the magnification by about 20% or 1.2X for a 100mm macro lens.
Most of us get the 100mm macro lens and then "macro photography lust" takes over and there is the desire for smaller objects with greater detail. You do lose a little light with extension tubes, about 1 to 2 stops, but can get even more magnification with your macro lens. The distance is also reduced by about 20%. The tube has no glass in it; its sole purpose is to move the lens farther from the digital sensor.
I use Canon brand extension tubes. They are about 30% more then the Kenko brand but Canon extension tubes are made better.
Canon makes extension tubes in 12mm, and 25mm lengths.
Nikon makes extension tubes in 8mm, 14mm, and 27.5mm lengths. The Nikon PN-11 Extension Tube provides a reproduction ratio of approximately 1:1 with both the 105mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor and the 105mm f/4 UV-Nikkor lenses.
Kenko is a cheaper popular brand that can be used with Canon and Nikon. They can be purchased in a set of 12mm, 25mm, and 36mm lengths.
Extension tubes can be used together. For example, with the Kenko brand you could get a total 73mm extension tube by combining them all together. However, this would be an awkward set up because the whole set up would be too long, and produce too much camera shake.
Using a 12mm extension tube will increase magnification for a 24mm lens to about 0.60X. For a 70mm lens magnification is increased to about 0.50X, and for a 200mm lens the magnification is increased to 0.25X.
Using a 25mm extension tube will increase magnification for a 70mm lens magnification to about 0.80X, and for a 200mm lens the magnification is increased to 0.30X.
Lens to lens stacking, or stacking lenses, refers to using two fixed focal length lenses. The shorter lens is reversed so the lenses are face to face. They are connected via a male to male filter thread adapter that costs about $20 or less. Called lens to lens stacking rings, they are available in most filter sizes. Stacking short lenses on longer lenses can give 1X to 4X magnification.
A Nikon 50mm lens is attached to a 85mm Canon lens. Somehow this doesn’t seem right but it works well.
Just use standard fixed focal length lenses. Don't use zoom to zoom or macro to macro lenses for stacking lenses since it will be difficult to focus, if it can be done at all.
With lens to lens stacking, the magnification equals the focal length of the long lens (next to the camera body) divided by the focal length of the shorter reversed lens. For example a 100mm lens with a reversed 50mm lens stacked on it gives 2X magnification. A 200mm lens with a reverse mounted 50mm lens will give 4X magnification. However, a 200mm lens with a 50mm lens hanging onto that is awkward to use and can vibrate too much even on a good tripod. If a 200mm lens is used, consider getting a tripod mount for your lens to balance the contraption better on your tripod. So to find out the amount of magnification, divide the focal length of longer lens attached to your camera to the shorter lens which is reverse mounted.
The shorter reversed lens should be set at its widest aperture. Some lenses don’t allow the aperture to be manually set when the lens is not mounted on the camera. Exposure is controlled by the shutter speed and the aperture of the normally mounted long lens. Some lenses will stop down when reverse mounted since the rear elements and connections are not connected to a camera. You can cut off the flat portion of a rear lens cap, making a kind of rear lens hood to try and keep the aperture open wide, and to protect the rear element of the lens which is now exposed with no protective filter on it. Scratching the rear element of a lens usually destroys it since rear element scratches are very noticeable.
Some combinations of lenses suffer from vignetting (black curves showing around the edges of the photograph). I use an 85mm Canon lens with a 58mm filter size that has a 50mm Nikon lens with a 52mm filter size stacked on and it has some vignetting I delete later in Photoshop®. I have gotten some very good detailed photographs of insects with this set up which is about 1.7X. (That was a mouthful). It doesn’t matter what brand is stacked on the front of your mounted lens since they are just connected by the filter threads.
A 200m lens with a 100m lens stacked on top of it gives 2x magnification and a good working distance. The disadvantage is this is really long and awkward to use.
A 100m with a 50mm stacked on it gives 2X magnification. A 200m lens with a 50mm lens gives 4X magnification.
This is the least favorable macro set up, I think. There are some image problems with older extenders, certain brand extenders can only be used with certain brand lenses, only certain apertures can be used sometimes, and the good ones are expensive. They significantly reduce exposure by a 1 or 2 f stops. With Macro Photography, the battle is always for more light because a smaller aperture is used to increase the Depth of Field , but with a shutter speed fast enough to stop camera shake or movements the subject makes. Multipliers can double magnification if an extension is used between the multiplier and lens.
Make sure the extension tube is between the multiplier and the lens. Using an extension tube between the tube and lens allows my 1.4x multiplier to work with my 100mm macro lens. Without the extension tube the multiplier wouldn’t match since the multiplier sticks out too much.
A 1.4X or 2X teleconverter will increase magnification by about 25-35%. As with an extension tube, less light will reach the film or sensor, and a longer exposure time will be needed. However, working distance remains the same as without the teleconverter. So telephoto extenders offer more magnification and still have the same working distance! Try and stick with the same brand extender as your lens.
A 1.4X extension will reduce light by 1 f stop, and a 2.0 extension will reduce light by 2 f stops. Everything is magnified, the subject, the imperfections of the lens, and camera shake. Using a flash makes the extenders more practical.
Use a "reversing ring" to reverse the lens on the camera for about $20. This special attachment connects to the filter thread on the front of a lens and connects the front of the lens to the camera body. The lens is now in reverse. Excellent high quality results can be obtained using this cheap attachment. Use Nikon cameras with reversing rings. I have a 12 year old Nikon 50mm lens with which I can manually change the aperture while it is off the camera (and on a reversing ring), and it works with modern Nikon cameras! I get about 1x magnification without any extension rings with a working distance of 4 inches away from the subject.
A reversing ring adapter is available for Canon EOS allowing for electronic connection for several hundred dollars. For the same price you could get a whole macro lens! A reversing ring or adapter is available for old Canon mount models for about $20. As with lens to lens stacking , a rear filter cap with a round opening cut into it is advisable to protect the rear element of the reversed lens. Remember, the aperture on some lenses is not able to stay open on their own while it is off the camera so check your lens first before buying a reversing ring (aka reversing adapter).
A salesman recently asked me “Why do you want to buy a reversing ring? We have macro lenses. Reversing rings are an old fashioned way to do things!” I guess it is also old fashioned to save several hundred dollars. Why not spend $20 for a reversing adapter instead of $800 on a nice macro lens? You can get high quality results with a reversing ring and get some experience with macro photography! You can always spend the several hundred dollars later on a nice macro lens that will be easier to use, and give you more options.
This goes between the camera body and the lens to extend the lens. High quality with high magnifications can be obtained. On some bellows any old high quality lens can be used of any brand as long as it will fit on the bellows. . However, a macro bellows is large and awkward to handle. The shutter and aperture needs to be manually set. You might also have to take an exposure reading with a handheld meter since your camera may not work properly without a lens on it. Also, a lot of light can be lost this way, which increases exposure time. However, extreme macro pictures can be taken this way because the magnification increases the farther away from the lens is from the camera. I don’t use a bellows, but they are an option and can be an option to get extreme high magnifications. Remember, the more magnification, the less depth of field and the more critical focusing becomes at these extreme magnifications. The subject can hardly move at all without messing the focusing up. A better alternative might be getting a microscope with a camera attachment! 10x to 1000x can be obtained! After about 1100x the size of the light waves become a problem and you would need to move over to a scanning electron microscope! Maybe someday these scanning electron microscopes (SEM) will be massed produced and affordable!
Most flash units are larger then the actual object with macro photography. This would be comparable to using a 10 foot umbrella to reflect the light from the flash while you take a picture of a 6 foot tall person.
As you move closer the flash can easily overpower the exposure. Most flash units aren’t designed for Macro Photography. The flash can't turn off fast enough. You will need to experiment with using a smaller aperture by a few stops to compensate for this, or a macro flash unit. You could use a faster shutter speed but usually we are battling Depth of Field with Macro Photography and so a smaller aperture will put more of the subject in focus. This is why some photographers use macro flash set ups, a smaller aperture can be used in low levels of light, and any movement can be frozen. Watch out for the ring flashes. They can show rings of light in the eyes of the insects which isn't natural. There have been other problems of improper or unnatural looking exposures with ring flashes.
The closer you get with the flash, the more light there is, but the light gets exponentially brighter as you get closer. The closer I am, the more critical the flash exposure becomes.
The ideal angle for a flash is a 30 degree angle from the lens. So if I am 12" away I should have the flash 4" high. Move the flash closer down to the end of the lens as you get closer with the flash. Also, watch the flash doesn't get behind the lens and shade your subject! You will need a camera bracket, or make your own custom bracket. Sometimes a flash off to the side can give a neat effect instead of directly overhead.
There are a lot of specialized and expensive macro flash units available. Sometimes the brackets that are also needed for the flash units are almost as expensive as the flash unit. There are less expensive alternatives to this, such as using a diffuser to cut the amount of light your non-macro flash is putting off, bouncing the flash off of a white cardboard… Be creative!
Try just holding a white cloth single or double layer over the pop up flash to reduce the amount of light and diffuse the harsh glare of the flash. Another technique is to block the light from hitting your object directly from the flash, and hold an aluminum foil piece or reflector to catch the light and reflect it down at the angle you want.
A Gary Fong flash attachment can be helpful because it gives off a lot of diffused lighting, and its height helps get the light from the flash over the top of the lens to your subject. Also a Gary Fong decreases the light output from the flash which is useful up close.
How to do Table Top Macro Photography with Flash
The ideal angle for a flash for table top macro photography is 45 degrees from each side. This causes less reflection off the objects.
Get two flash units about 3-4 feet high and 3-4 feet off to each side from your object. Make sure the angle of the flash won’t be blocked by the camera lens. For some lenses the flash unit will need to be lowered, but 45 degrees is optimum to avoid reflection and overexposed highlights. The 45 degree angle also reveals texture in the objects and doesn’t look “washed out.”
Most table top macro photography is done with a 50mm macro lens. It is not convenient to use a longer focal length lens because here is an increased working distance from the object to the lens. Also, the longer lens and camera are added to the extra height, and now you are trying to look through the viewfinder. If the arrangement is too high a stool might be needed! Models with live view can help but you still need to look at the screen on the back of the camera!
It is much easier to work off of a table than the floor when a lot of objects need to be photographed. Take a little time to set up and organize the equipment and save a lot more time later! Place labels with the objects in the photographs so they can be readily identified later by just the photograph.
Another solution is to take photographs in a white room, and use a Gary Fong attachment. Block the lighting directly between the flash and the close up object so only reflective lighting hits the object.
How to Take Macro Pictures at an Aquarium
The best way to take pictures at an aquarium is to avoid having the flash reflect in your own picture! Place the flash units at 45 degrees off to each side and pointed at the fish, or crab or whatever. If possible, bring a tripod unless you are really good at hand holding a camera for long periods of time. Flash isn’t essential. I have taken close up photos of the glowing yellow jellyfish with an f/1.4 aperture at Monterey Bay Aquarium by leaning against a post. The effects can be dramatic with the aquarium lighting the photograph! But for really sharp photographs a flash is strongly recommended.
The best results are with 2 flash heads 45 degrees to each side of the fish. Remember to overexpose by 1 or 2 stops since 25% to 50% of the lighting is lost through the thick aquarium glass and the water. Try a smaller aperture of f/16 with a 100-125/second shutter speed to stop the action with two flash heads. This also yields a good Depth of Field . Another alternative is just to get at an angle to the glass. I usually just get at a 45 degree angle from the glass with a single flash unit so the reflection bounces off away from the lens.
Another problem is having your own reflection show up in the glass. Get off to one side and take the photograph at an angle. If this doesn’t allow for the close up angle you want, wear black clothing with a black cap, or attach a black cardboard to the front of the lens. Make your own black cardboard attachment by tracing the outside end of the lens on the cardboard and cut the circle up into small pie slices. Bend back the tabs you just made back and rubber band them onto the lens as the lens is sticking through the hole. Hopefully, this will help you from coming back from that great aquarium tour and having all the pictures of your own flash unit! Or with a reflection of you and your equipment in the photograph with the sea creatures! If the aquarium allows for it, bring a stool since it takes awhile for the fish to cooperate.
Think of it this way. If the flash is 8 inches away, moving it 4 inches closer would be like being 20 feet way from a subject, and moving 10 feet away. However, with macro flash photography the increase in light is increased even more due to the extremely close distance.
For larger sea life or pictures from the top of an aquarium try a polarizing filter. This special filter cuts out reflective light and makes sea life much more visible though the top surface of the water. Polarizing filters reduce the exposure by 1-2 stops since they are dark colored filters.
Photograph of a baby cat fish, Virginia
Photograph of a snapping turtle at Maymont Park aquarium, Virginia
Photograph of jellyfish at Monterey Bay Aquarium, California
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ReplyDeleteVery informative article. Thanks Joe
ReplyDeleteVery informative article. Thanks Joe
ReplyDeleteVery informative article. Thank Joe
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