What is Macro Photography?
Macro photography is the art of capturing small objects at close range. It requires a lot of patience and practice, but it can produce some stunning results. The best way to master this technique is by taking lots of photos and looking closely at them.
How to do Macro Photography With a Phone
Macro photography is one of those things that sounds really cool but isn’t something most people will ever need to do. It involves taking photos at close range so that objects appear larger than they actually are. This technique works best with insects, plants, flowers, food, and small animals.
The best way to take great photos is to know what you want to capture. This means knowing where you’re going to shoot from, what kind of light you’re looking at, and what type of subject you’re trying to photograph. Once you have all these details figured out, then you can start shooting.
To make your camera more suitable for macro photography, you can use an extension tube or lens attached directly to your smartphone. Unfortunately, this may not work with every camera – especially older ones. You could try attaching a DSLR camera to your phone, though that will defeat the purpose of doing macro photography with a smartphone
If you don’t mind losing part or all of your photo while you experiment, then you can always experiment with different settings on your phone like ISO Speed (ISO), f-stop (f/stops), shutter speed (shutter speed), and aperture (aperture). Some phones may also come with preset macro functions that are easily accessible while in shooting mode e.g. macro or close-up button.
Shoot in Manual Mode
If you don’t know how to shoot in manual mode, it’s easy enough to figure out. Just turn off autofocus and set the shutter speed and aperture manually. This will allow you to take control of the exposure and capture images that look like they were taken by professionals.
It is more fun to shoot macro with manual settings because the auto function may not be suited for the condition or environment. Also, manual focusing may sometimes prove to be faster than autofocusing to take place. You might get unexpected amazing shots from those manual adjustments.
Get a Macro Lens for Your Phone
Macro lenses are available for most smartphones, but they don’t come cheap. The best ones will cost around $100, although some smartphone makers offer them as standard accessories. If you think you really need one, then go ahead to explore. Otherwise, the current available mid to high range of smartphones nowadays are acceptable for macro photography.
Bring in Some Extra Lighting
I’ve found the best way to lighten up a subject is to add a small amount of fill flash. This will give you a nice soft light without any harsh shadows. The only downside is it will probably look unnatural if you don’t know what you’re doing. So, just bring along some external strobes and give it a shot. There’s nothing wrong with getting creative and adding an element of art into your photos!
What’s The Difference: Closeup Micro or Macro?
Macro lenses allow you to take pictures at close range without having to move closer to your subject than normal. This means you can capture details like the texture of leaves, or the fine hairs on a cat’s nose. The downside is that they tend to produce images with soft edges and blurred backgrounds.
A macro lens lets you reduce the distance between your zoomed image and its subject. They usually feature a very narrow depth of field which makes everything else appear blurry when you focus on other parts of the picture. These lenses help you take close-ups and detail subjects in their entirety without distortion. However, the wide-angle end gives you a wider view so you need to move further away from your subject.
The different term in photography actually means the same in which are used differently by the brands in the market. Usually, this kind of close-up photography is widely known by photographers as macro photography.
Popular Smartphones With A Macro Camera
The iPhone XS Max has a 12MP camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and an f/1.8 aperture lens. It shoots 4K video at 60fps and 1080p video at 240fps.
The Samsung Galaxy S10+ has a dual rear camera system with one 16MP sensor and another 12MP sensor. This allows it to shoot 4K video at 30fps and a slow-motion 720p video at 960 fps.
The Google Pixel 3a has a single 13MP front-facing camera with an f/2.0 aperture and OIS. It shoots 4K videos at 30fps and 1080p videos at 120fps.
Conclusion
When we talk about macro photography, it does sound complicated yet fascinating. To make things easier, you should consider reading the above-written points and try experimenting. It will definitely help you get better at taking excellent close-up photos. Most importantly, enjoy the process!