Digital Macro Photography

By

Rex Steyskal

What makes a good macro photo? As I have found It is certainly not only the camera that makes the difference, it is more the eye of the photographer, the clever use of lighting, the choice of angles, basically it is your creativity. The digital camera has a big advantage over film cameras, it has instant feedback and if you don't like it you can erase it, while your subject is still in view, experiment with different views. Actually see what works and what doesn't and instantly learn from your mistakes. Macro photography sharpens your eye for minute detail. Your digital camera in the macro mode sees things that easily escape your first view and may visually and artistically impact your final photo.

(Click on Thumbnails for larger image)

I took this Photo at the Detroit Zoo

 I took this preying mantis photo at lunch time in a field behind work.

Macro photography is subject to slightly different rules. If you look at macro photos you'll discover that very few are completely sharp The small details present themselves in unusual visuals and depth of field is very shallow. Its probably best for a beginner to start on the subject of flowers, since they don't move and you will find them everywhere. This usually requires nothing extra to buy since most digital cameras nowadays feature a macro setting for close-up shooting.

Nikon CoolPix 950/990 Macro photography

Thanks to latest digital cameras like the Nikon CP950/990 more and more macro photos are turned out in perfect quality. Therefore, technical excellence is becoming less important, attributing more importance to the contents of a photo. Creativity is now the key everything including picture composition has to work out well. The rules of photo composition and color combination also apply to macro photography. You don't need to search long in order to find worthwhile photos opportunities. Flower in your garden, fields close to home offer further possibilities, as does a Sunday visit to the zoo or a pet store. With animals as in human portraits it is important for sufficient light to hit the animal's eyes and for the photographer to take shots at the same height or slightly lower than the animal. And Focus on the eyes.

 I took this Photo of a Tiger Butterfly at the Detroit Zoo Butterfly House

 This one was taken at a local pet shop.

I took this Macro photo of a Green Tree Python and the Detroit Zoo Reptile house.

I took this tiny poisonous frog at the Detroit Amphibian House

The Nikon CP950/990 has been designed for Macro Photos and I have become obsessed with this mode of photography. To take macro photos with this wonderful camera you simply must turn the mode dial to A_REC or M-REC then press the FOCUS button on top of the camera until the macro focus flower blossom appears on your control panel and LCD screen. Then compose your photos using the LCD Screen. Depending on the size and distance to your object you may want to get to the MACRO SWEET SPOT by zooming back until the blossom icon turn yellow, that's it, now you can focus as close as an inch from your subject. Most these photos were taken in the extreme macro mode which narrows the depth of field as little as a half of inch so position your subject to be as flat as possible. If your object is stationary you of course may set the program mode to A (aperture priority) and set the aperture to f11 and get a much deeper depth of field. That having been said, enjoy yourself, take a lot of pictures and learn this camera and it will provide you amazing results.