The Complete Guide to Macro and Close-Up Photography

Cyrill Harnischmacher

The Complete Guide to

Macro and Close-Up

Photography

The Complete Guide to Macro and Close-Up Photography

Cyril Harnischmacher

Project editor: Maggie Yates

Project manager: Lisa Brazieal

Marketing: Jessica Tiernan

Copyeditor: Stephanie Pascal

Translator: David Schlesinger

Layout and type: Cyril Harnischmacher

Cover design: Helmute Krause, www.exclam.de

Indexer: Cyril Harnischmacher

ISBN: 978-1-68198-052-2

1st Edition 2016

© 2016 Cyril Harnischmacher

All images © Cyril Harnischmacher, unless otherwise noted

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For Urte, Tabea, and Jona

Foreword

In Japan, cherry blossom festivals are a centuries-long tradition that

marks the beginning of spring. The flower of the cherry tree has become

a symbol both for pristine beauty and for the transience of time.

These concepts are of central importance to macro photography. With

the end of the cold season comes the return of life and movement to the

natural world: insects take to the skies, and the first plants begin to

bloom.

The quest for that perfect moment when the subject, your perspective,

and the light come together in perfect harmony is what photographers

live for. A camera and a lens are tools to document these fleeting

moments for ourselves and for others. And with macro photography in

particular, the technical details are of great concern. But even so, they

are simply a means to the end of being able to capture and express your

ideas in your pictures. Nevertheless, they are tools that we can’t do

without, and the more technical know-how you possess, the easier it will

be to translate into images what moves you about noteworthy passing

subjects in the natural world.

Precisely this mixture of mastery and intuition is what makes

photography so exciting. The craft combines the appeal of clearing

technical hurdles, the challenge of waiting for the perfect light, and the

will to never to accept a compromise that results in an image inferior to

your own expectations.

Despite all of the technical knowledge about the craft that I need in

order to reach my photographic goals, there is one thing I never want to

do without: allowing myself to be carried across a blossom-strewn

meadow through a sea of subjects while shooting on instinct–not

searching for the perfect moment, but allowing the moment to absorb me

completely.

Cyrill Harnischmacher

2016

Table of Contents

The Fascination of Macro Photography

01 The Basics

The Basics in Theoretical Terms

The Basics in Numbers

The Deepest Depths

02 Equipment

Cameras for Macro Photography

Standard Lenses

Macro Lenses

Close-Up Lenses

Teleconverters and Extension Tubes

Reversing Rings and Coupling Rings

Bellows

Altering Depth of Field

Lighting for Close-Up and Macro Photography

Colors of Light and Color Reproduction

Shutter Release Accessories

Remote Control via Smartphone or Tablet

Remote Control with Triggertrap

Optical Filters

Tripods and Mounts

Transportation and Safety

Additional Macro Accessories

03 Shooting Techniques

Strategies for Dealing with Blur

Holding a Camera Properly

04 Macro Photography in the Studio

Studio Light

Lighting Compared

Building a Small Macro Studio

Bringing Nature Indoors

The Glowing Snail Shell

Tabletop Photography

Smoke, Steam, and Fog

05 Macro Photography in Nature

Backyards and Balconies

Into the Wild

Stefan Dittmann Fungal Photography

Photography in the Fungal Kingdom

06 Special Shooting Techniques

Multiple Exposures

Focus Stacking

Light Painting

Interval Shooting, Time-Lapse, and Stop-Motion

High-Speed Photography

High-Speed Studio Photography without Light Barriers

High Dynamic Range—HDR

Macro Panoramas

Creative Experiments

Infrared Macro Photography

Jan Metzler Focus Stacking

Advanced Focus Stacking

Hans Christian Steeg High-Speed Photography

Caught in Flight

07 Searching for Subjects

Discovering, Searching for, and Collecting Subjects

Variations on a Theme

Abstract Subjects

08 A Day at the Zoo

Zoos

Botanical Gardens

Butterfly Gardens

Aquaria and Terraria

09 Image Editing

Post-processing Photos

Black & White Conversion

10 Working with Light

Exposure Metering

Lighting on the Go

A Comparison of Portable Lighting Options