This week was so fun! Do I say that every week? We focused on the little things in life, quite literally, as we used macro lenses to zoom in on things about the size of a quarter.
The two biggest principles were 1. Lighting, and 2. Focusing on one part of the image to make it sharp, while the rest of the image blurs around it. To do this, we had to place the external light right where we wanted it to hit – where we wanted the focus to be – and then take two different steps to zoom in. The first was to move with our whole body. Find where your feet should be, then move your torso to get just the right spot. Once you’ve found that spot, adjust the zoom on the camera. Repeat until you have a perfect macro image! It took a lot of time, but the results (in my opinion) are worth it.
All images are shot with an f/18 and shutter speed 1/125.
This little clock and surrounding keys are a perfect example of what macro is and what it can do. I brightened up the clock center and hands a bit to help with focus. I like how the clock is completely in focus and the keys to the side are slightly blurred, but not enough where you can’t tell what they are. It wouldn’t be macro if there wasn’t a little blur!
I went a bit experimental with this section of “macro day.” I wanted to see how the chain and the dagger could play off of each other. On their own, it wasn’t extraordinarily interesting even though they’re both great pieces. But together, they made something that I think is interesting to look at. I like how the main focus is on that first loop of the chain, but you can still tell that it’s on a dagger. What kind of story does this tell? Also, dodge and burn might be my favorite tool to edit with. It helps to lighten your focus points or darken the surrounding image.
This one may have been the hardest to shoot. I wanted to incorporate water drops in this piece, but water is surprisingly hard to manipulate on fruit. But in the end, I got the water drop to help the camera focus on the strawberry’s seed. I love the vibrant colors in this shot! I did some light edits (dodge and burn again) to lighten the strawberry and water droplet to help get that natural “summer-day strawberry” color.
This might be the most elegant picture I’ve ever taken. I love the water details on the petals, and how the focus is on the outer edges of the flower instead of the center. I used a spray bottle to get all those beautiful droplets on the rose. It looks like something straight out of beauty and the beast!
Leave a Reply