Get Close: REALLY CLOSE!

Nikon P7000, ISO 100, ƒ/8, 1/220 using manual focus as close as the camera will focus in macro.

If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough. -  

Robert Capa - before he got too close to mine that killed him, while covering Indochina.

Making a memorable impression requires your image to have impact.  One of the most effective ways photography does this is with macro photography.

The minimum focusing distance for my Nikon 60mm ƒ/2.8 is 0.72 ft. (0.22m). With the Nikon P7000 I can do pretty much the same with it focusing at 0.8 inches (2cm).

While this photo is not all that exciting of my finger, I did this simple photo to make my point (good pun huh?). Taking something very small and making it very big is a way to have a photo with impact.

Most people do not take the time to get close to things and seeing things close is for the most part very different. Being different helps create impact and get attention.

Nikon P7000, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/250

The reason I chose to shoot the macro shots on my Nikon P7000 over the Nikon D4 with a 60mm ƒ/2.8 lens is I like shooting at the lowest ISO and fastest shutter speed possible. The problem when shooting with the larger full framed FX format of the Nikon D4 is the lens is further away from the sensor. The farther it is from the sensor means the depth-of-field changes to make what is in focus at ƒ/8 not the same.

The ƒ/5 on my smaller sensor on the Nikon P7000 is more like ƒ/11 on the 60mm macro lens on the Nikon D4. But I can hand hold the Nikon P7000 where shooting at ISO I would have to shoot at such a slow shutter speed to get a similar photo I run the risk of camera shake.

Nikon P7000, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/200

 I wrote an earlier articles talking about macro work here:

Visual Storytelling: Macro Photography: The Magic of Nuance

Jan 28, 2008

Nothing can sharpen your understanding about the nuances of photography more than macro photography. This is where you photograph objects extremely close, where the image projected on the "film plane" (i.e., film or a ...

http://blog.stanleyleary.com/

Visual Storytelling: Need Visual Inspiration -- Get Really Close

Aug 21, 2011

Pick a macro lens or use your point and shoot on the macro (flower) setting. Set the lens to the closest focus setting. Set the f/stop on f/8 or greater. Very important if using a macro lens on DSLR; Get as close as you can without ...

http://blog.stanleyleary.com/

Visual Storytelling: When your creativity becomes stale

Nov 08, 2011

If this is your normal lens of choice try something different like a macro or extreme telephoto. It is forcing you to look at the world differently than you are doing now. Change your routine. If you eat your breakfast always in the ...

http://blog.stanleyleary.com/

Visual Storytelling: Shallow Depth-of-Field

Jan 27, 2011

2) Distance to subject. The closer you get to a subject the shallower the depth-of-field when the ƒ-stop stays the same. In macro photography for example when you get as close as 1:1 ratio you often have to be at a ƒ -stop at a ...

http://blog.stanleyleary.com/

What I recommend with macro work is shooting with higher apertures to get the object enough in focus in the depth-of-field that you can see something is sharp.  Too shallow a depth-of-field and it will look like you missed your focus.

If you need to use a small flash off camera with a cord to get the flash right over the object. If you shoot with on camera flash the flash will not even land on the object because it is so close to the lens.

Try photographing as close as you can with a variety of objects. See if you can get some photos that have impact.

Success is in the Details

Coffee grown in El Aguila, Chiapas

The great successful men of the world have used their imagination…they think ahead and create their mental picture in all its details, filling in here, adding a little there, altering this a bit and that a bit, but steadily building - steadily building.

- Robert Collier

On the left is Robusta Coffee and on the right is Arabica Coffee.

Whenever you are doing a story on a subject be sure and add some detail shots to the coverage.

Just picked coffee

I often think of these photos as eye candy to the story. Graphic designers will often use these photos to help round out a layout on a page or website. Sometimes these photos are used as a background or just an accent point.

One of the places I use these images in my work is in multimedia packages. They can help with transitions just as a writer helps the reader move from one thought to the next with transitions the visual communicator also can do this with things like detail photos.

While getting really close can create impact and even be a cool abstract, sometimes you need things in the photo to give the items a sense of scale. I often use things like hands to give a sense of size to an object.

Compare this to the first photo of coffee on the tree without the hand. 

Just remember to always try and find some detail shots to add to your coverage.

I always travel with a tripod

Gitzo GT-0531 Mountaineer 6X Carbon Fiber tripod

I always try and have a tripod with me at all times.  Finding a sturdy tripod was pretty easy to do.  However, once you start to fly and carry your tripod through airports worldwide you quickly will look for something much lighter.

Carbon fiber has high tensile strength, low weight, and low thermal expansion make it a perfect solution to make tripods strong durable and lightweight.  So a few years ago I researched and tried a few tripods before buying my Gitzo GT-0531 Mountaineer 6X Carbon Fiber tripod. 

Weighing only 1.6 lbs, 20.9” tall folded, extends to a height of 51.6" and can go as low as 10.6” with legs spread. 

Folded

When looking for a tripod the smaller it is folded and then combined with a really tall height when expanded will make a tripod cost more.  The carbon fiber cuts the weight by 1/3 as compared to a similar tripod made of metal.

Manfrotto 492 Micro Ball Head

This tripod doesn’t come with a head.  I liked ball heads and needed again something small yet strong.  I bought the Manfrotto 492 Micro Ball Head.

This combination fits in a small carry on bag and keeps my camera steady when I need it.  

Take Advantage of Spring Time

Dogwood in my front yard.

Tis the season is such a cliché for a reason.  We all understand that timing is everything when planning our vacations.  We go to the beaches in the summer and to the mountains to ski in the winter.  If you go the wrong time of year you will miss the ability to take in the best of a place.

If you Google the phrase “Tis the season” you will find more than 5,690,000 hits. 

Tis the season photographers to be getting outside in your backyards and planning those road trips to capture the spring time in full bloom.

Azalea's have started with buds in my yard.  They stay in bloom about two weeks.

If you have a business this is the time to do those photos you need on your website to show off your properties.  This is when you plan for those outdoor weddings to take advantage of the flowers and trees in bloom. 

You still have time to take advantage of the season. Be sure you put aside the time to capture the blooms in your yards and places of business.

Dogwood blooms in my front yard.

Dogwood

Sometimes a Detail Tells the Whole Story

Nikon D3S, ISO 6400, f/5.6, 1/2000, 28-300mm also used SU-800 Speedlight Commander to fire SB900 Speedlight off camera.  The RadioPopper PX System are used to be sure the signal for flashes works outside.

We have all seen photographs with too much "stuff" in them. Because the photographer makes no attempt to select one subject, the image fails to communicate. It's the visual equivalent of a run-on sentence.

A close-up of a detail frequently reveals more of the subject than a picture of the whole subject. So many photographers want to shoot general views because they believe they offer "good composition" or to capture the beautiful light. The detail photograph can have more impact and communicate more because the photographer is forced to be interpretive with the detail. The isolated part can tell more, be more emphatic, and be more quickly appreciated and understood. It tells the story in compressed, sometimes dramatic, fashion by scaling down to point out a specific idea to greatest effect.

Nikon D3S, ISO 3200, f/5.6, 1/4000, 24-120mm, SU800 with SB900 off camera flash

In approaching a subject, decide how much to include in the viewfinder of the camera. Force yourself to look around the subject and look at each of the corners and everything within the frame of the viewfinder. If there is anything that detracts from the theme, move in closer to eliminate it; if there is not enough to tell the story, move back to include more. The key to this process is to know what you want; the details will fall naturally into place and "composition" is achieved.

I have found the following exercise effective with my students at Reinhardt College. First, shoot a large scene, then close in on it and cut it in half. Close in again and again until, finally, you isolate the most important subject and thus make a statement about the main thing in the scene. In this way, you learn that much of what you see in a picture may not really be that important -- and how to select the part or parts that are most meaningful.

Nikon D3S, ISO 3200, f/5.6, 1/4000, 24-120mm, SU800 with SB900 off camera flash

Great photographers know that composition is a matter of feeling rather than of rules learned by rote. You will develop this feeling as you gain experience, but you will never really "know it all" because, as you learn more about life, you will put emphasis on different things. Composition, ultimately, is just another way of looking at life.

Nikon D3S, ISO 6400, f/18, 1/60, 14-24mm

Six Steps to Banish Dust from Your Digital Images

Dust has been a source of frustration for digital SLR users from the beginning. Those little specks are like blood clots in the digital workflow -- slowing you down or even ruining your best work. Sure, you can remove imperfections in Photoshop, but when those specks get on your sensor, every single photo will need to be fixed until the problem is addressed.

You're much better off preparing on the front end, aren't you? Here are six steps to ensure a dust-free photo shoot:

1. Keep the body cap or a lens on your camera at all times. Having an SLR camera dangling around your neck without a lens is the No. 1 reason that photographers end up spending hours using the cloning tool or healing brush in Photoshop to remove dust from their images.

2. Don’t mess around when changing lenses. Keep the new lens close by and ready to switch out.

3. Clean your camera bag. Any dust in your bag will eventually end up on your SLR, so make sure it's as clean as you want your images to be.

4. Check your sensor for dust. Your camera is not airtight. Just zooming a lens can create a suction that pulls dust into the camera and onto the sensor. It is inevitable dust will get onto a sensor. Here is how you check it:

• Attach a telephoto lens or zoom and set it at the longest focal length and smallest aperture.
• Manually focus on the closest setting on the lens.
• Using the manual setting, set the exposure to one stop over the normal exposure. Photograph clear sky, white wall or white paper. Camera shake will not affect this at all; it will still reveal the specs of dust.
• Ingest into your computer and increase the contrast to the highest -- it will help reveal the dust.
• View the image at 100 percent and review the entire image.

5. Use a hand blower to clear out the dust you find. Do not use compressed air as it can damage the sensor or camera. Read your camera manual on how to lock up the mirror and keep the shutter open to reveal the sensor for this. After this step, check your sensor for dust again.

6. Use a brush or swab to remove any remaining specks. If you're not experienced in cleaning your camera and are unable to remove all the dust with a hand blower, you may wish to turn the job over to a professional at this point. But if you want to clean it yourself, you will need special brushes like those at VisibleDust or Copper Hill Images. Using a swab, which uses methanol, is another way to get rid of stubborn dust; you can find one at Photographic Solutions. The methanol will clean the sensor and not leave streaks like water or other products often do.

If you follow these steps at least every few weeks, you can avoid the computer cloning and healing that can slow your workflow to a crawl. This will help you focus on the subject and not the speck in your camera's eye.

Macro Photography: The Magic of Nuance

I remember the moment clearly. I had just finished playing Haydn's Concerto In E-Flat Major For Trumpet for the first time without any mistakes.

"Now you are ready to start working on it," my music teacher said.

I was so disappointed; I thought I had nailed the piece and was ready to move on to something else. But while I had played each note on the page correctly, I was being taught an important lesson: only by mastering the nuances could I avoid sounding like a robot on the instrument.

Artists look at things differently than nonartists do. We notice detail; we appreciate nuance and beauty. Artists respond differently to things than nonartists do. We tend to be more sensitive.

Nothing can sharpen your understanding about the nuances of photography more than macro photography. This is where you photograph objects extremely close, where the image projected on the "film plane" (i.e., film or a digital sensor) is close to the same size as the subject. We would say the image is a 1:1 ratio.

There are a few ways to get this close to the subject with a camera. You can buy a macro lens, which gives you 1:1 or even closer. You can buy a set of close-up filters that you screw onto the front of your lens that let you get closer. There are also extension tubes that go between your lens and camera to let you get closer. Another tool is a bellows that acts like a zooming extension tube. The last way to get closer is using a teleconverter. These teleconverters increase the magnification of the lens and come in 1.4 or 2.0 powers. They go between the lens and the camera to work.

Once you choose the way you want to do macro photography you will soon discover the closer you get to the subject the less depth-of-field you have. This is to say the amount of area that is sharp in front of the point you choose to focus on to the space behind that point is quite shallow. You typically will need a ƒ/number of ƒ/11, ƒ/16 or even greater for just the subject to look like it is in focus.

Since you will be working with such a small aperture (ƒ/number), you will need a lot of light or a good tripod to keep the camera from moving while taking the photo.

Today's flashes, which you can buy for your camera, are so advanced that they can make this a lot of fun. Before you had to be a physicist to understand all the math to make a good exposure. Now just buy the flash with TTL feature and the camera and flash together will give you the perfect amount of light to make your photo.

I recommend buying the extension cord, which lets you take the flash off the camera and put it where you need the light -- right in front of the lens.

Once you have all the equipment you will be at the place I was when I finally learned how to play all the notes of Haydn's trumpet concerto -- ready unleash the artist within by discovering the nuances of a subject.