Monday

Macro aka The Finer Details

When shooting objects, people, and nature we have a tendency to step as far back as possible or zoom out to get the whole subject in the frame. While this is great so we can capture the whole idea and get the whole picture, sometimes I feel like I'm missing the finer details. For example when shooting a newborn. Are the majority of your pictures of the whole baby? Do you get closer and get a shot of just the head? Now have you ever considered to take another step closer and capture babies ear? Yes it may sound weird the babies EAR but have you ever noticed how precious a babies ear could be? The babies mouth, nose, or even the roll that might be forming underneath the chin. These are the things as a mother I will most likely forget but these are also the things I don't want to forget. Let's say you're photographing a teapot. From far away you can see the whole thing. GREAT! But have you noticed the stroke marks in the paint. Maybe the cracks that are starting to form from age. Could these finer details make you stop and think that maybe this teapot might be an antique? Something you might not have thought of or seen when you took a picture of the whole thing. One more example, I promise, now you're taking a picture of a tree. Awesome you have the whole tree! Now take a step closer and notice the leaves, the bark and how much texture they have. Did you see that cool looking bug crawling up the tree? My little tip for today is to take a step closer to your subject. Try a macro lens or your macro setting on your point and shoot if you don't have an SLR. Your macro setting has a tulip icon for your point and shoot. Read your manuals people! Work with your depth of field. Do you want to show how tall a tree is? Focus on the bark closes to you and have the tree top in the background. Or a shallow depth of field with your cool bug as big as the frame. There are no rules with photography only opinions. I would love to make this a homework assignment if you'd like to participate. Email me your macro photos to goforprophoto@gmail.com and next Monday we'll post your photos. We're not here to critique you but to help you expand your knowledge and photography.
And to leave you with some ideas





2 comments:

  1. This post is great. I really want to learn more about macro and use it more. You get get so many interesting shots this way that really make clients impressed. ;) Thanks for sharing! And I love the spiderweb and the ?wheel? shot after it, awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh and i will try to have something to post for Monday! :)

    ReplyDelete