SJP – Tips & Lessons

Hello everyone,

Many of my articles are about learning how to photograph Macro and Close-up Photography.  I try to discuss all aspects of this style of photography but I noticed that the Internet doesn’t really show you the detail of focus that I always strive for in my artwork.

If you have read my bio you know that I absolutely love Impressionism with a slight twist of having an area in the work dead sharp in focus. So today I thought I would show you the original photographs and a cropped version so you can see what I’m talking about.   When I print my work I like them to be 24 x 36 or larger, this way the person viewing the piece(s) see what I’ve created with the tools of photography.

Click on the photograph…to get back to the blog use your back arrow key on the server.

close up

close up

another one

upclose

soap

closeup

As you work on Macro photography have fun looking at your subjects up close; I use my Canon Angle Finder to help me focus on the area of the subject I want you all to see clearly.  If you want more of the photograph areas in focus use an Aperture of F22 and adjust your Shutter Speed for the perfect Exposure. Again, the Internet doesn’t do justice to the photographs…the prints are beautiful, trust me… you will have fun viewing your subject up close and print them large so you can enjoy the work you created

All shots were on a tripod shot with ISO 100; I used my cable release and also used the mirror lock-up, noise control for long exposures within my camera.  To print your photograph, here is some basic info for you:

http://blog.sullivanjphotography.com/category/printing-information/

Cheers,

Janice

Hello everyone,

I was working with a client on some white daisies and thought to myself… “Post some Daisies on your blog so you all can see how beautiful daisies are up close.”  We see these flowers all the time but when you view them as a Macro you can really appreciate the beauty and graceful quality of the flower.  Take a look at these photographs:

For those of you that want to see more of my daisy shots you can click on the image below:

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Photographs – Daisies – Images by Janice Sullivan

So have some fun and take a variety of close up photographs of daisies or any common subject… if you’re interested in the technical info of the flower, you can click on Common Daisy and Asteraceae (daisy family).  Be creative and take out your tripod, grab a macro lens or set your point & shoot on macro mode and enjoy the beauty of a common flower!

These photographs were all shot with my 100mm macro lens, tripod, cable release, with mirror lock-up, noise control for long exposures and various lighting techniques.

Cheers,

Janice

Hello everyone,

One of the many reasons I enjoy photography, is the gadgets you can play with while you photograph. I love a new toy! Most women love diamonds…I like diamonds but LOVE photography equipment. Today my post will be about some of the toys you can purchase, but I want to make it clear to you, these gadgets are not needed to photograph up close, they help you enjoy the process while photographing.

Before I start talking about what toys I like, check out Really Right Stuff”s info on macro photography. You can also click around their site to see if you like anything I have not mentioned in this post.

So, let’s get started… Of course I want to talk about my favorite tool first!

The Novoflex focusing rack is one of those tools that until you use it, you think you don’t need it.  When you want detailed focusing,  this helps tremendously.  When we talk about depth-of-field (what’s in focus and what is not in focus)  I will be discussing this tool.  The focusing rack is attached to your ball head (at least my ball-head) on your tripod.   The mini quick release is attached to your camera.  It’s so nice and easy to work with!

Ok…I like to show you a wonderful ball-head from Really Right Stuff.  Again,  you don’t need a ball head to connect to your camera but I can maneuver my camera much easier with one:

Remember, if this is too expensive for your pocket book, I showed you a great buy from B & H in the last post (#2).

This is another cool toy that I like to use, it’s called an angle finder :

If you need to be at ground level to view your subject (I have outdoors) or adjust your camera in a weird position to get the shot, the angle finder is excellent for this! It also has a magnifier that I love, which helps with sharp focusing.  For more details check this tool out at B & H.

Another good gadget to have is a cable release (see below).  My next post will be about basic ways to photograph up close and one thing I want you to remember is that if you keep the camera steady your photography will come out better.  With that said…I like to use my cable release (all the time)  so I don’t touch my camera.  Yes, I purchased this at B & H

The last tool I want to talk about is lighting.  Below is an expensive tool that you will love if you get into the macro thing.  I will have a post just on lighting in the future, but for now…this is on gadgets that I love, so here is one of them.  Again, if this is too expensive, you will be surprised on what a flashlight can do

This twin light attaches to your lens to get up close to your subject.  You can adjust the intensity of the lights and move them around for some fun exposures.   Save your money for this toy…it’s worth it!

Macro is fun!  I love the photograph below because we can see the unique view of the bubbles in the liquid.  Be creative…  I have photographed body parts, products, bugs, and of course flowers (my favorite subject).  I now look at things differently…I remember my professor telling us that he wanted us to see photographically.  At first I didn’t understand, but now I do, and I’m grateful that I have added this sense of sight to my life… The more you Macro the more you will pay attention to the details around you.

So for now check out some gadgets and send me questions if you have any. Our next post will be the basics of photographing macro. I’ll give you the steps I take while I photograph in natural light.  Your homework is to read your manual on your camera or google your camera…there should be a blog out there you can refer to.  There is no such thing as auto photography in macro…so learn what an F-stop is and what the shutter speed does.  I will briefly discuss this in the next post but would like you to understand the terms.   One more thing…A good book I suggest is John Shaw’s Macro and Nature.  I found it on Amazon.   It’s a good starter book on Macro Photography.  It’ a bit outdated and discusses film more than digital but whether you’re photographing digital or film the concept is the same.

See you next week

Cheers,

Janice

Related articles

• Photographing Insects and Other Small Creatures (nikonusa.com)
• 20 Spectacular Macro Photography Examples (digital-photography-school.com)
• Macro photos of explosions of color and liquid (lostateminor.com)
• Stunning and Inspiring Macro Photography (techie-buzz.com)
• Closer Still (pronghornwildlifephotography.wordpress.com)