Macro photograpy disscussion

[Plum Tuckered]

Hey yall,

I have a Canon EOS 30D with a tripod, reflector (gold, silver, white) 18/55 and a 75/300 lens and i want to take better photos of my work. I have been neglecting this for quite some time now and since my work is getting to the point where good photos are important I wanted to have a conversation with the glass photographers who feel like chiming in. So I did a little searching and didn't turn up what i was looking for on here so i found this link that talks about macro photography but honestly it's not in my wheel house if you know what i mean. http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/macro-extension-tubes-closeup.htm

From my limited understanding a black background (photo box) is best but please let me know if I'm going down the wrong path. But what about lighting? Is a two light set up best? Should i even bother with the reflector for macro? More importantly is the confusing issue of the macro setting vs. a macro lens vs. extension tubes. I looked at these lenses for my camera and found a range of pricing from $250 up to a ridiculous amount. What is really needed to get good quality close ups of glass work?Can I get a good result with what i got or is spending money the right route? I'm so far from a photographer it's not even funny but i have this camera and was hoping it will do the trick.

So please let me hear your 2 cents photo ballers! Thanks for your time.

[menty666]

I'm so far from a photographer it's not even funny but i have this camera and was hoping it will do the trick.


Let me put it this way, permit me to replace a couple of words in your statement:

"I'm so far from a glassblower it's not even funny but i have this torch and was hoping it will do the trick."

If that showed up, you might chime in with, "it's not the tools, it's the skills. Practice, learn to use the equipment and you'll come out ahead" Or something to that end.

Learn the camera, you've got the equipment, that 75/300 lens is probably going to be your best bet, but if you set it up right, you can likely use the macro setting your camera already has to get what you need even with the 18/55. I'm in a similar boat, I bought a fancy Nikon, it only came with a 18/55, but I found that the macro setting on the camera allows me to get a semi-decent picture. Having said that, I just bought a set of diopters (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UE6NAQ/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00) to try out on the advice of a friend.

Poke around a little harder, maybe use google to site search the forum, but I know there've been some decent threads on photography around here, including at least one from Mickelson on his setup.

Good luck :)

[LarryC]

i would suggest a high quality single length macro lens. Lens quality is very important.

[Plum Tuckered]

Fair enough Menty. Maybe I was searching for the wrong terms. I'm gonna have to find that Mickelson thread, thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I'm trying to learn how to use it properly and was not sure if I need more equipment or not to get the best results and apparently I'm going to be learning about diopters and single length macro lenses! Also maybe a glass photography sub forum would be a good idea? I have read so many posts saying how important presenting your work can be to your success. Thanks for all the help guys.

[FRGartifacts]

I have very limited experience thus far but I found that when set on macro yet manually adjusting my focus helped. When auto focusing I found the camera would pickup things that weren't pertinent to the shot. Long story short, watch out for facial recognition dragging the focus away from the intended focal point. Otherwise, amazon has a potable tabletop light booth that can hand stuff up to about 16 " vertically if I recall correctly...35 bucks. Lights background colors, white light screens or whatever.

[Mecha]

The camera you have is capable of taking excellent pictures. I am not sure you should focus so much on macro if you are intending on taking pictures of objects larger than a few inches. A fixed lens like this one (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005LEN4/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00) (Nikon, I know, just an example) will yield excellent results. Yes, you can get a much better lens for more money, but if you are primarily interested in publishing your work on the web, or small catalog sized physical prints, a relatively inexpensive one should be fine.

For backgrounds, look into flotone graduated backdrops. Another thing I have seen used is vertical grade formica in a glossy black finish. Exactly what you want for a backdrop may change depending on the piece you are photographing.

For lights, I use 2 Lowel Tota hot lights. I also use the sun if I am taking pictures of sandblasted work since the surface will diffuse any hot spots and it will not reflect the outside world around you either. There are all sorts of lighting options though, so find what works best for you.

Really though, the biggest thing is basically what Menty pointed out. You need to understand your camera and some of the basic fundamentals of photography before you get good pictures. I know a guy that spent $700 plus on a shiny new camera only to get the same terrible pictures in a higher resolution. Check out youtube for basic tutoriols on how to shoot manually and what each function does and how they relate to one another.

I am by no means any sort of photographer myself, but once I got a DSLR and learned some basics about how to use it in full manual mode, my pictures got exponentially better. Also learning some very basic post processing techniques (Photoshop, gimp, etc.) will help you even further in getting the results that you want. Again, youtube is your friend. And just like glassblowing, practicing what you have learned over and over again is the name of the game.

[WCGMille]

Really though, the biggest thing is basically what Menty pointed out. You need to understand your camera and some of the basic fundamentals of photography before you get good pictures. I know a guy that spent $700 plus on a shiny new camera only to get the same terrible pictures in a higher resolution. Check out youtube for basic tutoriols on how to shoot manually and what each function does and how they relate to one another.
^this! I almost always use manual functions on my dslr. They allow for so much more control to get what you want, if you have a place to take a class I strongly recommend it.

[mer]

this may raise eyebrows but i feel that true macro photography is a product of a bygone era. much more affordable and reasonable with the same results is the use of digitasl camera to capture huge amounts of info and then cropping down to the info wanted. effects such as the limited DoF and the background noise are matters of choice now and can all be manipulated and altered in ps. it's not that i lack respect for the beauty of lenses, i am just sad to say that the world has moved on quite a bit since that technology was unavoidable.

[vetropod]

I agree with Menty and Mer, it's just about learning how to use the equipment and either use a timed shutter release OR be very still.

Here's a macro photo I took with my $80 digital camera. Those ridges the beetle is standing on are my fingerprint.
http://wesleyfleming.com/inspiration/az_red_beetle.jpg

[Firekist]

i'm guessing that's a nikon wes? there are some crazy macro abilities out there with the smaller digitals out there.. like 0.5 inch focal lengths (can focus on something 0.5 inches away)

just learning what you have is more important than anything else.

i get my best pictures with a nikon 5400.. got it 7 years ago.. the pics i get with my wife's sony alpha dslr are crap in comparison.

a polarized filter is something i recommend trying, since it can cut down on reflection and glare/hotspots. i hate light boxes for lots of work.

have fun.. learn first, buy more stuff second =)

--seth

[CharlieDontSurf]

Some random old digital camera will give great macros, I have a cheapo dxg that does great ones.

[vetropod]

Seth, it was a Canon PowerShot I bought at a drugstore. I've had three of that same model (took ~30-40K photos with each before death.)

[Sparkey]

Seth, it was a Canon PowerShot I bought at a drugstore. I've had three of that same model (took ~30-40K photos with each before death.)

It may be a cheapo, but there are millions of dollars poured into the development of those lenses by Canon, and glass is what makes the picture.

[MARSH]

Get yourself black and a white muslin backdrops, some good lighting, use your tripod, set your camera with a 3 second timer (or use a remote) so u don't get any hand shake at all when pressing the button to snap a photo. Just mess with your camera settings till you find what you like. I shoot with a canon xsi and can get some pretty nice shots. Just practice with it and you will figure it out! By the way, u need to come back down here so we can slay the torches!

[richsantaclaus]

I use a Canon 180 Macro lens and get pix like these...

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[xlconch]

Please note: Rich has been practicing for a bit. And probably has read ALL the manuals :)

Wes: I also have been using the Canon Powershot series. Unfortunately they don't take to going thru the washing machine. The memory card survived well, but the cameras had to be replaced. I'm sure it would have taken clean pictures, though.

[LowTideGlass]

Here are a few of mine...

all taken with a Sony a700 with a Tamron SP 90mm f2.8 ( Not a terrible expensive kit) The lens is from the 80's and can be found for around $100-$150 but is a legendary macro lens. Only Photoshop was a bit of color saturation on the holly, and a slight cropping on the bee closeup.

I have since switched to a Sony A55.

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As far as the physical technical application of photography, I agree that higher and higher resolution capacity will allow for an ever increasing crop without distortion, but I do feel that good quality lenses are still essential to the process. The photos above were created on an old lens ( mid 80's Tamron) I had a lens that cost 4 times as much as this and did not take tack sharp macro shots like the old tamron.

For photographing glass, I'd say go ahead and get a newer high resolution camera and just learn cropping and PS. For anything else, It is my opinion that it is about capturing the moment, which is why you need to be well versed in aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. Also, cropping and photoshop can recreate effects such as bokeh and DOF, but if is possible to endlessly create these effect in the physical world with lens choices and camera settings, than why not do it in the moment?

I guess this is kind of the craft vs art thing again...

[Sparkey]

Guys....Please quit posting those (amazing) macro photos. I cannot afford a new lens right now and you're making me think bad thoughts.

[richsantaclaus]

lol... I don't even know Manual!!!!! I did use the 180mm to shoot these.....

I've only been taking pictures for 4 years since 2008 when I retired. For the first 2 years, I didn't know what AF was on the lens! My wife had to show me after she stopped laughing! These you see here and above were all MF.

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[Nomad]

I use the same camera with a tripod to take pictures of my work. I have a soft box or an umbrella that fits over the pieces and it comes as a kit with the digital photo lights. I think it only cost like $35? Go to www.lumierela.com . I use product # L60259 . But they have every soft box with lighting kits that you would ever want.
Make sure you are shooting with you camera in Apiture Priority mode with you f stop at about F11 with the tripod. Or you can try to shoot it in time priority mode at 1/60 seconds. Never shoot in automatic or anything that uses a flash. It will make too much reflected light.

[PhilosophicalPete]

Buy a reverse lens adapter! Turns the stock lens you have backwards and into a macro style lens. The macro setting on your camera is probably nothing more than a setting that pre-adjusts iso and aperture. Also having a clean reflective background is important. I wouldn't suggest using the reflector unless it's a big piece or you plan to use daylight. (Morning and afternoon has the best soft natural lighting)