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Macro pictures…
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Okay, so I’ve tried reversing the lens and doing some close up shots of a few critters. And I’m not confident enough to put these up for critique so I’m posting them here instead, hoping for help and tips rather than anything else!
What made me trip up were these things:
1. an eager cat, trying to play with my subjects
2. being 9 months pregnant and unable to hold myself steady, never mind the camera when handheld OR on tripod
3. wind
4. uncooperativeness of the subjects.However, excuses aside, I’m not sure I could’ve held the camera steady enough if I weren’t pregnant or indeed in slightly windy conditions. I cheated by putting a plastic plate with a dab of honey out, so at least the ant stayed relatively still… Oh, and that flower (no idea what it is!) I cheated and plucked off and took a picture on top of my camera bag…
Anyway, I’m totally new to this, so any tips on how to get a steady hand would be much appreciated – because once I found out I COULD get close enough with the reversing of the lens, I felt like I should get a clear shot, too.
Anyone?
Here are the poor shots (and yes, these are the steadiest I managed, I’m sad and embarrassed to say…)
I can’t really help you with steadiness I’m afraid other than using a tripod and using the timer function so you’re not touching the camera when it shoots.
I’ve seen the lens backwards being mentioned a few times here. How does this work? Do you actually physically attach the lens onto the camera backwards or what do you do? How do you manage that? Sorry for the stupid questions btw:)
They’re not stupid questions!
I’m using an adapter that screws in between the lens and the camera body, so yes the lens is physically attached to the camera body, just backwards.
Tried the tripod, but the adjustments were so minute the tripod seemed a hindrence. Haven’t thought of the timer thing… anyone know if that works?
Sorry for butting into your thread but what are these adaptors called and where would one get them?
Also, I meant using the timer when the camera is on the tripod so there is no touching at the moment of actuation so therefore there should be no blur. Or so you would hope anyway!
I’m not sure that you have shaken images. Pictures taken with reversed lens have very very narrow depth of field, I think you might have such narrow depth of the field that you cannot maintain whole subject depth of field focus…
Again, where to the reversing rings come from?
Regards,
Puckpics
What were your settings?
A few things that might help…
Tripod, use the self timer and/remote release.
Shoot indoors, might help with the wind. (I take it that it was an environmental issue and not a side effect of being nine months pregnant!)
At said already, use greater depth of field, f11 or maybe even f16 for these.
Give the cat the honey and use more cooperative subjects, like the flower maybe.Hope this helps.
Easons sell A3 size bits of card for around £3.00 per sheet, it’s great for this type of shoot, easy to make a mini studio somewhere in your house where you have decent window light.
Sinead.
The only thing about using a high F number like F16 is your shutter
speed will be slower which may give you camera shake also.So
While keeping the F number high you might want to increase the ISO number
from say ISO100 to ISO200 maybe.Just a thought.
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