Macro Photography Lighting

Macro photography - or super close-ups - are interesting, appealing, and a lot of fun to do! They make for some very impressive photographs that will immediately grab the viewer's attention. And they're not that difficult to create as long a you employ good macro photography lighting techniques and have the proper equipment.

The image above was taken with a Canon macro lens EF 100 mm 1:28 USM. The camera was placed on a tripod and the subject lit with window light. The golden reflection is courtesy of a setting sun.

Macro Photography Lighting Tips

Other macro photography tips include using a tripod to eliminate camera shake and purchasing a remote trigger to help with taking sharp pictures and give you more flexibility. You'll also want to use lighting other than the on-camera flash, as this tends to deliver less than desirable results. On-camera flash usually comes in from the wrong direction and flattens or blows out the shape of the object you're trying to photograph.

When shooting macro photography, your subject needs to be very well lit. Your lighting source can be natural light-such as strong window light or outdoor lighting, flash lighting, or continuous lighting. A ring flash attachment for your camera may be the most desirable macro lighting tool because it illuminates the entire subject so well. However, when you are first starting out, natural or continuous lighting may be most desirable because you can see what you are getting when you trigger the shutter and you can learn about the direction and quality of the light using your own eyes and studying what you see.

Employing Natural Light for Close-Ups

The image on the right was taken indoors with natural light.

Reflectors are your friend in a situation like this. Experiment with placing white, gold or silver reflectors on the opposite side of the window to light the shadow side of the subject. Personally I just use a piece of white card.

Alternately, you can take the pot of flowers outdoors or practice photographing live flowers outdoors. Don't select flowers in direct shade since there probably won't be adequate light to get the desired result. While some photographers don't think you can get enough light for macros with existing light, I disagree. You just have to seek out a very well lit location where the subject is flooded with natural light.

Odd as this will sound, one of the first mistakes amateur macro photographers make with their lighting is they inadvertently block it - especially if they are shooting outdoors. It's easy to approach a beautiful flower you want to photograph, lean down to take the shot, and not to pay attention to where the shadow from you and your camera falls. Take note of shadows first thing. You may need to move yourself so that you are on the other side of the subject.

Or, if you are working in a confined space or your subject is near a building, bush, or other object that blocks the light, you may find you need to select a new subject because the lighting at this time just isn't conducive to photographing that particular subject. After moving, you should also look at the background area from this new angle to see if you like the new composition.

Macro lenses and settings are designed to provide a very shallow depth of field so that everything in the background blurs out of the photo. However, even if the background items aren't recognizable, whether they light or dark can have an impact on your image. You want the subject of your photo to be the main focus, so the background should not distract.

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