How can I keep more of an insect sharp in macro photos?
Asked 5/9/2018
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I’m shooting insects with a Canon 700D and EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro. When I get close, only a narrow band of the subject is sharp, while parts like the legs, antennae, or back of the body fall out of focus. I’d like more of the insect itself to be in focus while still keeping the background blurred.
Would stepping back and cropping help, or is there a better approach? Does manual focus help for this? Any practical tips for photographing insects at close range are welcome.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
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The main problem with macro photography is (lack of) light. The closer you get more light you will need.
Being in the field you probably take the pictures handheld - what gives you the shutter speed ca. 1/200s for sharp pictures. That is possible to achieve with F2.8 or F3.5 but the depth-of-field is very narrow.
On the other hand to have a whole object in focus you will have to go to F8 or F11. But then the shutter speed is 1/15s or longer which makes hard to keep the camera steady, not saying it is impossible to catch anything fast moving - like bees or flies.
So you need more light. There are (at least) two options: Macro Ring Flash or Macro Twin Flash. The ring one is a flash that surrounds the lens; the twin flash are two special flashes (speedlites) attached on both sides of the lens.
I used the ring flash (from Amazon, ca. 70EUR) but I wasn't satisfied with the results (it wasn't bright enough) and then I tried the twin flash.
Basically you can choose between Canon MT-26EX-RT (ca. 1000EUR) and Yongnuo YN-24EX (ca. 200EUR).
Yongnuo will fulfill 90% of your needs due to lack of Highspeed sync (it works up to 1/200s). What I get with this flash is F8-F11 with no problems (all in manual mode, flash power set to 1/16 or 1/32). All the bugs sitting still (even bees on flowers) can be easily photographed sharply. What you won't get are bee's wings in flight (this is the 10% where you pay 800EUR more because Canon is really better).
Originally by user56984. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user56984
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
What you’re seeing is normal in macro photography: at close distances, depth of field becomes extremely shallow.
To get more of the insect sharp:
- Use a smaller aperture, such as f/8 or f/11, to increase depth of field.
- The tradeoff is less light, so you’ll often need more illumination to keep shutter speeds high enough for handheld shooting and moving insects. A macro ring flash or macro twin flash can help a lot.
- If the subject is mostly still, use a tripod and focus manually, ideally with live view, so you can place focus exactly where it matters.
- For static subjects, focus stacking is the best way to get the whole insect sharp: take multiple images focused at different distances, then combine them in post.
Stepping back and cropping can increase depth of field a bit, but it’s not the main solution if you still want strong subject isolation. Manual focus won’t increase depth of field by itself, but it can improve focus placement.
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