Why is close-up photography called “macro” instead of “micro”?
Asked 5/15/2015
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I’m confused by the terminology. Usually the prefix “micro” refers to very small things, so I would expect close-up photos of tiny subjects to be called “micro” photography. Instead, photography uses terms like “macro lens” and “macro photography.” How did that naming develop, and why is “macro” considered the correct term?
Originally by user39852. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user39852
11y ago
2 Answers
21
You are correct that the term "macro" means large scale (e.g. macroeconomics), however its use in photography is relative to microphotography, that is imaging using microscopes.
The tradition definition of a macro lens is one that can achieve a 1:1 magnification, which means the image projected onto the recording medium is life size. So for a common APS-C camera you can fill the frame with an object about 22mm wide, but you won't be able to get any closer to the object.
A 22mm wide object is absolutely huge compared to what you would be typically looking at with a microscope, which could be hundredths of a millimetre. Hence such an image is a macrophotograph when compared to a microphotograph.
Regular photography of course regularly deals with subjects orders of magnitude larger, but there's no need to distinguish a regular "non-macro" photograph. So the name "macro" stuck and began to lose its meaning, especially when it comes to "super-macro" lenses which achieve greater than 1:1 magnification.
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
In photography, “macro” is used in contrast to microphotography. Microphotography refers to imaging through a microscope or photographing subjects so small they typically require magnification beyond normal camera use. By comparison, macro photography deals with subjects that are still visible to the naked eye, just photographed very close and at high magnification.
A traditional macro lens is often defined as one that can reach 1:1 magnification, meaning the subject is recorded life-size on the sensor or film. That’s large relative to microscope work, even if the subject itself is small.
So the term isn’t saying the subject is large in everyday terms; it means the subject is being rendered on a larger scale relative to microscopic imaging. In other words:
- micro: microscope-scale subjects/images
- macro: close-up photos of small but still naked-eye-visible subjects
That’s why “macro photography” became the standard term rather than “micro photography.”
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