Detailed users guide for taking GREAT macro images

Discussion in 'Aquarium Photography' started by maxalmon, Jan 15, 2009.

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  1. maxalmon

    maxalmon Flamingo Tongue

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    I'm going to create a user guide for DSLR camera people, It'll get a little detailed as I'm going to share a lot of the little tricks of the trade to capture good quality images. Even if you don't have a DSLR, you can still use a lot of the information to capture good images.

    This will be broken down into a step by step process. Here are the sections that I'll cover.

    Cleaning the tank glass and camera lens
    Using a tripod and various types of tripods
    Using a remote shutter release -> why it's critical
    Using the correct lens
    Extensions Tubes
    Prepping the tank
    Reflection reduction and visual image reduction
    Creating a background stage
    Lighting for the shot
    Positioning the coral
    Camera image angle relative to tank glass -> why it's critical
    fstop settings
    ISO settings
    _________________
    My equipment
    Nikon D700
    Nikon 105mm VR Macro
    Nikon SB600
    Sigma 24-70mm EX DG
    Sigma 70-200mm EX DG
     
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  3. maxalmon

    maxalmon Flamingo Tongue

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    Cleaning the tank glass and camera lens

    Clean the tank glass on the outside and the INSIDE, I can't stress this enough.

    There is a very thin, almost invisible film of algae on the tank walls, even though it's not very visible, it's enough to cause minor focus issues with most autofocus systems, instead of the focus ending on the subject, it ends up focusing on the tank wall. Even if your using manual focus, if you don't clean the glass on the inside it may still cause some visual noise and the images may lack crispness and details.

    Right before I take a series of photos, I clean the glass with a mag float and I will continue to clean the glass on the inside of the tank every 15 minutes or so.

    You also need to clean the camera lens!!!...Even PAS cameras need the lens cleaned, again this is critical if you want clean, crisp images.
    Be very carefull when cleaning lens, most have a anti-reflective coating that can be easily damaged and the lens is ruined if you damage this coating.

    Most manufactures make a liquid cleaner. I use the one from Nikon and have very little to no streaking, you also need a CLEAN micro-fiber cloth and some swabs for wiping the lens.
     
  4. maxalmon

    maxalmon Flamingo Tongue

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    Use a Tripod
    The use of a tripod is critical for any type of macro photography, there is simply no way you can hold your hand steady enough to capture macro details. I would guess that 99% off all my images, even the ones that are not macro are taken with the use of a tripod.

    Most people think that all you have to do is open the tripod and slap a camera on top of it, party true, but there are minor issues that can cause the tripod to move or vibrate, this will equate to visual noise or image blur.

    For really exceptional detail, you can also use a "macro slider" this attaches to your camera and then you attach the assembly to your tripod, it allows you to move the camera horizontal and lateral in ultra fine increments without having to move the tripod. They can usually be found online for around $30.

    This is going to sound really weird, but if your tripod is sitting on carpet, don't stand near the tripod when you release the shutter, as your body weight will cause minor movement of the carpet and padding, you can see this if you setup your tripod, stand with your feet close to the legs and shift your weight from one foot to the other, you see your tripod move left and right, even though it's minor, ANY movement while the shutter is open will cause visual noise and image blurr. When I have an image staged and ready to capture, I step about 3 feet away from the tripod and release the shutter.


    1)Open the tripod legs so that they are completely open
    2)Before shutter is released, step away from the tripod if it's on carpet
    3)If you don't have a tripod, use a tabletop or anything stable
     
  5. maxalmon

    maxalmon Flamingo Tongue

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    Use a remote shutter release or the camera's self timer CRTICAL > Did I mention that it's CRITICAL
    The only time I manually press the shutter release is if I'm hand holding the camera. Whenever you press the shutter button, no matter how gently you try and press, you will cause camera vibration or movement. Granted, most people will not notice this in their images, but when your doing highly detailed macro work, you start to notice very small things. The goal is to eliminate all the area's that can cause image problems.

    If you don't have a remote control shutter release, just use the timer thats built into the camera.

    I can't stress the use of a self timer or remote shutter release enough, this will make a HUGE difference in your images
     
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  6. coral reefer

    coral reefer Giant Squid

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    Thanks for the info and insight! I still have to play around with my macro setting on my Cannon Powershot s51s
     
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  7. maxalmon

    maxalmon Flamingo Tongue

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    Using a macro lens and using a lens thats not designed for macro

    The great debate, macro lens or no macro lens. If your really, really serious about macro photography you have no choice but to go with a dedicated macro lens. I'm using a Nikon 105mm VR Macro lens, the lens cost $750. The quality of the optics makes the lens well worth it, but this is not to say that you can't use the inexpensive 18-55mm lens that comes with most camera kits.

    The 18-55mm lens is a decent lens, it's a general quality lens, optics are ok.
    I've used this lens when I got my first DSLR and was able to capture some really nice images, but looking back, there is a very clear difference in image quality

    When I first got my camera, I made the mistake of thinking the Nikon VR 55mm-200mm lens would solve my problems that I was having with the 18-55 lens, so I ordered it only to find out that yeah, the optics were better, I just had to stand 5 feet away from the tank in order to get the blasted thing to focus and then I had to zoom in.....But I made the 55-200mm lens work for a few weeks and even though I had to squeeze inbetween my washer and dryer because my frag tank was in the laundry room and I had to be about 4 feet away....Point is, you can make just about any lens work, even if you do have to eventually go to the extreme of one day waking up and deciding that your going to drag the washing machine out into the garage because you really need some space to setup a tripod....Totally serious.

    So I went from a 18-55mm lens that came with my camera kit
    Then got a 55-200mm VR lens thinking that because somebody had told me I needed to get a 105mm macro lens, my thinking was hum, 55----105---200 so the lens would work...LOL

    Point is, if you don't have a dedicated macro lens, you can make just about any lens work, might not be as large of an image or as detailed, but they will work.

    read the next section if you don't have a macro lens
     
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  9. maxalmon

    maxalmon Flamingo Tongue

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    Extension Tubes
    Extension tubes are designed to enable a lens to focus closer than its normal set minimum focusing distance. Getting closer has the effect of magnifying your subject (making it appear larger in the viewfinder and in your pictures). They are exceptionally useful for macro photography, enabling you to convert almost any lens into a macro lens at a fraction of the cost while maintaining its original optical quality.

    Extension tubes are simply spacers that fit between your camera lens and the camera body, they are hollow and have no optics.

    Most extension tubes come in a set of 3, think of it this way, when you move the camera lens farther away from the camera sensor, the image becomes larger, most extension tube sets cost $80 to $180 and are a very inexpensive way of turning a 18-55mm lens into a macro lens

    Google camera extension tubes
    _________________
     
  10. maxalmon

    maxalmon Flamingo Tongue

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    forgot to mention this, the images your camera captures are only as good as the quality of the glass in the lens. I would easily spend more on a fantastic lens and less on a camera body
     
  11. maxalmon

    maxalmon Flamingo Tongue

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    Prepping the tank

    If your doing macro work, you have to turn the waterflow off

    I have all my pumps on a power strip so that I can turn just the pumps off. It's important that the water has no movement when shooting soft, fleshy type corals as just the slightest movement will cause image blur.

    Before I do a series of images, I plan ahead for what images I want to capture so that I can do the photography in a short period of time and get the pumps turned back on. Most of the time I spend about half an hour with the pumps off
     
  12. bc219

    bc219 Millepora

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    Extensions Tubes ???

    What is that?