December 25, 2015 – Two weeks ago I purchased my Canon 100mm Macro Lens. I wanted to try out Macro photography, that is, taken good large photos of the very small. Things which most people do not or cannot see. I like taking photos of the usual. In this case, it is the usual but in a large way.
The lens works well, but there are a few things which bare some patients. The depth of field is very shallow. So that the closer one gets to the subject of the photo, the less depth of field one has to work with. This means that a lot of the subject of the photo is not in focus. A lot of it cannot be in focus.
I also find that light is important. With little light the photo is dark and out of focus. This is sometimes due to the small exposure time and slow shutter speed. And even when I think I have those two things alright, any camera shake will also result in a fuzzy photo.
So I have learned to work with plenty of light, a fast shutter speed and use a tripod. The tripod and shutter quick release works wonders. I still have a shallow depth of field, but that is where the next paragraph comes into play.
I will have to employ photo staking to ensure that my macro photography subjects are totally in focus. This involves taking a series of photos either from the back of the subject to the front or the front to back. Each photo will perfectly focus on part of the subject and when all the photos are put together, a nice clear and focused photo should result.
I am doing the preliminary research right now to purchase the right equipment. What I will really need is a camera mount with an incremental slider.
If I get good enough I hope to sell a few photos online. Let’s see how this goes.