Macro Schmacro! Need Some Pointers & Feedback Please.

[68lbs]

Ok, was watering the plants last night and spotted this flailing bee on one and thought 'aha, good chance to try some macro on a semi-live insect'. Goddammit, it's bloody difficult. It was a little windy (to say the least) and this bee was struggling to cling onto this plant as it blew in the wind, also the light wasn't great, but this is the best I could manage.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/lee.shephard/IMG_2275.jpg

Please, help me out! The majority are complete arse with little (if anything) in focus.

I shoot on manual and my technique was work out what settings I need, then stand there with shutter button half depressed, left hand continually manually re-focussing, then grabbing a quick shot when I thought the thing was still/in focus. I was also struggling to get the bee looking in a decent direction. I was stood for probably 30 mins.

Exif on the shot above...

Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 100.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.013 s (1/80)
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO equiv: 400
White Balance: Auto
Exposure: Manual

[Graphic-Addict]

Cant help much - not got any experience of macro. Like the shot but find the front leaf too distracting but appreciate too much work to clone out! Keep posting!

[Canon Bob]

Not a bad attempt and windy days are not ideal for bugs on swaying stems.
To improve your DOF, I'd suggest that you should be pushing the aperture out to f/11 or f/16. Of course, this would probably entail using some flash as 1/80 is already a little slow.
When all else fails, hold the stem of the plant and rest the end of the lens on the top of your wrist...the camera and stem will at a fixed distance and focus should be easier to maintain.

Bob

[lepster74]

Although i'm very much a duffer at this photo lark i like the composition of the picture.

It just seems to me the leaf at the bottom right is sharply in focus and the bee is slightly behind it?

More DOF - smaller aperture i spose?

I'd be encouraged if i took that considering the conditions you described.:thumbs:

[RobertP]

Sounds about right to me. Available light macro really is that difficult!

Gets a little easier when you have plenty of light and can use around f11 to f13 as Bob suggests. Your lens may be more usable in AF but I wouldn't even try it with my Sigma and always go for manual focus.

Using a flash gun will let you use small apertures and fast shutters (using high speed sync mode) without having to push the iso. that will get you the sharpest shots but you can tell the difference in the lighting. Having failed so often myself with available light shooting macro I usually now go straight to using the flash.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/839/setup.jpg

[68lbs]

It just seems to me the leaf at the bottom right is sharply in focus and the bee is slightly behind it?

Focus was definitely a little hit and miss. And I'm a little baffled by the fact the leaf appears in focus, the bees back doesn't seem too bad, but the antenae are OOF. Does that mean he moved them?

Is there a 'good' subject to start macro-ing? Bees seem a little too busy in our garden and getting one to stay still seems impossible. Or are the chances of producing something good pretty difficult on the settings I had, and should I be using a much faster shutterspeed and flash every time?

Edit: Was typing reply as Robert posted. Reading now :)

[68lbs]

Using a flash gun will let you use small apertures and fast shutters (using high speed sync mode) without having to push the iso. that will get you the sharpest shots but you can tell the difference in the lighting. Having failed so often myself with available light shooting macro I usually now go straight to using the flash.

Wow, so that's like flash on an arm so that it's pointing at the end of the lens without getting lens shadow?

I don't have one of those, but have just bought a flash.

Again, I presume I'm going to need one of those diffusers on the front if I'm not to over-flash the little bugger?

Having NEVER used flash for anything yet, what kind of shutterspeed should I be looking to use? And should I be shooting TV? Or am I best selecting f16 on AV, and the flash and shutterspeed will both sort themselves out? Or am I best shotting manual still? I think the flash can automatically calculate 'best light' can't it if I shoot manually?

Sorry, soooo many qu's :)

[RobertP]

Available light can be done. pxl8 on here used to post a lot of amazing available light stuff. I remember asking him how he did it. Came down to skill at manual focussing and experience as i remember it....another reason I went with flash :)

[RobertP]

The arm is a Manfrotto flash bracket with a small hama ball joint on the end so the gun can point downwards. The position of the flash head is a few inches above where the lens focuses when near 1:1 magnification. As to settings - manual mode. Just choose the settings you want and let the flash decide how much light is needed for the exposure.

Not done much macro lately (I blame Alby being so good!). heres an old thread done with the flash set up and high speed sync flash. Exif is in the pictures for settings.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=6876

edit. and this one with a 50mm lens taped on the front of the macro lens

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=23303

[andy_fozzy]

It's a good shot. Nice color, composition.

I can't give any advice, as I'm just learning macro too, but just wanted to say you are not on your own! I'm having pretty much the same sort of problem.
(Count yourself lucky anyway. I only got a 50mm Macro lens so I have to be REAL close to the subject!!).

Do you have a tripod?

And completely irrelevant to you I know, but the live view on my sexy Sony a300 helps 1000%!!!

(PS, wonderful shots RobertP :love: )

[RobertP]

(PS, wonderful shots RobertP :love: )

Thanks but if you look at the lighting, the available light shots look so much nicer. they may not have the detail level the small aperture and fast shutter of flash provide but they look so much more natural.

[68lbs]

Do you have a tripod?

I have an old jessops one that I used to put the video camera on to film xmas day pressie opening etc :) Apparently a crap tripod is less use than no tripod though, so not sure how it rates.

A tripod would have hampered me further though. I was continually adjusting my position and angle as the bee moved around, so a tripod would have been next to useless I would have thought.

[68lbs]

Heres an old thread done with the flash set up and high speed sync flash. Exif is in the pictures for settings.
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=6876



Thanks Robert, will try the faster shutterspeed settings and attach the flash. Gotta give the thing a test sometime. What's the worst I can do? Blind a bee? Blind myself, poke the bee with the lens, then get stung? Hmm!

[RobertP]

You can use the tripod as a monopod...which will give you some steadying but more freedom of movement.

[andy_fozzy]

I have an old jessops one that I used to put the video camera on to film xmas day pressie opening etc :) Apparently a crap tripod is less use than no tripod though, so not sure how it rates.

A tripod would have hampered me further though. I was continually adjusting my position and angle as the bee moved around, so a tripod would have been next to useless I would have thought.

Actually, as I posted my message I thought the same as what you did!
That they can make things more difficult.

Robert has already touched on the monopod idea.
I have a mono, and I'm going to give it a try later.