First go at Macro

[kevinp]

OK Please dont laugh but I am a Complete beginner and this is my first go at Macro. Nikon D7000 and Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1
Been reading a lot of info on different sites and watching some youtube tutorials ect. but still got a lot to learn.
Any advice or info will be Greatly Appriciated.
Thanks Kevin View attachment 5642

 

[D4NVT]

For me, I'd say the most visually appealing part of a fly is the eyes, and the eyes dont really jump out in these. They look a little under exposed and the lighting isn't great. It might help if you post the exif information too...

 

[Ixybill]

Out of the two I prefer the second - the orangey tinge has gone and you are more level with the fly. How did you get it to stay still enough?

 

[sam51]

hi kevin well done for having a go,
keep up the work.
im in no position to say anything,
as im in the same boat as you,
I have brought a sigma 105 macro lens but have not used it yet,
its a wonderful part of this hobby,
but I think its not a case of buying a macro lens and shoot away,
I think its an art form, and when you get it right its the dogs dangles.
I would love to spend a day with an experience person who is in to macro.
all the best sam.

 

[snagsanger]

Hi Kevin,

It's not bad for a first attempt, so well done for taking these and posting them.

I've got the exact same lens and there is a learning curve. First of all you have to get used to the razor thin DOF which really catches you off guard at first.

From your pictures (with no exif available) I would say you took these shots quite open, maybe even wide open. You need to stop this lens down quite a bit to get the best out of it, your focal depth will also increase so more of the fly's body will be sharp.

When you stop down you might have to raise iso or use external flash, trust me onboard flash is useless with this lens especially if you use the lens hood.

Don't rely too heavily on the autofocus, tbh I turn it off and either pre-focus on a point in space where I hope the subject will land (think flowers, bees, etc) or I simply rock the camera back and forth until I like the focus.

Here are a couple of mine with the same lens, please don't think I'm saying "this is how it should be done", I just want to show you what better technique will get you and trust me you will get better every time you shoot.

Well done and good luck on your journey.

 

[kevinp]

Great Shots mate. Thanks for sharing them.
Think a lot of my problems is lighting, like you say.
What settings were your shots at?

Thanks Kevin

 

[kevinp]

Macro

Here are first shots before crop.
Should I be getting closer then this?? so I do not have to crop the image.
First one f11. ISO 800. 1/60 sec
Second one f11. ISO 2000. 1/60 sec.
Using Lens on Manual, should this Lens get much closer, or is this far about average???

Thanks Kevin

 

[TimmyG]

Kevin, I replied to your PM but completely ignored your question re: cropping, so I'll answer it here. Sorry about that!

Don't be afraid to crop. If you are shooting live subjects and you don't have anything to brace yourself with, then it can be difficult to maintain focus and position of your subject in frame. As a result it may be better (or you'll get a better hit rate) if you leave some space around the subject and crop later.

With a 1:1 macro lens, you may still not be able to fill the frame with your subject, so you will have to crop a bit regardless to get the image you are after. As I said, I am not familiar with your lens, but this may be the average for a 1:1 lens, but I think you may be able to get a bit closer. I doubt switching to manual will help much in this regard, however, although I would still recommend switching to manual if only to improve your focus technique.

I use canon's MP-E macro lens which is unique in the market for offering a 1-5X magnification (sadly there is no nikon equivalent) but this allows me to change the magnification to suit the size of subject I am shooting and fill the frame a bit more if needed. You can achieve the same thing with bellows or extension tubes, but this is usually more of a faff, and you have to estimate the required magnification before approaching your subject.

As for general critique I agree with snagsanger. It looks like your DoF is too shallow, so hardly anything is in focus. That said you state you shot these at F11, which is similar to what I would go with at this magnification (I usually shoot at F13 at 1:1). Looking again at the first two posts it seems to be the edge of the wing that is the focal point, so is a bit in front of where it needs to be; always the eye! This could easily be the autofocus getting it wrong so again, another reason to switch to manual.

EDIT: I've just looked at the uncropped images full size and indeed your focus point is too far forward. Look at the texture on the paper to see where it is and you can see it extends in front of the fly's body rather than over it. Switch to manual then slighty rock yourself forwards and backwards to control the focus point. Practice a lot and good luck!