Mastering Macro Photography
Getting Good At Macro Photography On Your iPhone
Macro photography is a great skill to master. It’s definitely something you’ll want in your toolkit to be a professional photographer in NYC. It allows you to showcase an object from a striking perspective.
Technically, macro photography is when the subject size in the photograph is the same as or even larger than its actual size.
When using an iPhone, this can usually be achieved at a distance of about 3 to 4 inches from the subject – it also depends on the model of your phone.
Your subjects will be, naturally, smaller objects such as flowers, jewellery, feathers, coins, etc. If you are interested in perfecting the art of macro photography on your iPhone, these tips can help you get some great shots.
Learn To Focus
The ability to perfect your focusing plays a huge role in macro photography. It’s not a skill that’s learned easily because, the closer you get to a subject, the more concentration and dexterity you need to get the focus right.
Miss the focus point by just a little and your efforts can be totally wasted. To perfect this art, take your setting off autofocus and practice focusing manually, which will allow you to more control.
Apps such as Camera+ can help you with focusing. Its well-designed manual focus wheel is easy to use,works great and will give your photos a professional.
Close, But Not Too Close
If you place your phone’s camera lens too close to a subject it is going to result in a blurred photograph. Play around with distances to see what works best.
As mentioned above, a 3-4 inch distance is usually perfect with the iPhone. Going under 2 inches can result in out-of-focus pictures.
As a rule of thumb, the closer you get to the subject, the smaller the area in focus will be.
Get The Right Lighting
Successfully photographing macro subjects depends heavily on the lighting available. A dull environment produces blurry, dull images. If there is too much light directed at your subject you run the risk of it looking washed out or having reflections, losing detail and missing the point of this type of photography.
Natural light that does not fall directly on the subject is the best kind of lighting. Head outside or take pictures near a window – but make sure the sun’s rays aren’t directly falling on the subject unless you want a very dramatic look.
Keep Backgrounds Clean
With macro photography, the intention is for all eyes to be on your subject so you should have a clean background without distractions.
As you focus on the object in the foreground, the background will tend to blur, either lightly or heavily, so images with a lot of color or many things in the distance can take away from the subject.
Get A Lens System
Even though the iPhone is known for its ability to shoot macro photos well, a lens system can give your photography an added edge. Smartphone lenses fit over your phone’s lens and can allow you to get detailed macro shots with their magnification features – for example, 7x, 14x and 21x magnification.
Often, each kit comes with multiple lenses which, in addition to macro capabilities, allow you other features such as fisheye and wide-angle views.
Macro photography on the iPhone is an art that can be perfected through trial and error. The more you practice and analyse your photographs, the better you will get at capturing the right shots that look striking and professional.
Author Bio:
I’m Surbhi, a writer based in Hyderabad, India, with interests and writing experience spanning across industries. Over the past decade, I have written for established publications such as ElephantJournal, Jewellerista, SiteProNews.
Although I write on a variety of subjects, fashion writing is one of my favourites and, since graduating from university, I have explored and directed my efforts mainly towards this genre.
