Hey hey my lovely readers, how are you today? In this article, I will show you how to take professional pictures in macro photography. To take professional and quality macro photos depends on some elements such as composition, lighting, exposure, and depth of field.
Applying correctly altogether will help you take captivating images, but in some cases, you only have to rely on a few of those elements.
If you are just starting in macro photography, this article will help you boost your skills and take better pictures. Below are some awesome tips on how to take professional pictures.
Choose Raw format over JPEG
Before you start shooting macros, set your camera image quality to Raw format. You will be able to edit your images much easier later. When you’re shooting in Raw, every information recorded by the sensor is kept in the file. In JPEG files the images are compressed and most of the data is lost.
A JPEG file format only captures up to 256 levels of brightness, on the other hand, Raw file formats can capture up to 16,000. This means higher quality images. A Raw file isn’t an image file, don’t mistake it, it’s only information gathered by the sensor and delivered to the memory card. This means that you are the one that chooses what to do with your files in the final process.
If you try to edit a JPEG file format a couple of times, you will lose most of the information, and in the worst case, image quality.
Keep ISO low
Set the ISO between 100 and 800 and play with shutter speed and aperture if needed, for best quality. A higher number ISO’s are ideal for nocturnal shots only. But, in macro photography, if you shoot with higher numbers you risk getting your images noisy and therefore lose quality. Editing out the noise from the image will be difficult afterward, and will ruin your image.
Put some light on your subjects
To get higher quality and professional-looking photos, illuminate your subjects or put them in an illuminated spot. You can also use flash, but sometimes the images will come out with shadows.
Use a flash diffuser when you go outside in the harsh sun. The brightness of the sun can create deep shadows on your subjects, especially when you take pictures of flowers.
Practice focus stacking
Another great tip on how to take professional pictures is focus stacking. Focus stacking is when you take several pictures of a subject in the same position with different focal points.
Try to put a focal point as near as possible to the other point to make your subject come out as sharp as possible. How many images you will take, depends, especially on the size of the subject.
Use a tripod
If you are just starting in macro photography, use a tripod to take your pictures, to avoid shaking the camera in your hand. Even expert photographers use tripods to be able to take images as stable as possible. For macro photography use a flexible tripod to shoot subjects on low ground.
Edit your images
Edit your images in editors like Photoshop and Lightroom. For macro images, adjust noise reduction to make your photos look more clear, adjust sharpness if needed, adjust exposure if needed, brightness, contrast for Raw files.
A Raw file format lacks contrast and will look flat without editing. But will give you the freedom to edit the file as you wish. Because it has all the information and data recorded by the sensor in the file.
Use manual focus
By using manual focus, you can focus more precisely on your subject. The auto-focus mode will search for focal points and in most cases, it focuses on the part that is closer to the lens.
Composition
Try to position your subject in the image in a way that will look more attractive. If you are a beginner, use the rule of thirds to help you in positioning elements in the frame.
Summing up
Experiment with every tip from this article and choose one or more to investigate further. Only by practicing, you will be able to take professional-looking photos.
Know your camera first and play with the settings to get used to it. Proper camera settings will help you make more quality images that will need less editing.
Have any questions? Please let me know by commenting below, and I will be more than happy to help you out. Be safe and take care.
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There are a lot of factors to consider when taking a picture that will look professional enough and this is fortunately something I’ve learnt from reading your article and so doing my own research on photography which has been somewhat of a hobby of mine for some time now. The tips you’ve given in your article will go a long way in helping a person achieve a perfect picture
Thank you Sean and I’m glad that you learnt something from the article. These are only few tips, there are a lot more that make your photos look professional.
This is another interesting article here. I think all photographers need this information. During my daughter’s last birthday party, the pictures the photographer sent were not it atall. Initially I was mad at him but I later waved it off. Even pictures on phone were better than the professional ones he did. Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome Elizabeth. Another fact about taking professional pictures is creativity. Maybe he wasn’t creative enough. Thank you for stopping by.
Thanks for sharing this helpful content. I enjoyed your blog. . photo editing services.
Thank you for your kind words. You can also check out my other articles.