Acclaimed war photographer Robert Capa once said, "If your pictures are not good enough, you're not close enough". We guess this applies to taking macro shots as well. Most compact shooters now let you get up close and personal with your subject; some even boast a 1cm Macro mode.
While floras and faunas make great subjects for macro photography, daily items like a bag of candy or the edge of your coffee mug can be interesting too. Some point-and-shoots allow a macro tube to be fitted to it and that will give you an even more extreme shot.
It may sound easy to snap these close-ups, but there are several factors which could ruin your picture. We took these into consideration and came up with a list of tips for shooting great macro shots with your point-and-shoot.
1) Check your focus
A good close-up shot should be detailed and sharp to show the elements of the subject. So check the user manual of your shooter for the minimal focusing distance of the lens in Macro mode. Some point-and-shoots will give an indication on the LCD via a red box if your shooter cannot focus on the subject.
However, your best bet would be to zoom in on the image while in Playback mode and check if the area you focused on is sharp. It would be disastrous to find all the shots are out of focus when you view them on the PC's display.
2) Hold your breath!
Unless you're shooting in a controlled environment like a studio or room, otherwise you are pretty much at the mercy of nature when out in the field snapping macro shots. Gusts of wind or breathing too hard can make your tiny subject sway, causing motion blur.
While there is no way you can stop Mother Nature, you can place your bag or ask your friend to help block and minimise the effect of the wind. For good measure, hold your breath while snapping the shot.
3) A flash of brilliance
Sometimes the weather gets cranky — one moment it's bright and sunny, then just before you press the shutter, the clouds decide to come out and play. Flip the switch and activate the in-built flash, or if you are using a dSLR, attach your hotshoe strobe for better effects. Check your shot and take appropriate action like exposure compensation to reduce the harshness of the light. Read more about using flash here.
Alternatively, wait for a sunny day and clear skies to shoot. Natural light provides the best illumination.
4) Clear up the mess
Try to keep the foreground and background clutter to a minimum because they might steal the focus of your shot.
Human eyes are naturally attracted to bright colours, so shift your shooting angles or remove any objects to keep your snaps clean.
If you're snapping in a park or nature reserve, remember not to pluck or remove any flora.
5) Keep the ISO low, use a tripod
Besides keeping physical clutter to a minimum, you should also reduce digital artefacts which can be distracting.
The colour on a flower petal should appear as it is and not littered with spots of noise.
Use the lowest ISO sensitivity available in your shooter and pair it up with a tripod to counter the slow shutter speed.
To further reduce handshake, use the self-timer mode.
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