The ability of getting closer to objects like: plants, insects and animals, not only in nature but also at the studio, that is what Macro Photography is all about.! Macro photography has become a trend, nowadays even more with photos and ideas moving around the internet and social media platforms all the time,
As a photographer, I haven't been able to escape this trend, gender and technique. I fact, I'm have being submerged and trapped by macro photography since the beginning of my career. My favorite item to be photographed have always been flowers; you might be wondering why? I have found in flowers an extend variety of colors, shapes, patterns, sizes; all this kind of elements that sometimes they remain unnoticed during our day to day. In that way, I have been using macro photography as my element of work to get into those diverse details and exploring nature within a closer look.
Today, I'm sharing my latest photography work at the studio, taking you through the process and the elements inside my photos, showings you how you can explore nature in a different way while you can also have fun at the studio.
First, what will you need.?
- Your camera or photography device, a key element. In my case I'm using Nikon
D7500 and a Tamron 90mm f/2.8 MACRO 1:1
- A tripod, this is a must for every photographer. Tripods will help you to set your
camera and work in the subject while having your frame in place all the time.
- Your subject, in this scenario will be the flowers I had choosen.
- A glass bowl or fish tank
- Food colorant, the more the colors you can find the better.
- Water spray
So now, let's move to the studio. Here I have place a black background to create a low key scene for my photos, I'm gonna be using two flashlights and I will set up my camera in a straight line in front of my subject. You can refer to the following studio display to have a better understanding about the placing of the objects.
Now you can start taking some photos, playing with the subject, moving it around, maybe move the camera up, so you have a different perspective. Take as many photos as you would like, once you think you are starting to run out of idea; then move to another set up or start experimenting with extra tools you have. I do use occasionally a water spray to add some drops of water and a feeling of freshness to the flowers.
Here are some of my results:
As I mentioned it before, now that you have focus on this idea and had taken multiple photos, let's move and start exploring with water and color. For this keep the same set up, camera and flashlights stay in place. Now fill the water spray with some water and add food colorant so you can have some drop of water-color on the flowers. Try to think within the color wheel; do you want contrast or you want to use similar colors.?
For my photos, I have decided to use blue since I have pink and red flowers. I will have in mind the idea of "contrast" by having the black background and the combination of blue and red. When you use the water spray, try to go all around your subject to create different sizes in your drops of water.
Without more talk, the results:
Now, why did I mention the fish tank before.? Well, it's the time to use it. Another way to experiment and play around during your photo shoot is by filling the fish tank with water and submerging the flowers. Once you have done it, next step would be to add some colorant drops on the water. For this is convenient to have an assistant that can do this process while you are behind the camera.
For the photos, I did choose a white flower so the colorant will not only affect the water but also the perception of the flower's color. I started by adding red and taking some pictures, then I add some blue so make the red darker and finally I added green to have an almost black tone.
The results will take you through the process;
At the end of the day it's all about exploring, not only exploring nature but also try new things by adding new elements to your compositions. Try stepping out of your confort zone, finding new ideas on internet and social media are valid ways. Look for something you would like try, do it by adding your style to them. Exploring and taking the most of your time in a studio would be the difference in between having one or two great photos or creating an excellent portfolio so share.
Comments