Macro photography, sometimes referred to as 'close up photography', is a style of photography which focuses on the tiny details (the close ups) of things. It has been popular for years with conventional SLR photographers, but did you know that it can also be done on your smartphone?
Asides from creating interesting and sometimes artistic looking closeups of everyday items, learning how to do macro photography can help anyone who works with detailed things. Examples include chefs, trying to share every delicious detail of their latest culinary creation, electronics engineers working with tiny circuit-boards, and model makers.
However, to do macro photography, you'll require a little extra equipment (though you won't have to shell out to much). There's another catch too - you'll need a reasonably good lens on your smartphone. I recommend using an iPhone 4/4S, which is our example, due to the relatively powerful lens in the camera.
Here are three ways to do macro photography.
Method 1. "Pretty Close Up"
Requires: Stable surface, Photography app (optional), tripod (optional)
This is the lowest tech solution, and will get you the least extreme closeups, but it requires no new equipment and can be a good place to start.
Though theoretically you can get around the equipment required for this one by resting your camera on something sturdy and focusing on nearby subjects, the additional stability of the tripod gives you a lot more flexibility with the kind of angles you can shoot from.
Our recommended photography app is Camera+
Camera+ allows you much more control over the image composition in your iPhone. Using its Touch Focus and Touch Exposure options, you can tweak the exposure and focus just the way you like it. No more having to rely on the iPhone trying to do it for you.
This also gives you more options than using the native AF/AE lock function on the iPhone (accessed by tapping and holding the region of the screen you want focus and exposure to set to until 'AE/AF Lock' appears at the bottom of the screen)
Camera+ also provides a built in Stabiliser function, which can help reduce lens shake in longer exposure pictures.
Some tips
- Stability is key - if you haven't got a tripod, try to find a stable surface that you can rest the iPhone on, and which doesn't cause you any physical strain.
- Good lighting is also important - don't use the built in iPhone flash unless you have to. It tends to blow out the highlights on images. Instead try to use ambient light or set up an artificial light source, such as a lamp, nearby.
- Look closely at photographic subjects you wouldn't normally consider - often the most unusual details can be found in the most mundane things. Explore.
- If you can shell out the small cost for Camera+, try it. It provides you much more control.
Method 2. "More Close Up"
Requires: Lens attachment, Tripod, Photography app (optional)
For this one I used an Eye Scope from Thumbs Up, which provides an additional level of zoom via the external lens attachment. The process is much the same as Method 1, except you'll be relying on your lens attachment, as oppose to the built in iPhone lens, to take the images.
This means
- Engage AE/AF Lock and use the lens attachment to set the zoom and focus.
- Or adjust exposure settings on Camera+ and use the lens attachment to set the zoom and focus.
- Ensure you have the correct amount of distance between you and your photographic subject. Some lens attachments, such as the one I'm using, are a little like telephoto lenses in the sense that they can't focus on objects that are very nearby (mine can't focus closer than 3m!).
Method 3. "Really Close Up"
Requires: Microscopic lens attachment, Photography app (optional)
This technique can get you even more extreme closeups than the previous one, but there's no getting around the fact that you'll need the equipment for this one.
This equipment being a microscopic lens attachment for your iPhone. I used a Microscope Lens from Thumbs Up, which has 100x zoom.
The process is pretty intuitive really. Plug the microscope attachment into the front of your iPhone and explore some textures.
If possible, I'd recommend testing a number of different microscope attachments, as the Thumbs Up's LED light tends to cast all images in an eerie blue glow. Also the aperture of the microscopic image is really quite small (as you can see in the screenshots).
Some tips:
- Perhaps obvious, but ensure you've put the battery in your microscope attachment, as you'll need the light it provides to actually see the surfaces you are shooting (using the microscope attachment casts a shadow over what you are looking at)
- You need to hold the iPhone quite still for this one, as even the tiniest motion can cause you to miss that interesting detail you've found on the surface of something
- Try to find a stable surface to put the things you want to examine on. This is one of the reasons research scientists use petri dishes and flat film surfaces to examine objects.
And now that you know, why not give it a try?
I hope you discover something truly exciting in your explorations of that detailed world of the tiny things...