When you buy a fast lens with a bright aperture, like f/1.8, you go crazy making photos with a super-shallow depth of field. You photograph flowers where only one stamen is in focus, and you shoot people with super blurry backgrounds, and it’s lots of fun using the thin slice
1:1 Macro lenses give photographers the chance to enter into a magical world; the best part is that you don’t have to break the bank to experience it. Macro photography is a fascinating genre, especially if you’re a curious person. You see, there are hundreds and thousands of objects, bugs,
It’s almost car show season here in the Midwest and shooting them can be quite fun, yet they pose some unique challenges. Many of the techniques and principles used in photographing architecture can be applied to shooting vehicles. Put your camera down It can be overwhelming when you first walk
I first met Mike Moats at the 2015 Out of Chicago Conference. And while I by no means consider myself a macro photographer, I knew there was something special about Mike’s work. His ability to capture the magical tiny worlds are quite simply second to none. Fast-forward six years, the
Photography is fun. Toys are fun. Putting them together just makes sense (and it justifies your juvenile obsessions). If you try using the following ideas to maximize your own macro and close-up photography you’ll find a whole new world that’s always available, no matter the weather. Combine this with Dave
In outdoor portraits, we love shallow depth of field. We love to see the background nicely out of focus so that our subjects stand out better. In fact, we are easily convinced that we need to pay a lot of money for very bright lenses with big apertures so that
The Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 IF-ED lens was released in 2006 but continues to be one of the best macro lenses on the market. I love shooting with this lens and regularly use it for my professional work as both a closeup (macro) and portrait lens. Video and
I’ve got three good reasons why using f/22 won’t get you a sharp picture. However, even though I’ve proven these reasons in my own work, you should go try it yourself. The other day, I wrote a brief introduction to focus stacking (check it out here) and it has spurred
When you buy a fast lens with a bright aperture, like f/1.8, you go crazy making photos with a super-shallow depth of field. You photograph flowers where only one stamen is in focus, and you shoot people with super blurry backgrounds, and it’s lots of fun using the thin slice
Every time you make portraits you should make one shot that pushes your limits or gives you a little thrill. The client may not like it, but it will help fill your soul. I usually use one light from the front to make portraits, but it’s amazing how much impact
There are many lenses emerging for our mirrorless cameras, including macro lenses. The thing is about macro lenses that they are often a very good portrait length, and they often offer incredible edge-to-edge sharpness and contrast, but they are usually not as fast and bright as similar lenses intended for
Summer is Here – Time for Flower Photography I just thought I’d share a quick little lighting technique for your flower photography. Now that spring is past and summer is here, it is almost mandatory that, as photographers, we document the emergence of dormant life in the form of flower
