I have a Nikon D3000 DSLR and a Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro telephoto zoom lens. I'm having a bit of a difficult time getting really good macro shots of things like flowers, leaves, wild berries, etc. I have my lens switched to macro and manual focus, but most of my shots are coming out extremely blurry and some even mostly white. I have managed to get only a handful of decent macro shots. A friend of mine has the same camera and lens as I do and her macros look absolutely amazing. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. My shots come out the worst when I have my lens set to manual focus and the dial on my camera set to M mode. I'm definitely an amateur and am new to macro. Could anyone give me advice? Are there certain settings I need to change on my camera? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
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Best settings for macro shots?
- Thread starter jwemt81
- Start date
Ideally you should use a tripod for macro shots. If you're not that may be your problem. Since your friend has the same gear as you do why don't you just ask her how she shoots her macros. Better yet, go out and photograph with her and learn first hand. It could be a combination of your settings and technique.
I have already asked her and she does not use a tripod and she also uses manual mode. She is out of town for the next couple of weeks, so I can't ask her about the more specific camera settings until she gets back, which is why I came here seeking tips.
puffthefish
Forum Enthusiast
Crank the aperture high. When you are shooting macro, the DOF can be measure in millimeters.
Get a good grip on your camera, a tripod is best. With such a narrow range of focus, things like the wind, subject movement, and being slightly off balance will make huge differences.
I skip manual focusing and instead use af-c and expect to throw a lot of pics away
Get a good grip on your camera, a tripod is best. With such a narrow range of focus, things like the wind, subject movement, and being slightly off balance will make huge differences.
I skip manual focusing and instead use af-c and expect to throw a lot of pics away
For the sharpest macros, you need to eliminate as much camera shake as possible.
The first thing to do is to use a good tripod.
It is a very rare person who can take macros without one.
Use a remote shutter release and, if your camera provides for it, either use mirror lock-up or shutter delay, as well.
Although it sounds like the wrong thing to do---turn OS or VR or whatever your lens manufacturer calls their image stabilization OFF, if using a lens that has image stabilization. If you don't, then your macro pictures will not be as sharp.
Use spot metering, instead of center weighted or matrix.
Focusing manually is best.
The difference between a sharply focused and slightly blurred macro can be difficult to see on a tiny LCD or in your viewfinder. Try Live View and zoom in on the LCD image to see if your focus is as sharp as possible.
Some people use macro rails to be able to make minute adjustments to the focus, by moving the camera ever so slightly closer or further from the subject.
Experiment to find which apertures are sharpest on your lens and use those whenever possible.
You can shoot in A mode or S mode, so that the camera will choose the matching shutter speed or aperture for proper exposure.
More light is usually better and serious macro shooters often invest in a ring flash.
Hope this helps you out.
The first thing to do is to use a good tripod.
It is a very rare person who can take macros without one.
Use a remote shutter release and, if your camera provides for it, either use mirror lock-up or shutter delay, as well.
Although it sounds like the wrong thing to do---turn OS or VR or whatever your lens manufacturer calls their image stabilization OFF, if using a lens that has image stabilization. If you don't, then your macro pictures will not be as sharp.
Use spot metering, instead of center weighted or matrix.
Focusing manually is best.
The difference between a sharply focused and slightly blurred macro can be difficult to see on a tiny LCD or in your viewfinder. Try Live View and zoom in on the LCD image to see if your focus is as sharp as possible.
Some people use macro rails to be able to make minute adjustments to the focus, by moving the camera ever so slightly closer or further from the subject.
Experiment to find which apertures are sharpest on your lens and use those whenever possible.
You can shoot in A mode or S mode, so that the camera will choose the matching shutter speed or aperture for proper exposure.
More light is usually better and serious macro shooters often invest in a ring flash.
Hope this helps you out.
Thanks for the info! My husband just informed me that we do have a brand new tripod and I either didn't know we had it or had totally forgotten about it! I guess he bought one for us several months ago and we've just never used it. We're going to break it out and try it. Hopefully that will help us out!
You have a number of different issues, so break them down and tackle them one at a time. Reset all setings to factory default (check your manual for this). Switch to fully automatic mode. Take a few shots of your target and note the settings. Ignore the focus problem. The images should be OK and you can make a note of the settings used. Now switch to Manual mode and use the same settings. You should get very similar results that should sort your exposure issues. Next you should take a series of shots using a decent tripod or beanbag. OK, that's the shake issues sorted. Finally work on achieving good focus. This is not easy at first and doesn't get much easier. The factory settings and auto mode will give you a baseline and get you started on the right path without worrying about what settings you may have inadvertently messed up. Take your time and good luck. I also suggest the 'A' mode would be better than 'M' to begin with as there are fewer variables to juggle.
Reilly Diefenbach
Forum Pro
I'm using mostly f19 and manual focus handheld for the fast moving critters. Flash built in or remote or both makes them pop.
Brev00
Forum Pro
Are the shots clear and focused when setting up the shot in the viewfinder? If not, you might be shooting closer than the minimum focusing distance of your lens. Not even a macro lens will focus closer than this distance. If the view is nice and clear, you might have a zoom that slides when it is not level. Whether these are the issues or not, a nice tripod will enable you to precisely test out the lens and try all available strategies. Another possible problem is if the shutter speed you select is too low. Without a tripod, you need a pretty fast shutter speed to avoid camera shake with a lens that long--maybe 1/400--especially if it does not have vr. Even if the lenses are the same, quality varies and even if the shutter speeds are the same, hand holding steadiness varies. So good luck and report back with your successes.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/brev00
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/brev00
winparkman
Senior Member
Macro photography follows all the same rules as any other photography. You need light and you get it either with shutter speed and/or aperture. If shooting on a tripod, you have more leeway with these settings. If not, shutter speed must be fast enough to minimize or negate shake. You might do something like multiply the focal length by 1.5, so if your setting is 100mm, then shoot at 1/150s or there about.
With aperture, the more opened up (like f/5.6) the more light admitted but the shallower your depth of field. So, you have to choose a very specific part of your subject to be in sharp focus and allow the rest of the image to fade into blur. You can get some beautiful flower shots that way. If you stop down (like f/16), then you have a deeper depth of field but you are letting in a lot less light increasing the likelihood that you will need to use a tripod.
I hope this helps you. I shoot a lot of flower macros and there isn't a good one-size fits all setting.
OK, not so purely a hobby.
With aperture, the more opened up (like f/5.6) the more light admitted but the shallower your depth of field. So, you have to choose a very specific part of your subject to be in sharp focus and allow the rest of the image to fade into blur. You can get some beautiful flower shots that way. If you stop down (like f/16), then you have a deeper depth of field but you are letting in a lot less light increasing the likelihood that you will need to use a tripod.
I hope this helps you. I shoot a lot of flower macros and there isn't a good one-size fits all setting.
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OK, not so purely a hobby.
nfpotter
Senior Member
I'll give a slightly different opinion.
1 - get a macro lens. They're MADE for macro, and the one you're using doesn't give a 1:1 reproduction ratio, so not "true" macro, although you could call it "close-up". That's not a biggie, the final image is all that matters, but just sayin'...
2 - shoot Manual Mode, manual focus. Period. Set your shutter speed at 1.5 times the focal length in use (or faster if you can), aperture to somewhere between f/11 and f/32 (you'll probably use f/16 to f/22 a lot). Auto-ISO on. Use a flash, built in works fine for most stuff, but a bigger flash and diffuser of some sort are better. Or make a homemade diffuser or bounce card for the built-in flash, pretty easy.
3 - yeah, yeah, like everyone says, tripods and beanbags are great. I never use them. Stuff rarely stays still long enough to set all that up, and most of the time you can't get close enough with a tripod. Shoot hand-held, and focus by moving your body closer and farther away, looking through the viewfinder. Takes practice.
4 - PRACTICE. Play with exposure. Maybe you need to up the flash output by +2EV, maybe you need 1/500 because the flower the bee is on is swaying slightly in the wind, etc, etc.
Here are 2 examples. Both are hand-held, and using the on-board flash. The 1st is with my Sigma 105mm Macro, which gives me 1:1, the bee was TINY, and the flower was moving around in the wind a good bit. The 2nd is MUCH trickier. It's a 3:1 (approx.) shot with a reverse-mount Nikkor 24mm lens. The greater the reproduction ratio, the smaller your DOF and working distance will be, so you have to move your body VERY carefully. Plus, with the lens reverse-mounted, you have to use a finger to hold the aperture arm fully open, right up to the last second before you take the shot, because when the lens is stopped down to f/11 or more, the viewfinder is pretty much completely dark. The grasshopper is less than an inch long. As you can see, I didn't QUITE nail the eyes in focus, but pretty close.
1 - get a macro lens. They're MADE for macro, and the one you're using doesn't give a 1:1 reproduction ratio, so not "true" macro, although you could call it "close-up". That's not a biggie, the final image is all that matters, but just sayin'...
2 - shoot Manual Mode, manual focus. Period. Set your shutter speed at 1.5 times the focal length in use (or faster if you can), aperture to somewhere between f/11 and f/32 (you'll probably use f/16 to f/22 a lot). Auto-ISO on. Use a flash, built in works fine for most stuff, but a bigger flash and diffuser of some sort are better. Or make a homemade diffuser or bounce card for the built-in flash, pretty easy.
3 - yeah, yeah, like everyone says, tripods and beanbags are great. I never use them. Stuff rarely stays still long enough to set all that up, and most of the time you can't get close enough with a tripod. Shoot hand-held, and focus by moving your body closer and farther away, looking through the viewfinder. Takes practice.
4 - PRACTICE. Play with exposure. Maybe you need to up the flash output by +2EV, maybe you need 1/500 because the flower the bee is on is swaying slightly in the wind, etc, etc.
Here are 2 examples. Both are hand-held, and using the on-board flash. The 1st is with my Sigma 105mm Macro, which gives me 1:1, the bee was TINY, and the flower was moving around in the wind a good bit. The 2nd is MUCH trickier. It's a 3:1 (approx.) shot with a reverse-mount Nikkor 24mm lens. The greater the reproduction ratio, the smaller your DOF and working distance will be, so you have to move your body VERY carefully. Plus, with the lens reverse-mounted, you have to use a finger to hold the aperture arm fully open, right up to the last second before you take the shot, because when the lens is stopped down to f/11 or more, the viewfinder is pretty much completely dark. The grasshopper is less than an inch long. As you can see, I didn't QUITE nail the eyes in focus, but pretty close.
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