Home Education Macro Photography
by Alex Cooke 1 Comment
Macro photography opens up a world of detail that often goes unnoticed. Small subjects like fungi, moss, and intricate textures can turn into striking images when framed properly. But working at this level presents its own set of challenges, from finding the right focal length to dealing with distortion in certain lenses.
Coming to you from Courtney Victoria, this thoughtful video explores how close-up filters and extension tubes can improve macro photography. Victoria explains how keeping a close-up filter in her bag has helped her capture fleeting subjects that would otherwise be missed. She demonstrates how using a close-up filter on a telephoto lens reduces the minimum focusing distance, allowing her to frame subjects more effectively. Instead of using a wider focal length, which would include distracting background elements, she uses this setup to create tighter, more intentional compositions.
Victoria also compares close-up filters with extension tubes, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. Close-up filters are quick and easy to use, making them a great tool for on-the-go photography. However, they don’t offer the same flexibility as extension tubes, which allow for even closer focusing. She also points out that some lenses, especially zoom lenses, can introduce noticeable distortion when paired with extension tubes. Understanding these trade-offs is key to choosing the right tool for different situations.
The video also takes viewers into the field, where Victoria searches for compositions among chaotic natural scenes. She discusses the challenge of simplifying an image when elements like branches and overlapping textures make it difficult to isolate a subject. While finding a subject is rarely an issue in macro photography, finding the right composition can be. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Victoria.
If you would like to continue learning about macro photography, be sure to check out "Mastering Macro Photography: The Complete Shooting and Editing Tutorial With Andres Moline!"
Topics:
Education
Macro Photography
1 Comment
Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.
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1 Comment
Paul Kister
Alex a nice introduction to Courtney Victoria’s latest video.
I have enjoyed watching Courtney growth though her channel as both a photographer, videographer and presenter over the years and this to date is one of her best videos yet. I must say I was truly impressed in this vlog as to her results with the close-up attachment/diopter to the front element of her zoom lens nonetheless. As to the use of extension tube(s) years ago I was told they don’t work on zoom lenses. At the time all I owned were prime lenses, so I’d never experimented. I’ve been a real proponent of the use of extension tube(s), and used the one designed for my 50mm macro lens, with all my telephotos from 85mm to 400mm. As I have read recently extension tubes will work on zoom lenses at the lens’ full most extended mm, i.e. 105-200mm @ the 200mm end. Courtney keep up your best efforts and congratulations on your growing networking.
Paul Kister / https://fstoppers.com/profile/279222
