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Charlotte Lowrie is an award-winning freelance journalist and photographer
based in the Seattle area. She was the managing editor of MSN Photos for more
than four years, and she is currently the managing editor of Photoworkshop.com's
Double Exposure online magazine. She is the author of two photography books
and maintains an active editorial and stock photography business.
Macro photography is most often associated with nature and science subjects,
but if you limit your macro work to nature, you’re missing a world of
subjects. A world of everyday objects— antiques, toiletries, sewing supplies,
glassware, and vases, jewelry,and food—make excellent macro photography subjects. And, of course, if
you’re a collector, coins, stamps, and other collectibles are ready subjects
for a documentary macro approach.
The following examples provide a starting point for you to discover the world
of macro photography of everyday objects.
1. Documenting Collectibles
Whether you have a collection of stamps or coins, you can make a visual record
of individual pieces using either a scanner or a macro lens. The visual record
is handy not only for insurance documentation, but also to record the condition
of the item, which is important if you decide to sell or trade pieces in the
collection.
Using a flat-bed scanner is a simple option for documenting some objects. But
some objects can’t be scanned, and you may prefer to photograph the collection.
For flat, lightweight items, it’s easy to mount objects on poster board
using double-sided tape and photograph them in an upright position.
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This image is a composite of separate images of the front and
back of a gold-coin pendant. I hung the pendant on a black poster
board, then set a single light high and slightly to camera left.
I also placed small black reflectors on the left and right of
the coins to help define the fine details. The exposure for both
images at ISO 100 was 1/125 at f/27 with a 180mm f/2.8 macro lens.
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Backgrounds for stamps and coins should be plain with a matte finish. Traditional
background colors are gray, blue, and black, which work well for silver coins.
Gold coins stand out nicely on dark gray or black. Be sure to photograph the
front and back of the coin. Later you can combine both images in Photoshop or
another image-editing program.
To reveal the details of the collectible, set up lighting that is flat, even,
and doesn’t create glare on the object. For example, try placing a light
on either side of the subject that is high and angled down slightly toward the
subject. To avoid hot spots, adjust the intensity of the lights or use one or
two sheets of tracing paper to diffuse the light. I use silver reflectors to
fill shadow areas, and black reflectors to define fine details of coins.
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You may also want to document coins that are part of jewelry pieces
such as this bracelet. A seamless white background worked well
for this image, which was taken at ISO 100, 1/125 at f/19, with
a Canon EF 180mm f/2.8 macro lens.
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2. A Fresh Take On Everyday Stuff
Macro photography offers opportunities to take a creative look at everyday objects,
revealing details and perspectives that are usually overlooked. Macro still-life
photography combines the composition skills of traditional still-life photography
and the precision of beautiful lighting—all done on a smaller-than-usual
scale.
Many macro still-life compositions can be found in existing scenes, and often
they require little or no modification. But it’s also fun to set up still-life
compositions with objects that you have around the home or office. As with all
pictures, macro still-life photos are best when there is a clearly identified
center of interest, careful and thoughtful lighting, and a dynamic composition.
When creating still-life compositions, I usually start with a single object
that has emotional or graphic appeal to me. To build the composition, I add
objects one at a time. Then I check the viewfinder to see how the composition
is taking shape. With such a small area to work with, the number of objects
in the composition is necessarily limited. In many compositions, adding only
one complementary object that appears out-of-focus in the background is enough
for an effective composition.
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Simple graphic compositions also work well for still-life macro
images.
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3. Evoking Time And Place
I recently received several boxes of childhood memorabilia. As I sorted through
old letters, sewing kits, and other mementos from my childhood and young adult
years, I realized how much the different pieces meant to me. And, of course,
many mementos just begged to be photographed. The challenge would be to convey
in the images the feelings that I associated with the item.
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Macro still-life compositions offer very limited visual space.
Often one or two objects strategically placed are enough to complete
a simple composition.
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I started with the old letters exchanged during my time as a military wife
living in Japan. The postage stamps alone recalled the days a 10-cent airmail
stamp literally went a long way. To help create a sense of place and time for
the stamps on these letters, I set them up under a small tungsten lamp to provide
a warm, aged look. Then I experimented with camera-to-subject distance and camera
angle to get the effect of going back in time and the passage of time. The shallow
depth of field played nicely into the setup creating a zooming effect to the
point of sharp focus.
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I wanted to echo the warm memories that these old letters hold
for me. To create warmth, I lit the letters with a small tungsten
bedside lamp. I wanted the image to convey a sense of the passage
of the time, so I set a wide aperture and used selective focus.
The result was a subtle zoom-like effect toward the stamp that
accurately mirrors the feeling I wanted to convey. The exposure
for this picture at ISO 100 was 1/15 at f/3.5 with a Canon EF
180mm macro lens.
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