coffee
08-02-2009, 12:59 AM
I’ve been asked what setting I’m using for my macro images so I thought I would post this link.
First off, when doing macro shots, I always shoot in manual. The main reason for this is because when shooting with an aperture of 13 mostly, and using flash, the camera will still shoot the image with very little light coming into the lens. And if you are in aperture priority let’s say, the shutter speed will be way to slow at f13 to get good focus do to camera shake or a moving subject if shooting insect, or plants in the wind. This is all assuming you are hand holding like I do most of the time. And when in manual and have flash attached, the flash change it level of flash to do it's best to expose the shot properly assuming you aren't too close, or too far away from the subject. Meaning not outside the flashes effective range.
My go to settings for my 40d, 100mm macro and 430EX is: Aperture at f13, shutter at 250. 250 is high enough to combat camera shake with the 100mm, and stop most movement from insect and anything what is moving due to wind and such. It’s not fast enough how ever to bring things like bee wings into focus if they are flying, so it gives a great sense of movement, but still keep the bee in focus. Here is a shot of what that might look like. I always start with these setting and adjust a little depending on the conditions.
I check the histogram while shooting for proper exposure. If it's over or under-exposed, I adjust the flash compensation on the flash unit itself.
If not using flash, of course the camera setting would change. You would certainly be using a larger aperture, and a faster shutter in most cases.
First off, when doing macro shots, I always shoot in manual. The main reason for this is because when shooting with an aperture of 13 mostly, and using flash, the camera will still shoot the image with very little light coming into the lens. And if you are in aperture priority let’s say, the shutter speed will be way to slow at f13 to get good focus do to camera shake or a moving subject if shooting insect, or plants in the wind. This is all assuming you are hand holding like I do most of the time. And when in manual and have flash attached, the flash change it level of flash to do it's best to expose the shot properly assuming you aren't too close, or too far away from the subject. Meaning not outside the flashes effective range.
My go to settings for my 40d, 100mm macro and 430EX is: Aperture at f13, shutter at 250. 250 is high enough to combat camera shake with the 100mm, and stop most movement from insect and anything what is moving due to wind and such. It’s not fast enough how ever to bring things like bee wings into focus if they are flying, so it gives a great sense of movement, but still keep the bee in focus. Here is a shot of what that might look like. I always start with these setting and adjust a little depending on the conditions.
I check the histogram while shooting for proper exposure. If it's over or under-exposed, I adjust the flash compensation on the flash unit itself.
If not using flash, of course the camera setting would change. You would certainly be using a larger aperture, and a faster shutter in most cases.