Help with macro shots?

[randyorr]

I just bought a Canon Rebebl XTi DSLR camera. I also bought the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens. I cannot figure out how to get a real good close-up of my corals. I also have a tripod. What distance should I shoot at? If I get too close, it is blurry and if I get too far back...well, then it isn't a closeup. Should I use the macro setting on the camera or another? Someone please help me. This camera was expensive and so far...disappointing.

 

[gregr]

This is a tough kind of photography to master so don't be too hard on yourself or your equipment. You made good choices equipment-wise. That lens has a minimum focus distance of 5.9" so if you get any closer than that your picture will be out of focus.
I'd suggest experimenting with different settings and looking at the results and noting which settings resulted in the look you wanted. Aperture priority is what most people use for close-up photography, so give that a try to start with. Do you know what depth of field is? In case you don't it's describes how much of the image appears in sharp focus. The more depth of field you want the smaller the aperture you need to use. Aperture numbers get bigger as the actual aperture gets smaller, so f16 is a much smaller aperture than f4 and f16 will get you a lot of depth of field whereas f4 will not. A tripod will be necessary as the shutter speeds will be very slow when you use small apertures- water movement will also get you blurry results depending on your subject. Again, experiment with different apertures and shutter speeds. When your shutter speeds get down to 1/30 or so you will get sharper results if you use a 2 second delay [self-timer].
If your shots are coming out too bright or too dark you may need to set exposure compensation; negative compensation when the pic is too bright and positive if it's too dark.
You can increase the ISO if your shutter speeds are too slow but the higher the ISO the grainier the picture will be.
Give it a try and post some pics. Oh yeah- try to shoot squarely into the tank and not at an angle.

 

[MCary]

I hear ya. The learning curve can be very frustrating at first. I thought that all I needed was a nice lens and a dslr and I would be pumping out gorgeous pictures like blazer, greg and doug. Alas, not to be...

First of all, the minimum focal distance is 5.9 inches. You should be able to get that close and still be in focus.

You must be perpendicular as possible with the glass. Angles will distort and blur.

Use a higher f-stop. The camera will probably default to f/2.8 because an aquarium is rather dim. At f/2.8 the DOF is really shallow. Plus the best image quality is in the middle, not at the ends of the f-stop range. I would start at f/11 and go to f/8 if you need more light.

Set your ISO to 800 and see if there is any noise. If there is a little you can correct in post with PS or Noise Ninja or some other program. If too much noise you may need to back it off to 400.

Shut off all pumps and let things settle to avoid motion blur.

Experiment with a stobe if you have one. I use a tether and try the flash from different directions and with and without a diffuser.

This is a freshwater pic, but it shows a picture with the flash held above the aquarium.

If you do not have a nice tripod, if you feel any shimmy, shake, or instability, use the timer on the camera.

Okay, recap. Set the camera on Aperture priority at f/11, ISO 800. Press shutter button half way down. Check shutter speed. If slower than 1/60 (stationary subject) move f-stop to f/8. Fine tune autofocus manually or just use manual focus. Fire! How did it look? If not so good, experiment with the settings. Go to 1200 ISO or 400 ISO, go down to f/5.6, use a flash, back up, move forward. Shoot 100's of pictures. Bracket the exposure. 1/2 stop above and below. You need to find the sweet spot for your particular subject.

Now if you have 20,000 kelvin bulb or want actinic shots, then we have more complications since your camera only white balances to 10,000 K.

Oh crap, I didn't cover white balance because I shoot in raw and white balance in post. I'll leave that to the next poster.

Mike

 

[randyorr]

WOW!! Thanks guys! I guess it is pretty involved. I really appreciate the advice...keep it coming. BTW, I have 14,000K bulbs. Is that part of the problem?

 

[randyorr]

Also, shooting squarely is not really an option for me...I have a bowfront.

 

[gregr]

The bowfront is always going to be an issue in terms of sharpness. Play around with very slight angle adjustments as you look in the viewfinder and with practice you'll see what angle yields the least distortion. 14K lights should be ok color-wise but if you are getting poor color try shooting RAW and adjusting the white balance on the computer-- it's a lot easier than it sounds.

 

[randyorr]

So basically I should be at least 6" away with this macro lens? Also, I have a problem with the image being too dark when I increase the shutter speed to stop the fish from blurring. Can that be adjusted in PS if I shoot in RAW? I have PS CS 8.0.

 

[MCary]

Exposure can be fixed in raw best with DPP that came with your camera. That is assuming you don't want to put out a pile of money for Lightroom or PS CS3. From DPP you can export to PS for finishing touches if needed.

What is your ISO setting. That may be the best place to start. Try 1600 and work your way down if too much noise is experienced. With moving fish, your probably going to have to have the aperture set to f/2.8. This is fine since you shouldn't have a DOF issue. Plus you'll get a nice bokeh (background blur) that will make the fish stand out from its background.

Mike

 

[randyorr]

Which selection on the camera do I use for this stuff? I have a M, Tv, P, and Av. What are these? Sorry I am so stupid with cameras.

 

[randyorr]

I also have an A-DEP. Plus the obvious preset ones.

 

[MCary]

Okay, looks like your starting from scrath.

After I familiarized myself with my camera, I began shooting in M (manual) mode exclusively for 6 months. This was a self training excercise. Me and my GF (my 30d her rebel xt) took off every weekend on trips to photographic type sites. I learned to always check the setting in my viewfinder before firing the shot. It became a habit which serves me well. In M mode you need to set shutter speed and aperature yourself.

Tv, (time priority) is your shutter speed priority. When you use this mode, you choose the length of your shutter speed. When choosing shutter speed, you need to have an idea in your mind what your goal is for this photo. If you want to "stop action" you'll want a faster shutter speed. The faster the subject, the faster the speed. The faster the the speed, the less light allowed in. The camera with its in camera meter will calculate how wide the aperature needs to be to shoot that shot with your chosen shutter speed and ISO.

P is program mode. The camera will program the parameters it sees fit to shoot a normal shot under current conditions without the need of a tripod. In other words, fully automatic.

Av is aperature priority. Lets suppose you want to blur the background as close as possible to your subject with your 100mm macro. You would set your aperture to f/2.8. This is wide open. If you were shooting a bug outside in the sun this would let in alot of light. The camera would decide what shutter speed would be necessary to not blowout the highlights. (Blowing out the highlights is when the light areas of your photo become completely white losing all detail, Blown highlights cannot be recovered because there is not color distinction between pixels for the computer to work with). It will set the shutter for you accordingly. Maybe 1/8000th of a second.

A-Dep is auto or advanced depth of field or something like that. It permits you to have the camera automatically select the hyperfocal distance and appropriate aperture for that shot, so that the nearest and farthest objects in the scene are both in focus. Like if you were taking pictures of flowers 3 feet away with snow capped mountains in the background. You wouldn't want to blur out the mountains. I like it best for landscapes. It takes practice to use it correctly.

I never proof read my posts, so I hope I made sense and answered your questions without patronizing.

Mike

 

[randyorr]

Thanks Mike. I appreciate you not responding to my post like I am a retard, even though I am one! I am already understanding much more.

 

[randyorr]

The Manual setting is great. I can control just about everything. How do I adjust the exposure in manual? My pics are getting better with every shot. I will post a few when I get them where I want them.