Macro Bees: Ten Tips For Learning MacroPhotography On The Fly

After a few months with the very tight EFS 60mm f2.8 Macro USM from Canon, quality photos are few and far between.

But lately, some of my shots of early bee activity, are showing signs of life, like a bee emerging from a long, cold, snowy winter. If anything, I have learned to expect failure, and be grateful for success. Another aspect of macro, is that depth of field will test your nerve. Applying what we have learned about photography in general, will help us adjust to the difficulties of macro photography.

Here are some tips to help you out, if macro shooting is your thing...

1:
For macro shots that are stilllife photos, such as a flower or a diamond ring, a good eye for manually focusing, is worth gold. I tend to use manual focus in these spots, to achieve the right focus points. Meaning, if the ring is the subject, I will manually focus so I get crisp diamonds. When I get the focus I want, I then engage the remote shutter.

2:
Moving subjects, such as bees, beckons us to use the Servo AF. Servo will continually track the bee, and help you get the focus on the bee, rather than say a tree in the background.

3:
Macro lenses tend to have very thin Depth Of Fields(DOF), so try and maintain a pinhole fstop. F14 will still have a thin DOF, but will focus the subject.

4:
ISO is also important for getting a desirable DOF. I will shoot at ISO 640 in broad daylight to achieve this.

5:
Wind will mess with your mind. Try not to shoot handheld in windy conditions, as the lens will change DOF and focus frequently. I tend to use Center-Weighted metering mostly, but Spot and Partial could be used in these shots as well. It is personal preference. I use CW because I generally tend to put bees(and other critters) in the center of the viewfinder, and compose from there. Cropping can move the subject left or right. Sometimes, I meter the bee, and then frame the scene with the exposure locked. Even if only by maintaining the half-shutter after metering.

6:
Step back. In macro terms, it is not much of a step. Many photographers will push that macro lens right up on the subject, but I think moving back an inch or two, will help get the frame sharper across the subject.

7:
Combining a fast shutter and deep depth of field can prove problematic. Shoot in Manual and adjust "on the fly."

8:
Shoot from a tripod. This will help with static subjects, and will help maintain AF points. The lack of the hand movement, helps the lens keep the focus point where you want it. Even indoors, without a breeze, a tripod and a macro lens can get up close and still have a deep DOF.

9:
Flash. Use it. It will help light up textures.

10:
Just Do It! Get out and shoot. Learning is humbling. And incredibly satisfying.

Photos COPYRIGHT Ronald Borst