Here are some photos I made of a metal fork using this technique. I made all these photos using a 35mm lens (on an APS-C camera) with a 16mm extension tube, hand-holding the camera. I also thought it would be fun to play with these photos in Lightroom Classic, using the Clarity and Texture sliders to bring out the texture of the metal. That’s because I have some vintage cutlery and toy cars that are ideal for close-up photography. For this I decided to make close-up photos of metal objects. Now it’s time to start thinking about what subjects you can shoot in close-up. If you don’t have the gear to take photos of small subjects like cutlery, how about making photos of larger objects like garden tools? Go take a look in your shed or garage and see what you have to work with. That’s more than enough to create high quality photos.ģ. But if you have a 20 megapixel camera, you can crop half the image away and still have 10 megapixels left.
You don’t want to crop if you only have eight megapixels to play with. My first digital camera had an eight megapixel sensor.
Then crop.Ĭropping isn’t the big deal it used to be. Use a wide aperture to blur the background as much as you can. Still not close enough? Take the photo anyway, with the subject in the center of the frame. I put it on the edge of table in the garden to make this photo.Ģ. That’s how I made this photo of a coffee cup. That’s the closest you can get without extra help. Then look through the viewfinder (or use Live View) and move your camera close to your chosen subject until it’s in focus. Turn the focusing ring until it’s set to its minimum focusing distance. An 18-55mm kit lens or 50mm prime lens is a great place to start as these lenses tend to have a short minimum focusing distance. First, determine how close you can get with the lenses you already own. Many of us find ourselves in a situation right now where we have to improvise. What if I don’t own any of that gear?īy now you may be wondering what your options are if you don’t own any of the equipment listed above (or have the spare cash to buy it). As a result it’s more commonly used for photographing insects rather than the subjects you see in this tutorial. You can get higher magnification levels than a dedicated macro lens with this technique. It’s a fun and inexpensive technique if you already own lenses with matching filter thread sizes. In this case the reversed lens acts like a high powered, high quality close-up lens. A technique where you use a metal ring with a screw thread on both sides to mount a reversed lens onto another lens. Or you can spend more and buy a double element close-up lens (such as the Canon 500D, shown below).Ĥ. You can buy inexpensive close-up lenses if you don’t mind making compromises on image quality. This screws onto the front of your lens and acts like a magnifying glass. A close-up lens (also known as a close-up filter). As you need to stop down to get more depth of field and better image quality, this is something to avoid if possible.ģ. On most modern lenses this means you can’t stop down and are restricted to working at its widest aperture. If you have a 50mm prime lens or 18-55mm kit lens then an extension tube is a great option.Įven if cash is tight it’s a good idea to avoid inexpensive extension tubes sold Ebay or Amazon that have no electrical connection between camera and lens. Extension tubes are a good option because you can use them with virtually any lens, although they’re more effective with shorter focal lengths. Longer focal lengths such as 100mm are better for taking photos of subjects like insects as you can take photos from further away, but are harder to hand-hold as they are heavier.Ģ. They are surprisingly inexpensive if you buy them from companies like Rokinon (also known as Samyang), Sigma and Tokina. A macro lens is the most flexible and versatile option. What do you need and what should you buy? There are four options.ġ. The beauty of close-up photography is that you can do it at home with minimal equipment.īut first, let’s say you don’t have any specific close-up gear and you’re in a position to buy some. There are also a couple of other ideas for projects you can try at home at the end of the tutorial.
#TOPAZ LENS EFFECTS DSLR TUTORIAL HOW TO#
I’ll show you how to work around this limitation.
All the techniques in this tutorial are possible without specialized gear (although of course it does help). But there’s something we can all try our hands at – making close-up photos indoors.ĭon’t worry if you don’t own a macro lens or extension tubes. Of course, it’s not easy to come up with ideas, especially if you are used to having the freedom to take photos outside without restriction. If you’re not working and need something to do then photography is a creative outlet that can keep you busy.
In these unprecedented times many of us are stuck at home in isolation.