Learning macro

[jungl]

Just got myself a macro lens for my E-500.

Find it a little difficult to compose macro shots.

Here is one of my first attempts.


Large size

Camera: Olympus E-500
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

[sagelike31]

Very good crisp shot and great lighting.

Composition might be a bit off though. As that your background is not busy the plant also becomes a subject of focus (even though it is out of focus).

I would crop it out or zoom in on the shell.

Still very good work though.

[jungl]

Thanks sagelike!

I find it a little boring to just have the subject in the shot so I wanted the seaweed as a background of some sort.

Not sure if it worked as intended..

[NaturesPixel]

I like the plant matter in the background.. maybe up your aperture to around the F4-5.6 mark to blur the background just a tad more...

when doing macro work you MUST always use a tripod.. and focus manually...

[Oni]

when doing macro work you MUST always use a tripod.. and focus manually...[/QUOTE]

I find it very helpful when the experienced shutter-bugs sometimes repeat the most basic directions because I'm still so green. Many thanks.

[jungl]

I have to admit that I hate tripods. So much hassle to set up when the ground is not flat. Will try to bring one for my next trip, but there are so many big rocks at that coastline so I doubt it will work.

[NaturesPixel]

ok.. try a gorillapod... or a beanbag then... cause upping your aperture will decrease your shutter speed ie: 1/100 to 1/30 and you will get blurred images...

[jungl]

Thanks NaturesPixel! That gorillapod looks great for macro work!

One thing confuses me though. You said change the aperature to F4-5,6. Wont that make the shutter speed faster?
I used F8 on this shot.

[AZ4Runner]

Originally Posted by jungl

One thing confuses me though. You said change the aperature to F4-5,6. Wont that make the shutter speed faster?
I used F8 on this shot.

If you have the capability to change your aperture through a complete manual mode, then you will have to change your shutter speed, or your ISO to compensate. Keep in mind, if you go from F8 to F4, you'll double your light, so you'll want your shutter speed to be reduced by half to keep the same exposure (assuming you hold your ISO the same).