Brian Valentine - SmugMug Artist-in-Residence
<HR style="COLOR: #575757" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Dgrin's Lord Veterinari, Brian Valentine, is one of SmugMug's Artists-in-Residence.

Brian is an amazing Macro shooter. We're lucky to have him here!

this thread will be for all shooting technical and gear advise


Brian's Macro Learning Series

Macro Exercises #1 DOF, Aperture and diffraction

Macro Exercises #2 FOCUSING

Macro Exercises #3 FOCUS STACKING

Macro Exercises #4 Lighting

Definition of MACRO - What's a Macro?

Some earlier references and resources:

Macrophotography Tips & Links

More Macro Tips & Links


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Phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenorfe/

I get asked for pics of my gear & flash setup all the time, so here are a few gear pictures, more to follow.

standard flash gun on a small 19mm ball head to alter flash angle, a home made diffuser with either kitchen towel or diffusion sheets from manfrotto diffusion pack to soften and diffuse the light.
the subjects are quite often 2-6 inch infront of lens , without diffusion the light would be very harsh with blown highlights and fine detail would not be seen.

canon 100mm macro with kenko extension tube set, kitchen towel diffusion


canon mpe-65 manfrotto diffusion sheets on home made coke can diffuser


ball head atached to a simple straight flash bracket


close up of ball head


hope this helps
Phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenorfe/

Any pics done by the canon macro MPE65 mm lens i was just given one of these for my B'day in August...I would like to know how to use this awesome lens

Originally Posted by Eddy Any pics done by the canon macro MPE65 mm lens i was just given one of these for my B'day in August...I would like to know how to use this awesome lens

congrats on the new lens, try shooting at x1- x2 mag at first. move the camera towards the subject & shoot when the eyes are in focus.
depth of field very narrow,
shoot f8-f11 at x1-x3 mag and f5-f7 at x3- x5 mag for a start
just takes a lot of practise.
what flash are you using?
here are 3 shots, #1 &3 taken by holding leaf in left hand & resting lens on hand, keeps everything steady.

Hey Goldenorfe ,

Love your work any tips i use a canon 40d and canon 100mm 2.8 macro i just want to get in closer any suggestions on extention tubes? are the kenko ones ok? or do you only use canon?

here are some of my macro shots
http://afterglowphotography.smugmug....10579427_XLxE3

any tips would be great

amy

hi amy, yes go for the kenko auto set, they will double your magnification to just over x2. 11mm will fill frame.
that is enough magnification to show good eye detail in your subjects
what flash are you using?
phil

hey thanks for that info i dont use any flash for my photography just use available light and tripod. Should i invest in a macro ring flash?

no, not a ring flash! standard flash gun much better & more versatile.
at higher magnification you need flash to bring out detail and freeze movement.
phil

oh cool thanks for that!

your photo's are stunning cant wait to get into more photography next ill by some kenko extension tubes!

Cheers again

Amy

How dose the pivot ball help? Are you setting the flash down and just getting
the angel right or on a try pod

Originally Posted by blaser321 How dose the pivot ball help? Are you setting the flash down and just getting the angel right or on a try pod

almost always shoot handheld.
the flash needs to point directly onto subject
as the subject distance varies so the flash angle needs altering.
when magnification increases the flash needs to point down at the subject instead of lighting up the area behind the subject.
especially when using mpe-65, as the barrel extends quite alot between x1 & x5 mag. you have to alter angle continiously to compensate .

with 100mm + tubes only have to alter height usually for larger subjects, or when shooting "portrait" format.
phil

anyone familiar with the pro-optic extension tubes? they are much more affordable than the Kenko tubes...

http://www.adorama.com/MCAETEOS.html

dont know anyone using them, quite an old product i believe with plastic mounts which may not last to well. unless they have been updated
everyone does say kenkos are best
phil

Originally Posted by GOLDENORFE dont know anyone using them, quite an old product i believe with plastic mounts which may not last to well. unless they have been updated everyone does say kenkos are best phil

Yeah, they have two versions... one is the 'budget' set for $59 or so, then there's another set that has electrical connections and metal mounts, for $89 for the set.

I had Kenko extention tubes before and I end up selling it because I have having a hardtime focusing. I have the 100mm Canon lens at this time and I would like to upgrade it. Is it better to get the MPE 65 or the new Canon 100mm L

Originally Posted by GOLDENORFE hi amy, yes go for the kenko auto set, they will double your magnification to just over x2. 11mm will fill frame. that is enough magnification to show good eye detail in your subjects what flash are you using? phil

hard question to answer, i do use both.
what subjects are you shooting?
the mpe isnt really an upgrade from the 100, as it does not focus to infinite it is more restrictive in its use and is used in addition to 100mm.
if you couldnt focus with ex tubes on your 100mm macro you will really struggle to use the mpe with its shorter focus distance where correct focusing is critical at high magnifications.

phil

Originally Posted by crysjan I had Kenko extention tubes before and I end up selling it because I have having a hardtime focusing. I have the 100mm Canon lens at this time and I would like to upgrade it. Is it better to get the MPE 65 or the new Canon 100mm L

For those of you who use the MP-E, how dark is that lens through the viewfinder? Specifically at 3x and above.. If you could compare it to a 100mm with tubes or a 50mm with a 2x TC for example..

Originally Posted by Japers For those of you who use the MP-E, how dark is that lens through the viewfinder? Specifically at 3x and above.. If you could compare it to a 100mm with tubes or a 50mm with a 2x TC for example..

It does get quite dim depending obviously on the subject and magnification but I've never found it too much of a problem. Some people do rig up LED focus light aids to help with this.

Brian v.

That was my next question, obviously a ring flash wouldn't be preferable given the focusing distance at its higher mags (I currently shoot with Sigma's EM-140), but possibly a twin flash with modeling lamps? I've read that the 1D and the 7D are much brighter than say the 40D as well, which may help. Thanks for the input Brian!

Initially I had Olympus Camedia C-5060 for macro photography and it was quite hard to have background blurred – now, with typical DSLR with macro lens it is quite opposite – I have to choode aperture range at least 5.6-8 to have an object sharp enough.
I would introduce you to my website about macro photography and ask what you think about it. There aere some tips on issue and small gallery of macro pictures - http://www.macro-photography.eu