I am currently writing a series of tutorials for people wanting to get more out of their basic digital camera. The latest was a 3-part tutorial on indoor close-up and macro photography:
This was the final image at the end of the set taken with a basic entry-level digital compact (a Canon A470), a cheap second-hand tripod from a car boot sale, a mirror card from a craft shop and some black material. This was taken on our kitchen table with the light from a window. Not bad for such a cheap set-up.
This is what the set-up looks like, in our kitchen with the window to the top right corner:
As you can see, a simple set-up.
I am writing this set of tutorials with 3 uses in mind:
- As a hand-out for the (occasional) lessons in basic digital photography that I present for the WEA (Workers Educational Association)
- As a point of interest within my website
- For an artist friend to use for her very popular and interactive website
This particular lesson is the seventh. I started with the basics such as the shutter button and zoom controls. I have learnt not to assume any level of competence: I have even been asked how to insert the batteries and, in one session, one person was very surprised to learn that she had a zoom facility on her camera!
In this lesson I discuss issues such as the equipment needed, the controls of the camera, lighting and reflectors, how close to get, backgrounds and a whole host more. I find such an exercise quite useful in that it makes me think of every step and try to preempt any questions people may ask. I also learn a lot from doing this – it clarifies the thought processes.
One issue I wanted to bring out is that it is quite difficult to get a good picture very close up. In the market these cameras are pitched at, people think you need to get close to get a close up, hence many cameras can get as close as 1cm from the subject. In the tutorial I make a comparison with my professional macro lens and show how far away that is for a similar sized image – these setups are shown below:
Above I show how close you can get in at the standard macro setting (super macro gets even closer!)
Here is my professional setup getting the same size image – a much more comfortable working distance.
Come the summer months I intend to follow this up with a tutorial looking at taking close-up photographs in the garden – a more challenging task. You can find the tutorials on my tutorials page.