Macro Photography Lighting Tutorial
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW about LIGHT in macro photography! It's a complete tutorial -- natural light, ring lights, flash, dual flash, and diffusers.
I've been a macro photographer for 7 or 8 years now, and lighting is still what I think about the most. Good lighting will make or break any photo, but especially a macro photo, since it's so easy to capture harsh light with the wrong setup (or just not enough light in the first place).
If you have any questions or comments, let me know below and I'll be sure to answer!
All photos and videos in this tutorial are my own, Copyright © Spencer Cox.
~Spencer
/ spencercoxphoto
👇👇👇
This video is not sponsored! You can support Photography Life and Spencer Cox Photography by buying anything through my affiliate links!
Here is all the photo equipment I use: bhpho.to/3XUv32a
And here’s my video gear to film this video: bhpho.to/3Yt8th1
#MacroPhotography
I hope you enjoyed this video! I published it four years ago, or I would have mentioned this at the time, but I'm finally doing photography full-time now. It's been a difficult but rewarding road. If you liked this video, I just published a Patreon page with all of my newest projects, including my composition ebook and online workshops that I'm hosting. Thanks, guys. patreon.com/PhotographyLifeBlog
What an amazing and simplified explanation of the complicated lighting in macro. 👍👏🏽👌🏾
Aside from the subject of macro I have to mention you have this incredible speaking voice and your delivery of subject matter has a very nice flow without any hmms or uhs. I sure wish I could do that when I'm staring at a camera. Well done.
Wow, thank you, Bob! Sorry that I just saw this comment, but I appreciate the kind feedback. I generally need to do at least a few takes before I get one that sounds right, but I've been getting faster at it with practice.
Love his voice and teaching style. Finally found someone i can listen too! ☺️☺️
@Marilyn Aderman - Thank you!
So clear and concise. You are the best teacher on the internet (and I know - I spent decades learning)!
Wow, thank you! I put a ton of effort into these videos, so I’m happy to hear you think that highly of them.
My go to diffuser is a pringle tube, cut hole in the bottom for flash and leave the lid on to diffuse the light.........it also helps to direct the light when getting close to your subject. It works perfectly for macro photography.
Awesome - love the creative use of what materials you had available!
Excellent! I wish every video tutorial was so focused and methodical in explaining and demonstrating the basics.
Outstanding video as always. Any chance to see a tutorial about focus stacking in macrophotography in the near future? I'd surely use some tips about that!
Absolutely, Antistio, it's in our plans later this year! I was thinking of including landscape photography too, and making the video half-and-half. Keep an eye out.
Keep up the good work m8,your videos are top notch👍👍
Nice video, as usual.
For my diffusers I use a thin sheet (5mm thick) of white styrofoam. No hot spot and very efficient. The best diffuser I tried so far (and I tried many !).
You're a Teacher! Your explanation is really really well. Thank You.
Thanks for the kind feedback, Bombo! Very happy you liked the video.
Personally I always keep a 12 inch reflect in my bag, brilliant for bouncing full in light to soften harsh shadows of either direct sunlight or flash.
John, very helpful thing to do! I actually used a reflector to light the narration scenes in this video for that very reason. It brightens shadows quite a bit, without looking unnatural. You might also notice that my personal diffuser setup (shown at about 6:32) has a reflector component at the bottom. So I fully agree and thanks for adding this!
i am following you since i start me photography career
and now i am well established photographer in Pakistan by the grace of Allah and i still follow you learn from you
thanks
Thank you, Haris, I hope you enjoy our future videos!
I use a DIY plastic diffuser with two flashes, one either side of the lens. Usually I set the L/H flash to act as a slave with a reduced output, so I get some contrast. However in front of the plastic I have also taped one way mirror film. This means that insects see a reflection of their environment rather than a huge white thing approaching them. I find that if I move in slowly I can get in much closer without scaring off the wee beastie, than even just the camera and the natural light approach. It is a bit cumbersome, but on a dull or windy day I can still get some keepers.
That’s an awesome idea, Paul! Especially with the one-way mirror film. Do you have a link to any of your photos?
@@PhotographyLifeChannel I only have one accessable by you on my ephotozine portfolio. Search "halgiver ephotozine" and you should get a link "halgiver's portfolio" to follow. The only one on there is titled Scorpio. I can tell it is one by the two highlights in the insects eye. The rest are on my computer. I'm afraid I did not do a huge amount of macro last summer. I am always coming up with DIY techniques for macro. I have a rig which grabs the lens hood on my tamro 90mm macro and holds it still, but the body of the camera slides up and down on rails, as I do stacking macro shots. This minimises how much larger the object gets as you focus in. No good in the field though, even though I have a tripod mount built in, it's just too slow and I only use it indoors.
@@PhotographyLifeChannel I have found another it's called Night Lights.
Excellent video and well presented. The comparison between flashes or speedlight techniques was explained well.
Thank you, James! Glad you liked it.
Spencer, I am impressed by the depth of your knowledge at such a young age.
Thank you, Dawn!
Nice video. One option you didn't mention is a single speedlight on a flash bracket using a sync cord. I made an inexpensive bracket from a flat plate, an 11" articulated arm, and a cold shoe. For light, I use a lightweight Canon 270EX II speedlight with a home-rolled mini softbox diffuser that I bodged up from Mactac, aluminium foil and thin-sheet Styrofoam. With this outfit, I can easily place the flash pretty well where I please. Much as I like my rig, I still prefer to shoot using natural light whenever possible - nothing beats it.
Bill, that sounds like a great setup! The custom macro lighting rigs I’ve seen are always the best - I have yet to find a store-bought product that does as well. And even though natural light is king, there are a lot of cases where it’s just not possible.
@@PhotographyLifeChannel Ain't that the truth.
Great. Your channel is all a photographer really needs.
You’re very welcome! Thanks for saying so.
Spencer I watched two videos and because of the clarity and quality. I immediately posted your CZcams information to the Louisiana Photographic Society Facebook page. Thanks for creating such high quality instruction.
Thanks for clearly pointing out the importance of diffused light. Now I understand.
Simply amazing video!
Thank you so much for these macro videos Spencer! I am a newbie, and these videos have perfectly summed up the information I was looking for in regards to technique, and lighting!
Happy to help! Glad you've found this videos to be useful.
First, you have a great teaching style - easy to follow, hits all the points in an organized way. This lighting video is just what I needed. I've been trying out macro shooting with new equipment (extension tubes) and they really cut down on available light. The ring light just doesn't compensate enough and the bright lights are too bright. Guess I'll be busy building myself a diffuser! I'll be coming back to this video frequently as I try new shots. Thank you!
I have that shirt! Great video too
Oh cool! It’s one of my favorites. Glad you like the video too!
Wow... As a beginner this is priceless. Thanks for the vid. 👏👏
Sure thing, Jorgiño, thanks for the kind words!
It's the second video from your channel I watch, I really liked it. It's super clear, you speak really well it is very easy for non native speakers to get everything. I had a no idea about which flash I should use for macro... in the end I think i'll just try macro when I receive my lens tomorrow, and then see if light is really missing from my setup. Also, I'm hesitating between tripod or flash for macro, which one is more useful at first? Thank you !
Good video tutorial as always. 👍👍👍
Thanks for sharing!
It would be great if you could you talk about flash settings with a diffuser. Thanks!
Really helpful video. Exactly the info I needed delivered without jargon or delay. Thank you
Fabulous information. So helpful
Glad you found it useful, Carter, thanks for the feedback!
Was feeling low and somehow stumbled upon this video and got to say this ur presentation felt so therapeutic to me..kudos brother...keep doing great videos
Thank you! I’m really glad to hear it.
It was a very informative video thanks for this
Hi! Thanks a lot for the video, very well made and very well explained. One thing I would like to suggest, to show the camera settings when you talking about particular shot.
Nice , I have always find the articles on PL as one of the best . It is fantastic to complement the article with videos 👍
Thank you! That’s the goal, a video to go along with many of our more popular articles.
Thanks. Perfect advice after looking at ring lights. Really struggling getting sharp images at the moment
Sure thing. Getting enough light is the biggest part of taking sharp macro photos, and proper focusing technique is probably next most important. You’ll definitely get it with some practice!
Hello Friend.
Good ideas and good photos.
This video was actually really great! Thanks!
Thank you for your great videos... Your look and voice remind me of Tony Northrup :) Good luck!
Can you go over what flash settings. Ettl zoom auto bracketing exposure compensation sycncro etc.
Try to raise the Iso, if you dont like the black background. I always have it on 400 with flash because of that reason
An excellent tutorial, very well presented. I would like to take mild exception, though, to your contention that ring lights have "light coming at your subject from all different directions" (3:20) which leads to flat lighting with no shadows. Not all of them do. Even my basic level Amaran HN100 has a control knob that allows me to dim, all the way to off if I desire, one side or the other of the ring, allowing for the creation of side lighting. I do product photography for a winery, and for my wife's home business which requires greater than 1:1 magnification (individual threads in historical stitched samplers), and that ring light is indispensable. Additionally I can see where the power output is insufficient in sunlit situations,however when shooting macro in a light tent or other controlled studio situation like I use, it's a useful creative tool.
I don't mean any of that to be a criticism of your fine video here. I really did enjoy it quite a bit. But as someone who's grown rather dependent on that inexpensive bit of kit, I thought I should stick up for it. In certain situations, ring lights really do have their place. :)
Thank you and an excellent point! At the end of the day, ring lights are just another tool - one that can be helpful if used well, and one that can harm your images if used carelessly. I certainly don't consider it a good general purpose macro lighting tool (hence the arguments against it in the video), but I should have noted that it has some uses nevertheless, and could be exactly what you need for your personal type of macro photography. Glad you brought this up!
@@PhotographyLifeChannel Thank you for the gracious reply.
your explanations are superb. thanks so much
Excellent, thanks!
You’re very welcome, glad you liked it, Michael!
Good one.
Love the video on lighting for macro photography. Thank you Spencer
Glad it was useful, Esther!
Super tuto
Awesome 😎
Again Spencer, an excellent tutorial. Thanks
Thank you, Doug! Glad you enjoyed this one (and the other macro video) - good luck out there with your macro photography!
Nice, simple ans easy instructions. Great stuff!
Much appreciated!
Another wonderful video. Thank you.
♥️🔍📸🎞
Thank you!
Flash for the win
Thanks for the video. I have been hesitant about using a ring light for underwater macro.Your points are well taken, and I think that I will photograph the nudibranchs using my strobes (with diffusers) or my video lights.
Nice! Underwater macro photography will be awesome. My strong recommendation is to go the strobe route, unless you’re also filming macro video during the same dive. Just gives you much more flexibility, once you figure out a good diffusion setup.
Fantastic advice 👍
Very well explained and terrific visuals.
Good video! Thanks Spencer and I also enjoy your detailed articles on PL.
Thank you! Glad you liked the lighting tips.
HI, I am an avid underwater macro photographer. I recently got into nature macro. I live in South Florida. From your video, it looks like you may live in the area. I am looking for places to find various subjects to shoot including insects, flowers, and spiders. I am wondering if you may be able to suggest good locations in South and Central Florida. Thanks The video was great, easy to understand, and gave me more insight to using both natural and artifical lighting,
Spencer thanks for such nice video. Could you please elaborate on flash setting for getting black background. Thanks in advance.
It’s not so much the setting of the flash, but how close the flash (or specifically the diffuser) is to your subject. The closer it is, the darker the background you’ll get relative to the subject. Keep your shutter speed at the fastest sync value, lower your ISO, and use a narrower aperture to exaggerate the effect.
@@PhotographyLifeChannel thanks a lot
Great video!
Thank you, Tom, glad you liked it and I hope you learned something about macro lighting!
Lighting plays such an important role in photography. I have 3 systems for land use and 1 for underwater. Like your dual flash system which I do not have at the moment. I have a major problem since the micro 4/3rds Panasonic/Lumix and Olympus I use is not that well supported by the main flash light companies !!!! Whilst most do Cannon and Nikon and maybe Sony that is all !!! I have not been able to find either a ring flash light or a dual flash light that will operate on both my Olympus OM-D EM1 mark ii or my Panasonic/Lumix DC-G9 cameras.
Thanks so much, excellent explanation and great photos you take.
Sure thing! Glad you liked it.
Exceptional work, thanks! I learned so much. Subscribed!
Thank you, Paul! Happy you learned so much about macro lighting, and I appreciate you subscribing!
thanks for the infor. solid knowledge to learn. :)
Happy you liked it!
An actual flash tube ring light puts out a lot more light than the LEDs with "flash" mode. This used to be the only kind of ring light, but there are few available these days. Great for photogrammetry, where you want flat light.
Very true, I wish that more companies made those again. The excuses for “ring flashes” we see today that are just LEDs turning on for half a second are nowhere near enough.
Great overview, well planned and executed. Thanks!
Thank you, Karsten! Glad you think so.
Thanks for the review. Now, where can I get those nautilus cushion covers on your sofa?
There are so many diffusers in the market. Can you do a video on which is best for macro photography?
Nice video - thanks. One potential problem with camera-mounted flash for macro that you didn't mention is avoiding getting a shadow from the lens barrel over the subject, and that's where a ringlight can come in useful.
Good point! If you use the diffuser as shown in this video (where it’s basically on the end of your lens), your chance of getting a shadow is pretty minimal. But if you have a non-diffused popup flash, it can be impossible to avoid. Ring lights are one way to mitigate that for sure.
Fantastic video! I'm a total beginner with macro photography, but I'm having a blast - your tips (especially about using/making a diffuser) are going to be very helpful. Thanks again - I'm a new subscriber now :-)
Welcome to the channel! Glad it was so helpful. The diffuser is going to be a night and day difference.
Excellent video 👍🏻. Learning vibes are flowing
Happy to hear it! Glad you liked the video 😄
Hmm good 👍
Great video, straight the the subject, and with lots of good information. Thanks
I’m glad you liked it, thank you, Chris!
That's amazing. Could you make a video on home studio lighting on budget to take portraits for family members and occasions like bday party etc. What ever subject on photography I see on other channels, if I want to take a decision I will trust and landup on to your channel as a reference. Thanks for educating.God bless
Thanks.
Wonderful video, thank you!! 😊
Glad you liked it!
I use a collapsable diffuser that has a hole in and it slips over the lens and covers the flash. Very cheap online.
Sounds like a good setup! Any chance you have a link to the one you got?
@@PhotographyLifeChannel This is the same one. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VCQB1Q9/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_8VHIEbRMM4BYX
@@PhotographyLifeChannel www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1499346-REG/angler_psfd_100_portable_speedlight_flash_diffuser.html
Subscribed because of your voice cinematic voice
Welcome aboard! Glad you liked it, haha
Excellent tips, many thanks. One thing I want to know. Normal speedlight or HSS enabled speedlight is better for macro photography ?
If you have high speed sync capabilities, by all means consider using them for macro photography! It will make the background even darker (i.e. cutting out increasingly more natural light). However, usually the 1/200 or 1/250 sync speed is just fine for macro photography, even if you want to cut out a lot of natural light. That’s all I used for the flash photos in this video.
@@PhotographyLifeChannel thanks for your opinion. Now the confusion has been cleared.
Very useful and inspiring - thank you.
You're quite welcome, glad you liked it!
More more 😁😁😁
More on the way soon!
Another option is a clip on adjustable kelvin light source...
You can always use a diffuser on those too.
Flashes are not always ideal. Some people like me have an M6 MkII. The hot shoe is needed for the EVF, ergo, we can't use a flash and the viewfinder at the same time. The main solution for me was to buy an inexpensive rechargeable adjustable continuous light source. You have to play with it more, but it beats the other flash solutions for my camera.
I’ve found that continuous sources are not bright enough for shooting at my desired settings for macro photography, especially high-magnification work. But if you’ve found a setup that works for you, don’t let me stop you. Everyone has different approaches here.
@@PhotographyLifeChannel Yeah, luckily, I don't tend to go beyond 1:1 as I have the MP to crop if I need to. The M6 mkII uses a 32.5 MP sensor, so I don't necessarily need to add magnification to the LENS. I will agree that a flash setup can provide sharper images in bad lighting though.
Great video
Much appreciated!
Molto bravo
Thanks for these videos. I love micro photography and have a Nikon d800 with a Sigma 105 lens. I'm learning a lot from these lessons.
Awesome, really appreciate it. That’s a great combo for macro photography!
@@PhotographyLifeChannel Thanks. Keep up the good work. Have you or are you going to do a tutorial on focusing and best options for focusing?
@bez54 - The next macro video will either cover focusing or focus stacking, depending on which I’m able to film soonest!
@@PhotographyLifeChannel Nice! Thanks and take good care.
Another excellent video!
I'd be interested in your thoughts about noise reduction during post-processing in relation to high ISO photographs, and in particular your photo of the fly.
I'm an amateur photographer and I've found the results to be surprisingly good when using 'Prime' noise reduction in DxO PhotoLab (my choice of editor for RAW images).
Thank you, Pete! I usually just use Lightroom or Capture One’s built-in noise reduction, not because it’s the best, but because it’s convenient and good enough. I’ve heard good things about DxO’s noise reduction, but I think the best I’ve seen at the moment is Topaz’s ai denoise software. Regardless, I didn’t use any noise reduction in the fly photo just to emphasize my point in the video, but it’s possible that with careful editing the photo would be presentable at a small size. I took that one at ISO 6400 and did some contrast boosting, though, so there’s only so good it can get.
Such a great video! Thanks for explanation!
Glad you liked it!
~~Excellent tutorial, just what I needed, Thanks
very well explained !!! quality
Awesome! Thanks!
What about using LED Video lights? You can adjust the amount of light and possibly add a diffuser. Also you can vary the angle and direction of the light.
They’re just generally not bright enough if you’re photographing a moving subject. A flash outshines daylight several times over at its brightest setting, and even that is on the edge of being bright enough. But for static subjects like icicles, drops of water, etc.? Excellent idea.
Thanks! Maybe you could talk a bit about the practicalities of making your own diffusers in a future video?
Yeah, that would make a good video, thanks for the suggestion! Hadn’t thought of it before!
Your videos are the most relatable to me as a beginner. It basically answers all the issues I'm having when shooting. Thank you!
For a diffuser, the plastic white diffusers that fit over Canon 6 series flashes are inexpensive. Also detachable ringlights using flash can be held from the side to introduce some dimension and texture . Flat light sucks
What about a fixed video light vs a flash?
The video lights tend to be pretty bright, brighter than the ring light that you showed.
A video light could be bright enough, depending on which one you get. A flash will still tend to have a higher maximum output though.
I have a Godox v860ii with a diffuser. Will this be sufficient or best to get those specialized dual antenna flash?
Your Godox is good! Getting the right diffuser setup is really what's important now, and the only thing that would hold you back from getting high quality light.
Great video. Never saw the like of your dual light. Could you name the brand? Thanks!
Hi, nice video there. Did you have chance to explore Neewer R-160 flash light for Macro? wish to know your opinion on this.
Haven't tested that one specifically. However, most of those LED ring lights don't get bright enough to replace a flash. It won't be bad for video work or tripod shooting where your subject is stationary. But otherwise, I wouldn't use it for moving subjects or handheld macro photography.
Are you using a crop sensor or full frame type Nikon?
Full frame, but a couple of the photos in this video are from a crop sensor. You can take great macro photos with either! In fact, if extreme macro photography is your goal, a high-resolution crop sensor can put more pixels on a tiny subject than a full frame camera.
I loved all the examples you showed after you explained something.
Why is it that the depth of field doesn't show up quite as "shallow," when one is taking a video of something close, compared to a "snapshot"?
Good question. For the video shots I filmed here, I was focused at much lower magnifications - 1:5 or less, rather than 1:1. That helps with depth of field tremendously. However, I also tried to follow focus manually if the subject was moving. You can see that in one of the bee videos in particular. The combination of those two things, along with some luck and a stable tripod, meant that the videos here look pretty sharp when a regular macro photo can be very difficult to focus properly.
I cut a square off an old plastic milk carton and taped that over my flash gun. Works a treat
That’s awesome!
👍👍
🙃👎
Thank you for all the tips on Macro shooting. I am learning fashion fine jewelry with Macro lens. Your videos are very helpful. Could you please post some vidoes using Macro lens on jewelry?
Glad you’ve found our macro videos helpful! Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience with jewelry photography. While some of the same principles certainly apply from bug and plant macro photography, I think you’d have more luck searching for videos from photographers who specialize in jewelry photography (and from studio photographers in general). Wish I could be of more help.
Interesting, I remember the photo of the insect covered in pollen, and I had no idea the black background was the result of using strong flash!
Speaking of macro photography, I remember a beautiful photo of yours (which I couldn't find right now) of what I think was a wet rock, and which you lit with a flash and a colored gel diffuser. Do you mind sharing what lighting technique you used there?
Thank you, Natalia! I may be wrong, but I think the photo you're referencing is this one: cdn.photographylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Icicle-with-Flash-Gels.jpg
(If not, let me know and I'll try to find the right one.)
I took that photo with my camera on a tripod, using two separate flashlights to light the shot. In front of one flashlight, I held an orange gel, and in front of the other, a blue gel. My exposure time was 2 seconds, during which I did a bit of light painting. Based on the shadows in the photo, it looks like I held the blue flashlight from a slightly elevated angle to the left, and the orange one essentially straight-on from the right.
Hope this helps!
@@PhotographyLifeChannel Yes! Thank you :)
When I see a camera with a constant aperture advertised as its major pro, how should I understand it? Why is it a good thing? Will I be able to achieve smaller aperture in camera if I need?