Lecture on Macro Photography

1. MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY
Basic Photography Class

2. MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY
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consists of taking close-up
photos of tiny objects
extreme close-up shots
a perspective that shows
extraordinary angles of tiny
things that are usually not
part of the normal human
scene and view

3. MACRO LENSES
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designed for close-up work
with a long barrel for close
focusing
optimized for high
reproduction ratios
Canon Macro 100mm f28

4. FOCAL LENGTH
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The focal length of macro
lenses:
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from 50mm to 200mm
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others range to 470mm

5. FOCAL LENGTH
• The distance from the lens to the
sensor, when focused on a subject at
infinity.
• focal length equals image distance
for a far subject.
• To focus on something closer than
infinity, the lens is moved farther
away from the sensor. This is why
most lenses get longer when you
turn the focusing ring.
• The distances follow this formula:

6. TELEPHOTO
• This means a 400mm lens
should be 400mm long.
• If you get out your ruler and
measure it, you will find it is
less than 400mm.
• That is because a camera
lens really has many
individual glass lenses
inside, and this makes it
behave as if it is longer than
it really is.
• This is called "telephoto."

7. F/STOPS
F-stop is the focal length divided by the diameter of the lens.
For example, a 200mm f/4 lens will be 50mm wide.
Get out your ruler and measure it.
200mm/50mm = f/4.
That is why f-stop is typically written as F/4, meaning "focal-length over 4" or
"focal-length divided by four”.
Lenses are marked with a series of f-stops, each one lets in half as much light
as the previous one.
The light-gathering ability of a lens is determined by its area, and f-stops are
determined by diameter. Area is related to diameter squared. The progression
of f-stops, 1 - 1.4 - 2 - 2.8 - 4 - 5.6 - 8 - 11 - 16 - 22 - 32, are powers of the
square root of 2.

8. 24MM

9. 35MM

10. 50MM

11. 100MM

12. 200MM

13. 400MM

14. 800MM

15. 2100MM

16. FOCAL LENGTH

17. FOCAL LENGTH

18. FOCAL LENGTH

19. FOCAL LENGTH

20. FOCAL LENGTH

21. FOCAL LENGTH

22. MACRO LENSES
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L-R
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8
Macro USM lens
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8
Macro USM lens
Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 ML
USM lens

23. MACRO LENSES
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L-R
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG
Macro lens
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 DIi
Macro lens
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8
USM Macro lens

24. MACRO LENSES
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L-R (extended in their
shotest focus)
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG
Macro lens
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 DIi
Macro lens
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8
USM Macro lens

25. Background Blur Comparison
Same aperture setting (f/16) and identical subject to background
distances.

26. FOCAL LENGTH
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The focal length also affects other macro photography aspects.
Longer focal lengths require more distance to acquire the same
subject framing. The result is a change of perspective - the
telephotos compress/flatten the subject features more than
short focal lengths.
The wider angle of view of the short focal length macro lenses
mean that more of the background will be in the picture - and
that the background will be less-diffusely blurred.