Photzy

MACRO LIGHTING OPTIONS

Short Guide
Written by Jason D. Little

Steve Corey
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecorey/15066632355/in/photostream/
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 The appeal of macro photography should be obvious to most,
whether you’ve ever made a macro photograph or not — it’s all
about the wonder and fascination of being able to capture in
fine, “life-size” proportion the details of things otherwise beyond
the scope of what the naked eye is capable of discerning. Macro
photography is like experiencing another dimension of reality.

Macro photography can also prove to be a formidable challenge

for many shooters, as the levels of precision, persistence,
and patience needed to produce a satisfactory image are
arguably of greater importance than some other genres of
photography. When starting out in macro photography, too many
photographers spend an inordinate amount of time researching
which lens to buy. The lens isn’t unimportant, but it is not the
only — or even most important — factor in your macro setup.

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 Steve Corey
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecorey/15066632355/in/photostream/

MACRO LIGHTING OPTIONS // © PHOTZY.COM 3

 Lighting is just as vital to successful macro
photography as it is to portraiture. In fact,
one could make the case that lighting
matters even more than in portraiture; low-
light portrait photography is a thing — low
light macro photography isn’t. In short,
light will be the make-or-break factor in
determining the viability of your work.
Use of a tripod is something that often
comes down to personal preference; if
you prefer not to use a tripod, a flash can
help facilitate that by allowing you to keep
shutter speeds fast. If you do use a tripod,
a flash can help with depth of field by
providing you with enough light to shoot
at a small aperture.

The point is that no matter whether you’re

using natural light, a ring flash, or a pop-
up flash, you need light. Yes, any of those
light sources can work. Read further and
Gabriel González
you will learn that lighting for macro is as
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gaby1/14506265909/
accessible as macro photography itself.
It’s often more about knowing how to
use what you have rather than having
specialized gear.

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 NATURAL LIGHTING

Natural light — the sun — seems like a

logical choice for the perfect light source
for outdoor macro photography, and
sometimes it is. Natural light is generally
simple to work with. All you need is your
camera and lens and a subject. You don’t
need to worry about carrying any sort of
separate lighting apparatus; you don’t
need to worry about fiddling with settings.
You’re free to concentrate on things like
focus and composition. If you’re thinking
that it couldn’t really be that simple, you’re
sort of right.

There are some things you need to remain

aware of when doing natural light macro
photography.

Jason Devaun
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34316967@N04/11728545826

MACRO LIGHTING OPTIONS // © PHOTZY.COM 5

 • Natural light throughout the day. • Natural light and atmospheric/
Yes, the sun is always there but weather conditions. Cloud cover
the quality and quantity of light isn’t always a bad thing; a few
Yes, the sun is always
there but the quality and
emanating from the sun are not clouds might actually work to your
quantity of light emanating constants. Midday sun, when the advantage during the middle of the
from the sun are not sun is highest in the sky, tends to be day when the sun is high in the sky,
constants.
harsh and creates hard, odd shadows. softening up the light a bit. And don’t
This isn’t flattering for portraits nor let rain thwart your plans; raindrops
is it flattering for macro subjects. can serve as beautiful adornments for
It follows, then, that when the sun flowers and insects.
is lower in the sky the light will be
softer, more flattering. You will want • A couple more points about natural
to take advantage of the warmth of light. Obviously you can’t move
the golden hour. The golden hour the sun, so you’ll have to position
is loosely referred to as the hour yourself so that your body or lens
(give or take a few minutes) just won’t block the light. Furthermore,
after sunrise and just before sunset. just like you might do with portrait
If you’re not a morning person, you photography, you can use a reflector
can do your macro shooting in the to modify the sunlight.
evening. In either case, you will be
thoroughly pleased with the impact
this softened directional lighting has
on your subjects.

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 FLASH

In most instances, relying on natural light

simply won’t be a feasible option; the sun
can be unpredictable and uncooperative,
and you may find yourself shooting in
places where not enough sunlight is
reaching your intended subjects. Be
prepared to use a flash unit.

• Pop-up flash. This certainly shouldn’t

be your first choice, but if a time
ever arises when it’s your only
choice, don’t despair. A pop-up
flash can work for you. One of the
inadequacies of pop-up flashes is that
they don’t have much reach, but if
you’ve got a subject very close to the
front of your lens, it’s possible your
pop-up flash will have just enough
Jayson Ignacio distance to get the job done. If the
https://www.flickr.com/photos/xjaysonx/5205319869
lens you’re using is long enough to
cause shadows when the flash fires,
you can use a reflector to redirect the
light so that it hits the subject.

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 Yogendra Joshi
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yogendra174/4944855634

MACRO LIGHTING OPTIONS // © PHOTZY.COM 8

 • Standard flash unit. A standard flash
unit, for the sake of this discussion,
refers to the shoe-mount flash
everyone is familiar with, such as the
Nikon SB -700 or Canon Speedlite
430EX II. There are two ways to
use this type of flash for macro
photography.

Mark Sebastian
https://www.flickr.com/photos/markjsebastian/2095149384/

MACRO LIGHTING OPTIONS // © PHOTZY.COM 9

 1. On-camera: In this instance the
flash sits atop the camera via the
hot shoe. While this still isn’t the
optimal solution, shoe-mount
flash is vastly superior to pop-up
flash since it sits higher up on the
camera and is unlikely to create
shadows even when using a longer
lens. The head of a flash unit can
swivel and tilt, making the use of a
reflector or light box (to soften the
light) that much more effective.

2. Off-camera: Just as you have likely

heard in the context of portrait
photography, getting that flash off
the camera can make a dramatic
difference in the quality of your
shot. To do this, you can use a flash
sync cable or remote triggering.
Once you get the flash off the
Jason Devaun
camera you are free to position the
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34316967@N04/8920752336
lighting so that it creates precisely
the effect you desire.

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 • Ring flash. A ring flash is a circular
flash that fits around the front end
of a lens. The obvious advantage to
such a device is that it puts the light
right up close to the subject without
any obstructions. If you use a ring
flash, you will need to be particularly
attentive to exposure/light level;
given the proximity of the flash to
the subject, the light can be harsh if
used at full strength. Also, if you are
photographing anything reflective,
a lizard’s eyes for example, you will
be able to see the circular reflection
of the ring flash; yes, your lizards will
have catchlights in their eyes. Most
reflections can be cloned out during
post processing.

Richard Melanson
https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardmelanson/1582453872/

MACRO LIGHTING OPTIONS // © PHOTZY.COM 11

 Rob
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23362579@N02/7241480952/

MACRO LIGHTING OPTIONS // © PHOTZY.COM 12

 FINAL THOUGHTS

Remember – You don’t Simply put, lighting is critical to macro photography. If you want good results, you will
necessarily need to spend need to make the right call when it comes to lighting; as you’ve seen, you have options
a lot of money on a fancy and you don’t necessarily need to spend a lot of money on a fancy setup — if you’re
setup.
using natural light, you don’t need to spend one cent.

What matters more is that you use your light source, whatever it may be, creatively and
skillfully, in such a way that it flatters your subject.

MACRO LIGHTING OPTIONS // © PHOTZY.COM 13

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we're here to help you every step of the way! Here are 3 of our most useful (and
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Grab 3 free photography cheat Take this 30 second quiz to find out Free access to our library of 250+
sheets that will help you the #1 thing holding your downloadable (pdf) tutorials on
understand the basics. photography back. everything you can imagine.

Download Cheat Sheets → Take Quiz → Download eBooks →

Want quick photography tips?

Check out our friends at DailyPhotoTips.com they'll send you 1 solid photography tip
to your inbox, 5 days a week. So you can start your day right, with actionable tips to
help you on your creative journey. Subscribe now →
(free for a limited time)

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 About the Author

IF YOU’D LIKE TO CONTINUE

LEARNING AND IMPROVING YOUR
PHOTOGRAPHY PLEASE VISIT
PHOTZY.COM

Jason D. Little is a photographer (shooting macros, portraits,

candids, and the occasional landscape), part time writer, and full
time lover of music.
You can see Jason’s photography on his Photography Blog
or on Flickr.

MACRO LIGHTING OPTIONS // © PHOTZY.COM 15