Pay Attention To Your Background In Macro Photography
The Same Flower With The Same Camera Settings
The background in macro photography plays a huge part in how the final image turns out. If you look at the above two images you can see a big difference in the backgrounds, but both photographs were taken using the same camera settings, just moments a part.
The image on the left has a soft, blurred out background whereas the image on the right has a messy, distracting background.
The Difference?
The only difference between the two photographs is my positioning and the distance of the background to the subject! In macro photography background is key! A soft blurred out background helps to highlight your subject making it easier on the eye and easier for the viewer to take in what they are seeing.
How To Create A Soft Background In Macro Photography
- Select your subject.
- Make sure there is plenty of distance between your subject and its background.
- Select your f-stop. Using a lower f-stop not only gives you a shallower depth of field, which in layman’s terms means less of your subject will be in focus, but it does allow more light to enter the camera. Using a higher f-stop means a wider depth of field which gets more of your subject in focus, but allows less light into the camera. You have to decide how you want the end result of your photograph to look. With time and practice this step becomes easier… I promise!
- Look through the view finder or at the live view screen on the back of your camera to ensure that you have a clear shot. Any stems or straggly bits carefully move aside.
- Take your shot and review it on the back of the camera. If you don’t like what you see you can always alter the camera settings and try again.
The above guide is just a basic guide and doesn’t just apply to macro photography, it can also apply to taking those longer shots like in the case of stalking a butterfly for example. However I would I’d like to point out that when stalking insects in the field in the hope of getting ‘that’ photo, you might not get a second chance at the shot!
In time, taking into account the background and the foreground when you take a photograph will become second nature. It does take practice, patience and perseverance! Which in my opinion is well worth the challenge to being able to really see the tiny things in nature in close up detail!
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments!