What is Macro Photography?

Macro photography is a unique form of photography that involves photographing small objects to make them look life-sized or larger in the photo. The usual subjects include flowers and small insects and which we don’t normally get to see up close with the naked eye. This type of excellent photography is also used for bringing out details in jewelry and other inanimate objects. It is a widely used art form that is incorporated in almost every niche of photography, whether for travel, wedding portraiture, action, or even event photography, both in the film and digital age.

A true macro shot depends on the amazing level of magnification. The ideal magnification is at 1:1, where a 1-inch object is also projected at 1-inch on the camera sensor. When you do projected at half life-size, the same 1-inch object would take up just a half inch of the sensor and would be at 1:2 magnification. However, true macro is anything that has been magnified at a ratio of 1:1 or higher.

Nowadays, both point-and-shoot cameras and DSLRs have a built-in macro mode that helps users capture significantly closer shots of an object from an observable distance. The camera automatically adjusts lens elements and moves them closer to the sensor to best suit close focusing, and without the need for extra lenses or macro tubes. Of course this cannot be considered true macro because to achieve that you will need a dedicated macro lens or an accessory that will enable your camera or lens to shoot macro.

There’s also an option to “fake” a macro by cropping your photo to make your subject appear more magnified. However, since the digital output from most cameras (except for those with full-frame sensors) are not as large as on film, resorting to such measures will usually result in reduced image quality and amazing shoot, which is why cropping does not yield desirable results.

To achieve true macro photography, there is a wide range of macro lenses available for select digital cameras mostly DSLR that are optimized for achieving as much as 10x magnification for professional macro images. But even with the right gear, pro macro photography can still be hard to execute without knowing how to properly adjust your camera settings and suit your shooting requirements, or without knowing how to create a more favorable shooting situation before clicking the shutter.