Using Texture Photography to Capture a Unique Shot

So if I had to use one word to describe Macro photography it's simple, texture. There's no other focal length that gives you this opportunity to get this close to your subject and actually feel what the subject is offering. And you think about the hairs on a Caterpillar, the eyes on a bee, the close-up veins of a leaf as they're going through it, the worn out capabilities and textures that you get from closeups of coins, like the ones we're going to shoot. These all bring textures to life. You can feel them visually and that's an unusual place to be in photography. And it's one of these places that when you visit close-up work you find that you can really get lost in it because it becomes such a, a wonderful journey of looking at things that only moving a quarter of inch take you someplace else. Moving a light source just a little bit this side, a little bit that side brings you a whole different set of life to your subject. Texture is a great place to go, and with Macro photography, we can go there. Let's go show you some examples with these coins. So I've got a plate of coins that I borrowed from a neighbor who collects coins and I've got this marvelous collection of coins that date back, I think I saw one here from 1817 right up to the current day. So I've got this real potpourri of a lot of different coins that are gonna make a great textural detail shot of these coins. So, as you can see, I didn't have to go out and spend millions of dollars in order to, to shoot these and I'm using just a clamp light with a 60 watt bulb in it. I've got a plate from the cupboard, a couple of pieces of board, because it's easier for me to stack the plate as I rise it up towards the camera than it is for me to keep fumbling with the tripod and the camera in order to get the coins where they want. So some of the considerations that I make when I'm shooting things like this: one, if we think about directional of light, I can take, keep moving this chair and keep moving my light around, every time I do that, depending upon where the coins are lying I'm going to get shadows on the edges of all those coins, I want that. And so just by moving this slightly around and around and around, I can change the dramatic scene of each shot but I haven't moved my camera, so it's just a light thing. Also, I could raise that camera up, and if I have the light coming straight down onto the coins that offers a different kind of a light. But look at it again, like the sunrise and sunset. If I'm straight over it, high noon, everything flattens out, it's a two-dimensional shot. The other thing you have to consider when you're shooting close-ups like this, if you're shooting plants and flowers and you're chasing a bee, you can't really control it. But because I've got a controlled situation here, I'm on a tripod, I've got a plate, I've got a light, It could be next to a window but the scene is set it's not going to move, but some of the considerations I have to make... The coins are flat, and as I throw the coins down and they find their position and I seek out a composition, one coin might be slanted a little bit. And if that's the main coin that I'm photographing, I want to make sure that the plane of my lens is at the same angle. Because if it's at this angle, then what happens in Macro photography, the high point, low point are going to be dramatically different in focus. So I'm trying to pull those together by taking my angle with my camera, making sure that it matches the angle of the coin, so I don't have a depth of field issue. And if I need to take care of depth of field, I'll automatically stop down, but that's one of the ways that you can minimize that. So, very simple setup. I can come in from a compositional standpoint and shoot a lot of coins or come in really, really tight to the maximum focal point of a textual shots with this. I'm using a one 105 lens. Now, I'm using one light source. I've got one light source coming in and there's some gaps, you know, when you stack coins, you're going to get dark shadows which is good for the shot. But sometimes when that happens I'm losing some of the textures and some of the other coins. So, I've just got a piece of notebook paper from my desk and I can simply come in here and just moving that in and out, I gained two stops of light just by bringing this in bouncing it off the directional light here. It's a great way to keep shooting. White balanced, tungsten light, I'm shooting white balanced. I'm on the sticks, I can shoot at my smallest ISO's, so I get maximum clarity in my shot. White balance is set, I'm good to go, shutter speeds fast enough but it doesn't matter because I'm on the sticks, I'm going from maximum depth of field here. We're ready to start shooting. So I've got my plate of coins and you know, there's a couple of considerations you have to make when you're shooting macro. There's these distances in macro that you can play with and all still be within that umbrella of macro shooting. And so ideally, when I have a plate like this I tend to pull back a little bit and still get a feel for the coins, looking for that compositional aspect that would... All of the coins I see, you see a mixture in other words, I'm seeing a diversity of coins. So I'll take that first shot, I move the light, get the light to where I want to be. You'll see that contrast that rim light and get the pop. Because you know, sometimes you can't just throw things down. You've got to move things around a little bit to get them where you want to be. You'll notice in my set up here I don't move the tripod so much because having the tripod legs around, whatever it is table you've got to shoot on. It's easier for me to just go ahead and stick another piece of wood under my plate to raise the plate closer to the lens, rather than constantly making that adjustment. Believe it. You'll see what I mean, when you're dealing with macro, you don't want to have to move your tripod too many times, It's nice just to move the plate up towards you. So, then I find that composition where I've closed in a way from some of the coins that we're on the edges and I'm coming in much tighter. And so now I've got a couple of faces and if you can see, well, I'm going to pull that face in, I'm going to make sure that it it's right to the left. I've got another face I can see on the face of a coin onto the right. I'm going to make sure I'm not cutting them off, they're both there. Nice tight shot, one full coin in the frame, so now I'm tight, boom! There's that shot. Now I come in even closer. So now I'm really going for the textures on a coin and I'm looking for a coin that's old, one that I can really have that sidelight at a deep angle. So, the coin has been worn to point to where it's no longer... The lettering is not a high relief, It's a low relief. So I need to have that light source at an angle that really brings out the contrast in the dates. So I'm really utilizing the macro textural aspects of this by having my light at a slight angle right off to the side, and I'm coming in really, really tight on that coin. Boy, look at that difference, you can really see. Now you can really read that date and you can really see it. I'm very close, you can actually feel how these coins have been worn over time. Now, something that happens when you've got these coins lying down there, the angles of the coins can be in a way that they're kind of moving away from the light source. So they're in shadow. So, one of the ways that we can correct that is, I'll just grab a piece of paper, white piece of paper, I'll even take the back of my hand and notice this gold coin. I'll put my hand on the other side of this gold coin. If I just bring it in, so it's just outside of my frame on the opposite side of my light source and tilt my hand right there, you can actually see where that bounced light has lit up that coin. I move it away, dark, move my hand it again, light. And all of this is the textual components of getting a good macro shot with an $8 light and a closeup shot of these coins. Have fun, this is a blast. So you've seen, from what we've been doing, we've encountered any number of subjects in the macro world of photography, and it's fun. You know, butterflies, bees, coins, oh my! And we've had a lot of fun doing it. And you can continue to do Macro photography in your backyard, on the window sill, in a bottom of a plate like with the coins. All of these things are exciting new ventures into the world of macro. And with a little bit of research you can find that finding butterflies and caterpillars when they hatch are places to go and destinations to go do Macro photography. You can look in your backyard and find the particular plant: the hawkweed, the daisies, the roses that come out. Here's a great time to go out and grab those, shoot them outside, bring them inside If it's too windy. All of these things that you've seen throughout this DVD, we can do with Macro photography, go out and expand yourself. Don't always shoot landscapes. Come in, come in, come in and see that whole new world of macro.