Macro photography - Part 7: Camera settings

Weevil photographed with Nikon D7200, 105 mm macro lens, 1/250th, f/36, ISO 200

Although there are many ways to do macro photography, my preferred way is with a DSLR, 105 mm macro lens, and wireless TTL macro flash units.  This has the advantage of being quick and effective.  There are few things I like better than wandering about a natural place with my macro gear in hand and photographing the diminutive things I find.  While it is true that I have done macro photography many other ways, this system represents my most prolific work and the work that I am most pleased with.

When out and about with my macro equipment, I have my camera set in a very specific manner.  Each point below details the setting and why I chose it.  Important note:  set camera to manual exposure mode.

• manual focus:  Auto focus when doing macro work is nothing short of annoying.  First of all, your movements will cause focus to alternate - especially if you use continuous focus.  Even when using focus lock, there is the problem of where the focus locks (closest point) which is not desirable as you will be missing the part in front of where focus is locked.  I divide the subject in thirds perpendicular to the camera (in my mind only) and try to focus on the line dividing the first and second thirds.  And, this is important, I don't generally actually change focus, but rather have the focus set (usually at the lens' 1:1 ratio) and move the camera  or subject accordingly.  
• small aperture:  I often choose an aperture around f/40 or so.  While it is true that the image may suffer due to refraction errors from such a small aperture, the depth of field is usually enough to  get most of my subject in focus in a single shot without stacking.
• fast shutter speed:  When using flash I am often limited to the camera's flash synch speed.  This usually varies between 1/180th to 1/250th of a second.  I have found that these speeds, with flash, are fast enough to freeze the subject.  Slower shutter speeds will allow ambient light to affect the exposure, especially the background, but camera motion will likely result in blurring and ghosting.
• turn off vibration mitigation:  VR (IS OS etc) is not necessary or useful in macro situations.  My older equipment doesn't have it and I don't use it on my newer stuff.  This saves power and extends battery life.
• ISO:  I generally have my ISO set to 200:  This is especially useful if my subject is a little further away.  Macro flashes are not very powerful - they don't need to be given how close the subject is.  Setting your ISO to 200 will also increase flash battery life.
• set flash to auto exposure mode but underexpose by 1/3 stop:  I find that the subject often comes out a touch overexposed when there is no flash compensation.  Adjust as necessary.  You can usually do this in camera or on flash.
• Pay attention to flash angle:  Ring flashes do not have such a feature, but independently mounted wireless ring flashes can be adjusted.  Alternate the angle according to subject's proximity.

I often do a half dozen or more photos of a subject.  After I have taken a few I will check the images on the viewfinder (mirrorless) or rear LCD (DSLR) and zoom in to verify focus.  If necessary, I will repeat the procedure or change something and start again.  It is rare to take a single photo and be finished.  There are a lot of settings and you can play with each until you find the right combination.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com