This discussion is for you if you have always been interested in macro photography but never knew where to start. Macrophotography is one of the most exciting and gratifying genres in photography. However, it would help if you had a specialized macro lens to get started, so it is a little bit gear-heavy. Not to mention that there are other ways to shoot macro photography. For example, you can use close focusing lenses, reverse lens technique, or extension tubes to get close to your subject and shoot macro photography.

In this discussion, we will stick to the proper use of macro photography lenses and only macro photography lenses. Perhaps in a future discussion, we will discuss the other tools for capturing macro photography.

Use a tripod

one of the things that beginner macro photographers tend to get wrong is that they avoid using a tripod. A tripod is a must-have tool for macro photography. This is because at very close focusing distances, even the slightest movement of the hands can get magnified, and your image can get blurry. Using a tripod eliminates that bluryness.

Use manual focusing

Despite your lens’s fast autofocusing capabilities, it is always recommended to use manual focusing as much as possible when shooting macro photography. The reason is the lack of contrast; your lens may get it wrong from time to time. It may focus on an aspect behind the subject or in front of the subject or altogether focus on an aspect which you may not want to. To avoid confusion, you should always use manual focusing and trust your eyes.

take multiple shots

ensure that you take multiple shots of the scene to get at least one shot where everything is perfect and together. Don’t try to be cheeky; fire one shot, and you’re done. It does not happen that way. Macro photography is a challenging genre and requires a lot of patience and perseverance on the part of the photographer. So, you have to be patient with your subject and try to capture as many shots as possible once you have set up your camera.

Make sure to enhance your photographs in postprocessing

The final aspect is the postprocessing bit. Once you have done your hard work and are back in your studio, sit down with your photographs and curate the ones you feel are the best. Apply your best postprocessing techniques to those photographs to ensure that they are enhanced, and best represents what you originally envisioned to capture. Even the best photographs require some amount of retouching and postprocessing, so don’t overlook this aspect.