Photography Foundations: Macro and Close-Up

Course details

It's a small world, and capturing it with a photograph can be challenging. In this course, photographer, author, and teacher Ben Long takes you on a fantastic voyage into the realm of the tiny, detailing the gear and shooting techniques necessary to capture extreme close-ups of everything from products to posies.

After touring the possibilities of macro photography, the course details essential gear at several price levels, including lenses, flashes, and other accessories. Next, Ben explores the special challenges of macro photography: dealing with moving subjects, working with extremely shallow depth of field, focusing, lighting, and more.

The course also explores advanced close-up tools and post-processing techniques, such as using Adobe Photoshop to "stack" multiple shots to yield wider depth of field than a single shot can convey.

Learning objectives
What is a macro photograph?
What is a macro lens?
Finding good subject matter
Evaluating macro gear like extension tubes and tilt-shift lenses
Composing and framing shots
Exploring depth of field
Lighting macro shots
Working with light tables
Editing macro shots

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome
02 - What you need to know for this course

1. Close-Up Shooting

03 - What is close up
04 - Understanding minimum focus distance
05 - Comparing wide lens and telephoto
06 - Understanding depth of field and focus
07 - Working with extension tubes
08 - Working with close-up lenses

2. Basic Macro Shooting with Gear You Own

09 - What is a macro photo
10 - Understanding how to shoot macro with a reversed lens
11 - Using a point-and-shoot camera for macro
12 - Working with backdrops for macro
13 - Practicing macro by shooting in the kitchen

3. Using Macro Lenses

14 - Choosing a macro lens
15 - Exploring macro lens features - Focal length
16 - Understanding macro lens shutter speed
17 - Shooting basics with a macro lens
18 - Getting closer with macro lenses and extension tubes
19 - Working with depth of field and macro
20 - Understanding depth and composition in macro
21 - Working with subject holders and support
22 - Shooting with the Canon 65 mm

4. Macro Shooting Accessories

23 - Working with macro stabilizing options
24 - Working with sliders for macro
25 - Working with a bellows
26 - Working with viewfinders in macro

5. Macro Lighting

27 - Working with direct light
28 - Macro and the angle of light
29 - Augmenting direct light with reflectors
30 - Continuous lighting to add fill to a macro shot
31 - Lighting your macro scene with continuous light
32 - Lighting the macro scene with strobes
33 - Setting up a macro-specific flash unit
34 - Shooting with the Canon Macro Twin Lite
35 - Shooting macro in a light tent
36 - Shooting macro on a light table

6. Macro Shooting in the Field

37 - Field shooting for macro, starting at home
38 - Managing backgrounds in the field
39 - Shooting macro water droplets

7. Depth of Field and Focus Stacking

40 - Creating a simple manual focus stack
41 - Creating a focus stacked image with manual merge
42 - Creating a focus stacked image using Helicon Remote
43 - Working with a StackShot rail for focus stacking
44 - In-camera focus stacking
45 - Merging a focus stack with Photoshop
46 - Merging photo stacks with Helicon
47 - Understanding the aesthetics of depth of field

Conclusion

48 - Next steps