Macro Photography for Beginners – Complete Tutorial

In this tutorial I will teach you how to photograph insects, how to pick a good macro lens, what camera is good for macro photos, and everything else you need to know to get started with macro photography.

Some good budget macro lenses:

Products I use for daily macro photography: 👇

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[zeejimi]

A neighbour of mine is a highly talented photographer, and - still in the days of analogue photography / slides - my wife and I were invited to his house in the evening. He showed us some slides projected onto a screen which consisted of macro photographs of a single bloom of a red amaryllis : they were ASTOUNDINGLY BEAUTIFUL, and he used music to accentuate the impact of the individual images !!! His equipment was from Leica and it was possible to see even the microscopically tiny hairs of the flower on what looked like a bright red ski slope. Truly very impressive !!!

[paulstickley]

Good advice and pretty much how I shoot. The only thing I would add is that a high megapixel camera will enable the user to crop in more and therefore shoot from further away. This helps with depth of field, working distance and enables the use of autofocus in many cases. I have shot with 12 MP, 24MP and 42MP cameras and all are ok but the 42 MP does have advantages. Having said that, I got great results even with the 12MP camera.

[ernestthomas]

thanx much Michael, doing something different, I do lots of street & urban photography, now I'm dipping my toe in macro photography, and you gave me a good starting point!

[lazyeagle]

I consider myself "experienced" as a photographer but not in macro. I can say this whole videos echoes my thoughts on macro and also a wonderful, easy to digest instruction into the discipline. Thanks much for the video and taking the time to explain why you don't need to spend a million dollars to get into another style.

[glennhunt]

Been into macro photography for a few years now but always find it good to get back to basics every now and again just to pick up one or two tips that may have been forgotten - a very clear and well presented tutorial there Micael. 👍

[bkc]

If you are thinking about buying extension tubes, be careful with cheap versions. I had a cheap set that the little pins that facilitate communication between lens and camera stuck and didn't move as easily as they should. I didn't know this and when I put the extension tube on my camera, the little pins broke the contacts on the lens mount on the body. So, I don't recommend going very cheap on these and I definitely recommend checking to make sure the pins move freely before putting the tube on your camera.

[rbuenafe]

Thank you for explaining macro photography for beginners. Many years ago, I was big into photography when digital photography was non existent. Getting the itch again and want to get back into it. Lately, I've been fascinated with fungi macro photography. It's like another world. I already have my Fujifilm XT-3 and just need a macro lens. Subscribed!

[noCap_TV]

Absolutely great video. Your calm and nice way of talking and your positive charisma made it easy to follow these essential tips. It helped a ton. Thank you so much 🤘🏼

[__entiendo]

Your experiment showing how an extension tube works was amazing. I always wondered how extension tubes were so cheap but your experiment showed me how simple they are and why you lose so much light when using them.

[skellyrocker]

Thank you so much for this video. I bought a macro lens about 3 years ago without much of a clue how to use it. After some miserable attempts it ended up in a drawer. After watching your video I hauled it out along with my speed light and used some of your tips. Results, while not perfect, have certainly got me hooked on this type of photography and photography in general now I have a base that I can work from to improve. Thanks again.

[wbdill]

The setting for making the viewfinder bright for Olympus is "simulated optical viewfinder" or S OVF. A monopod is a good compromise between easy setup and steady camera. Another option for more steady (but harder setup) is to use a tripod with one leg all the way up so it's a bipod. Very stable left/right and up/down and you can still tilt in and out to change focus and working distance

[botanicaltreasures]

My husband and I watched this together Friday night. It was both instructive and entertaining. I especially enjoyed your section about what was weird with macro photography. By the way most of the bugs that stay still for you tend to be predators: tiger flies, ladybugs, spiders, ambush bugs, and so forth. Or they have really good defenses—stink bugs are slow, but no other bug in its right mind would ever wish to eat it. 🤢

[crinklecut]

Thank you so much. This will help me at work. I use a macroscope for some failure analysis. I think I understand the basics of how it works now.

[GregShaw]

Great video, your video's from a few years ago helped me get into macro photography. I stopped for the last 18 months and am now getting back into it, so this was a great refresher video and I learnt a few new things too, especially around aperture as I would tend to stick to F10 for most of my shots with the Lawoa 100mm x2 lens

[ovijcug]

This video is really practical to learn of the beginners of macro photography❤

[vintage_lenses]

Alltid lär man sig något nytt av dig. "Setting effect off" är någonting jag inte visste. Tack för det tipset Micael

[runningwithscissors]

I copied / emulated your flash setup using the Godox X2T-S TTL (wireless controller) + the Godox TT600 (flash unit) using a diffuser and the difference in the quality of insect and flower macro is absolutely astonishing. I've only had it setup for an hour but took some great sleeping bee shots. Thank

[elisabethlafontaine]

Micael, thank you for this video! I’ve been making macro photos for more than 10 years and am “self-taught”. Either I got good results or not so I just shot lots and hoped one would meet my exacting standards! Back to basics with this excellent video and I can correct my mistakes! Many thanks! I’ve watched many of your videos and this one is essential for beginners in macro photography. I’m showing it to my Camera Club before we go out to find insects!

[vaflooo]

Great video for beginners. Clear, step by step and in very nice manner. Thank you very much!

[dhauraney]

I'm an experienced photographer but a complete newbie when it comes to macro work. I found your video very helpful so thanks very much for taking the time to make it!