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Eight of the most common macro photography mistakes and how to avoid them

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Macro can be a tricky subject, especially if you want to be able to do it well. Chances are, most of us who’ve tried to have a go at macro have made some or all of mistakes at some point. Some of us spot them as soon as we’ve made them and figure out how to work around them. But those mistakes are not always so obvious.

I’ve certainly made a few macro mistakes over the years, where images haven’t turned out exactly the way I wanted, but wasn’t sure why. In this video, macro photographer Micael Widell shows us the eight most common beginner mistakes he sees in macro photography and how you can avoid them.

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These close-up portraits show that bees have “different personalities”

When looking from afar, all bees look the same. But just like they’re complex and intelligent creatures, they also look different from each other. Photographer and drone operator Josh Forwood wanted to show these differences, so he took a series of macro bee portraits. His photos let us meet bees up close (and I mean, really close) and see how different their little faces really are.

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Photographer explores subconscious mind through dark and intimate skin macro photos

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love it when two different forms of art intertwine to create something new and unique. Such is the project Too Close for Comfort by the UK-based photographer Courtenay Florence. Florence mixes macro photography and writing, adds a generous amount of intimacy, psychology, and subconscious, and sprinkles it with a bit of horror. Her photos show skin up close and personal, and each of them tells a story that will send shivers down your spine.

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This is how Canon’s Spherical Aberration dial works on the new RF 100mm f/2.8 macro

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Last week, Canon rehoused a couple of its old EF lenses into RF cases, but also released something brand new. A macro lens that wasn’t just an old design with an EF to RF adapter bolted on the end, but a whole new design. That lens is the Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM and it brings with it a new and very unique feature – Spherical Aberration Control.

It’s a ring just behind the focus ring that lets you adjust how the out of focus areas of the scene are rendered within your shot. But what does that mean in the real world? How does it make them look? Well, this video from Canon Europe answers that with some examples from pro macro photographer, Oliver Wright, who’s been using it with the Canon EOS R5.

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How to take colorful macro photos of crystals without a microscope

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What is Birefringence?

Birefringence is an effect that causes psychedelic rainbow colours to appear in otherwise transparent materials. Such as the magnifying glass in the pictures above.
But actually, it’s a little more complicated than that:

Birefringent materials (mostly crystals) split an entering light ray into two rays that are both polarized with the vibration directions oriented at right angles to one another, and traveling at different velocities. When placed between two crossed polarizing filters, such materials appear in bright colors. With only polarized light entering the subject, one wave gets retarded with respect to the other and interference occurs between the waves as they pass through the second polarizer.
Even though you can create fantastic results just using two CPL filters, best results will be achieved with linear polarizers.

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How to use a reverse macro lens with the Blackmagic 6K pocket cinema camera

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Need extreme close-up shots of tiny objects in your video? You’re on a budget and don’t have these fancy extreme macro lenses? Use the technique called “reverse lens macro”. It’s well known in the macro photography world but surprisingly unknown in videography.

Simply put, you take a wide-angle lens. For example, take an old 28mm and mount it in reverse via a macro coupler ring adapter to your camera. That’s all there is to it. The wider your lens is, the higher the magnification. This technique works with every DSLR / mirrorless camera not only with the Pocket 6K.

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How to take macro photos on instant film for $35

If you’re into retro instant photos or macro photography, you’re gonna like this video. And if you’re into both, plus you have a limited budget, then you’re gonna love it!  Dave Knop aka Knoptop has discovered a $35 instant camera that lets you take photos only a few inches away from your subject. He even upgraded it with some DIY tricks and took some cute instant macro prints.

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How to take creative macro photos in your kitchen sink

Here comes a quick, easy tip on something you can try in your kitchen with a macro lens.

Yesterday as I was doing the dishes, the water stream hit an egg cup and bounced up in a concentrated jet, splashing water up all over me. We have all been there, and we all hate when it happens. But this time, the macro photography lover in me noticed that the structure of the jet that splashed up from the egg cup actually looked pretty interesting!

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How to use microscope lenses on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K

I had some fun lately shooting some macro, and I was curious if I could somehow use my father’s old microscope lenses on my photo and video cameras. The idea is not new. A quick google search showed that it was indeed possible, but you need a special adapter for microscope lenses. The adapter is called “M42 to RMS,” and it is available from  Aliexpress.

I didn’t want to wait 4 weeks for the metal adapter to arrive, so I thought, let’s design one in Fusion360 – but before I start, let’s check Thingiverse first, and voila! Someone designed it already – LOL.

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