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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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How to take creative macro photos in your kitchen sink

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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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Nine things that make Leica Rangefinders different from other digital cameras

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If someone would ask me what digital camera brand is the most different from all the others, I would definitely answer Leica. A couple of weeks ago I bought my first Leica rangefinder, after using virtually every other camera brand on the market. I went for the cheapest one available, the Leica M8. In this article, I have written down my notes on what the biggest differences are from other digital cameras I have used over the years.

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How to fix the bad grip of Sony A7 and A9

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Sony’s A7/A9 series of mirrorless cameras have a bad reputation for their grip ergonomics. And rightly so. I love my Sony A7III and it is still the best camera on the market for my particular needs, but the grip just isn’t anywhere near as good as on a pro DSLR. My pinky finger has nowhere to go, and when holding the camera for extended periods of time, often with a big chunky lens and a speedlight attached, my hand even starts to hurt. So I decided it was time to do something about it.

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Full Frame vs Micro Four Thirds in Macro Photography

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When I do macro photography, I do it mostly freehand, outdoors, and when possible, in natural light. I love my Sony A7 and the abundance of affordable macro lenses available for it via adapters. But one thing that I often struggle with, and sometimes damn my full frame sensor for, is the minuscule depth of field.

So one day, I got the idea to pick up a macro lens for my newly purchased Micro Four Thirds camera: The Panasonic Lumix G80 (known as G85 in the United States). In this article, I want to briefly go through some important aspects to consider when you pick between full frame and crop sensor for macro photography.
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Six must-have camera accessories if you’re just starting out

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There seems to be many beginners in photography, who enthusiastically buy a mirrorless or DSLR-camera, use it intensively for two weeks, and then never touch it again. Yet some people manage to truly make photography into a passion from the very start, and they go on to enjoy it for years and years.

I believe a core deciding factor for which of these you become, is how good your experience is during the first few weeks with the camera. Furthermore, I believe that the experience is often decided by what kind of accessories you have. In this article I am listing six accessories I believe should be among the first you purchase. Most of them are cheaper than you might expect, especially if you are brave enough to purchase third-party versions.

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Six reasons to get a 135mm f/2 lens

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Image quality, weight and value for money. We have come to accept that most lenses are strong in only one or two of these three factors, that I personally focus on when researching lenses to buy. Sometimes though, we stumble upon a great lens design which is strong in all three. One of the prime examples of such a design is the “nifty fifty” – the 50mm f1.8 lens construction that many lens manufacturers provide. Another example is the 100mm (or sometimes 90mm) f2.8 macro lens. If you buy a nifty fifty or a 100mm macro lens you simply cannot go wrong – you will get a great and handy lens for your money, with great image quality.

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Ten quick tips for photographing northern lights

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The other day I was lucky enough to catch some Northern Lights over my hometown Stockholm. It is quite rare to see them here, especially on a full moon night, and with all the light pollution from the city. The experience of seeing and photographing Aurora Borealis inspired me to compile a video and this article with my 10 best quick tips to catch the northern lights with a camera.

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