Macro (closeup) photography tips for point and shoot cameras

I have always been fascinated with macro photography. I love to get very up close and extremely personal! My favorite macro subjects are flowers, insects, and textures, but when I’m in the mood, I’ll just walk around with my camera and shoot anything that looks interesting.

Two years ago in May when the 17-year cicadas invaded the Cincinnati area, I went for an early-morning walk in my back yard, and discovered that the split rail fence along our property line was just covered with cicadas in their shells. Upon closer inspection, I found a cicada that was just beginning to emerge from its shell.  The sun was still low in the east and was casting magnificent shadows onto the fence. Macro time! I dashed into the house, grabbed my camera (a DLSR) and, during the course of the next few hours, captured closeups of this one cicada in the process of freeing itself from its now-too-small casing. It was an amazing transformation, and I learned so much from just watching. I developed a new respect for these tiny critters. If you’d like to see these photos, here’s the link:  http://goldleaf.zenfolio.com/p984030467/h1f707129#h1f707129
 
That same year, the following June, I was photographing swim team photos for the Sharonville Sharks at their pool in Sharonville, Ohio.  By this time, the cicadas were out in full force and they were everywhere! In the pool, on the wet concrete, on my camera as I was shooting, and dive-bombing the Sharks as they waited in line for their turns. By this time I had learned that cicadas have no mouth parts, so they can’t possibly bite, but those little swimmers were scared half to death! They were still talking about those nasty bugs when I took their photos again the following year. Scarred for life, I’m sure.

But back to macro…closeup photography opens up a whole new world. While I use a DSLR, most point and shoot cameras have a macro setting. If you are interested in trying your hand at it, or want to improve your macro shooting, the Digital Photography School website is a wonderful resource. Among other things, they provide great advice on shooting macro with your point and shoot camera. Here’s the link for macro tips:  http://www.digital-photography-school.com/macro-photography-tips-for-compact-digital-camera-users

I highly recommend you bookmark the page or sign up for their newsletter. Lots of great stuff.

Take care and happy shooting!

Mary Kay
Gold Leaf Productions
www.goldleaf-art.com
513-877-2995