Macro Photography - Second in Series

This the second in the series on Macro Photography:

1. WHAT EQUIPMENT WILL YOU NEED?

“Hard” Ware versus “Not-So-Hard” Ware Equipment: In the “Hard” Ware Equipment Section, I'll talk about what is needed for professional-quality macro photographs. As you progress in your macro photography skills, you'll begin to understand what equipment is necessary for the types of pictures you want to take. If you simply want better, everyday pictures of close-up subjects, the section, “Not-So-Hard” Ware Equipment, will give you great ideas you can use right away.

v "HARD" WARE EQUIPMENT: If your intention is to get perfect macro photographs, be forewarned that this can be the most expensive part of macro photography – the “must-have” equipment that will make your experience more enjoyable and less frustrating. Fortunately, this equipment is ideal for a number of photographic situations.

Macro Lenses: These are special types of lenses made for getting close to subjects, and are invaluable for this kind of work. When photographing tiny objects, your lens' focusing distance determines how close you can get to the subject as well as how close you must get for it to be in sharp focus. There's only one drawback to macro lenses -- they are prohibitively expensive. The reason I use a 50mm macro instead of, say a 150mm or even a 200mm is strictly the cost. Larger lenses can set you back thousands of dollars depending on the quality. I prefer a smaller lens with higher quality, rather than a larger one with dubious caliber. As with most things related to photography, buy the best you can afford. However, the 50mm lens does a very credible job; I just have to move in very close to my macro subject. This can be a major problem with honey bees B they just don't like that lens in their furry little faces! An additional benefit of macro lenses is that since they usually have a higher quality lens in them, the degree of sharpness and clarity is remarkably good and are ideal for using to shoot landscapes.

This article will continue with more equipment ideas next week.