anyone familiar with macro?

[1_21Guns]

I have to take 10 photos with the macro setting on my camera, I've got up to 8 and I'm pretty sure you can't tell with some of these, someone help before I start pulling my hair out.

http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy174/1_21Guns/DSCF0931.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy174/1_21Guns/DSCF0943.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy174/1_21Guns/DSCF0946.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy174/1_21Guns/DSCF0947.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy174/1_21Guns/DSCF0962.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy174/1_21Guns/DSCF0975.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy174/1_21Guns/DSCF0984.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy174/1_21Guns/DSCF0994.jpg

[darkwoon]

What kind of camera/optics are you using?

Anyway, the main problem on those pictures is that, for the most part, the focus is not correct. Did you use an autofocus? If so, then try to turn it off (if you can) and manually get the focal distance right.

In most cases, use a stable support - a tripod or, if you don't have one, a pile of books. In macro mode, your field depth is very small, so you need to place the camera precisely at the correct distance, hence a stable support is usually required.

[1_21Guns]

it's a fujifilm finepix one, which aren't the best to begin with in the first place, but it's better than my old one was, so yknow.
and erm.. yeah it's on autofocus but i'll have to figure out how to turn that off, and yeah I realised that, I have a pretty bad problem with shaking :P
thanks :)

[darkwoon]

it's a fujifilm finepix one, which aren't the best to begin with in the first place, but it's better than my old one was, so yknow.
and erm.. yeah it's on autofocus but i'll have to figure out how to turn that off, and yeah I realised that, I have a pretty bad problem with shaking :P
thanks :)
I've checked the manual of your camera (I cheated... I used the EXIF data to get the model of FinePix you were using ;)). They seem to imply that you cannot turn the autofocus off.

However, what you can do is using the autofocus locking feature. To do that, place your camera on a table, measure the distance you want to focus on with a ruler, and put a matchbox before the camera at that distance. Half-press the trigger button, so the autofocus sets on the matchbox. Then take your camera, put it at the same distance of your real subject, and full-press the trigger - if I understood correctly what the manual says, the autofocus should not activate again and will stay locked to the first distance you measured.

Don't be disappointed if the first attempts don't look as you wanted - my camera does have manual focus available, yet it took me more than a dozen tests before getting my first "correct" macro photo.

Hope it helps!

[1_21Guns]

I've checked the manual of your camera (I cheated... I used the EXIF data to get the model of FinePix you were using ;)). They seem to imply that you cannot turn the autofocus off.

However, what you can do is using the autofocus locking feature. To do that, place your camera on a table, measure the distance you want to focus on with a ruler, and put a matchbox before the camera at that distance. Half-press the trigger button, so the autofocus sets on the matchbox. Then take your camera, put it at the same distance of your real subject, and full-press the trigger - if I understood correctly what the manual says, the autofocus should not activate again and will stay locked to the first distance you measured.

Don't be disappointed if the first attempts don't look as you wanted - my camera does have manual focus available, yet it took me more than a dozen tests before getting my first "correct" macro photo.

Hope it helps!

thank you so much :) I shall try that later

[Craig1995]

Idk what macro is or whatever but your pictures are REALLY REALLY GOOD!!! :) 0_o

[1_21Guns]

haha thank you, from what I've been able to understand, it like focus' in on a certain part of a picture, and kinda blurs the rest, most noticable in the bottle pictures :P but I'm not actually too sure myself XD

[darkwoon]

haha thank you, from what I've been able to understand, it like focus' in on a certain part of a picture, and kinda blurs the rest, most noticable in the bottle pictures :P but I'm not actually too sure myself XD
Yep - the most probable is that the autofocus in macro mode is set on the object at the center of the visor. That's why it worked very well with the bottle picture, but not with the others - the bottle was a definite object that would stand out; on the other hand, the leaf picture didn't work well because the autofocus picked up its reference at the base of the leaf, while the best pick would have been the tip pointing at us.

As for "blurring the rest", it is quite normal: the closer range you're focusing on, the smaller your field depth will be. In macro mode, the field depth is usually a few centimeters at most. This allows great results, because the object you're focusing on will stand out against the background.

Most of the sources I've used to learn basic macro photo were in French, but I found a couple two English worth checking if you want to go further:

Digital Photography Tutorials (http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm): one of the best sources I found about photography. It is very well explained and covers most topics. I keep those at hands all the time :) ;
Basic Macro Photography Tutorial (http://www.bmpt1.com/): lots of infos to dig from it, even if it is primarily aimed to quite advanced photo hobbyists.

[1_21Guns]

Yep - the most probable is that the autofocus in macro mode is set on the object at the center of the visor. That's why it worked very well with the bottle picture, but not with the others - the bottle was a definite object that would stand out; on the other hand, the leaf picture didn't work well because the autofocus picked up its reference at the base of the leaf, while the best pick would have been the tip pointing at us.

As for "blurring the rest", it is quite normal: the closer range you're focusing on, the smaller your field depth will be. In macro mode, the field depth is usually a few centimeters at most. This allows great results, because the object you're focusing on will stand out against the background.

Most of the sources I've used to learn basic macro photo were in French, but I found a couple two English worth checking if you want to go further:

Digital Photography Tutorials (http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm): one of the best sources I found about photography. It is very well explained and covers most topics. I keep those at hands all the time :) ;
Basic Macro Photography Tutorial (http://www.bmpt1.com/): lots of infos to dig from it, even if it is primarily aimed to quite advanced photo hobbyists.

Okay, thank you so much :D I'm glad someone knew something :P