Macro Photography

Photographing a small sized subject is an urge every photographer feels within a short time after taking up photography.

- Ashok Kandimalla

Typically, these subjects could be those that are found in nature - like flowers, butterflies, insects, or manmade objects like, jewels, watches, small antiques, etc. In addition, you can find several interesting patterns, textures etc. of minute size even in a large object. The genre of photography which deals with photographing small subjects has three categories - close up photography, macro photography and photomicrography.

For you get to a good understanding of what these mean, you need to know the terms magnification and reproduction ratio. Both these indicate the ratio of the size of the image on the sensor to the size of the actual subject. If the image and the subject are of the same size, then the reproduction ratio is 1:1 and the magnification is 1X. Reproduction ratio of 1:1 is also referred to as ‘life” size. If you photograph a subject and it appears twice as large on the sensor, then we say the magnification is 2X and the reproduction ratio in this case will be 2:1. If image is half as large as the subject, then the magnification is ½X and reproduction ratio is 1:2 (Picture 1). Close up photography refers to images that are taken at reproduction ratios of 1:20 (magnification of 1/20X) to 1:2 (½X). For macro photography, the corresponding figures are - 1:2 to 25:1. Photography beyond 25:1 is referred to as photomicrography.

Principles for getting higher magnifications: Close up and macro photography involve photographing subjects with high magnification. So, how do you get higher magnification (which needs shorter subject distance for a given focal length?) There are essentially two principles to achieve this – by Extension and by Optics.