Close-up and Macro Photography (Part I)

Photographing miniature subjects is an urge every photographer feels soon after taking up photography.

- Ashok Kandimalla

Typically, these subjects could be found in nature, such as flowers, butterflies, insects, or manmade objects like jewels, watches, small antiques, etc. Additionally, you can discover intricate details like patterns and textures, even within large objects. The genre of photography that deals with photographing small subjects has three categories: close-up photography, macro photography, and photomicrography.

So, what do these terms mean? The basis for this nomenclature is magnification, which can also be expressed as the reproduction ratio. Both of 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 the same size, then the reproduction ratio is 1:1, and the magnification is 1X. A 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 (Picture 1).

Close-up photography refers to images 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. Strangely, it is not called microphotography, which involves making very small images of large subjects by reduction. It is primarily used in industries, such as chip making, as the reduction process reduces errors. We will not be discussing both photomicrography and microphotography in this article.

How to Achieve Higher Magnification