Practical lighting for close-up photography

spraynpray

@JJ: "Need to be done with a laptop or desktop, connected to the cam"

Why? I have never done it that way.

JJ_SO

@spnp how did you do it then? Don't tell me by focussing manually? When using f/2.8, the steps the focus motor has to do are really tiny. I couldn't do that manually. In the beginning I used a cross rail with scale. Was not exact enough.

spraynpray

Never used f2.8. Used f5.6 as it is sharpest on the lens I used so incrementing the focussing rail 2mm at a time was enough.

JJ_SO

Alright I admit I'm a lazy bone who leaves boring focus adjustment of maybe one til three dozens of single pics to software rather than to fiddle, around with focusnrails. Also as another fine excuse, the geared head appears to be more stable without the rail.

Heavy lenses, you know? ;;)

Correlli

With a lot of older manual focus lenses the focal length does not change when you focus as you simply move the entire lens "pack" further away from the film/sensor plane. With modern lenses that use IF or RF for focussing I am pretty sure the focal length does change. We did have a similar discussion about the 70-200 mm f/2.8 VRII changing focal length at closer distance. So with a different focal length the real f-stop will change as well.

I was so sure the earth was flat but Msmoto pointed me into the right direction. So to set things straight: the effective aperture is the ratio between diameter of entrance pupil and image width (not just the focal length). So at close distances the effective aperture (that effects the depth of field) does change. Some lenses report this to the camera, others don't. There is an (old) article about this on the European Nikon Customer Support site if anyone is interested (it still mentions the F90X, F100 but also the D200).

Thanks Msmoto, my world is round again

donaldejose

Just an idea here. I started with Peter Gregg's A Better Bounce Card small size but anything similar will do.

http://www.petergregg.com/a-better-bounce-card-3-0-small/

After I shaped it around an SB400 and an SB600 I taped a diffusing material over the top. This allows the light to come more from the side to create some shape. Of course, you could use a larger bounce card or make one yourself out of cardboard and hold it on to the head of your flash with a rubber band. The point is just to get a type of "softbox" solidly mounted to the flash which is solidly mounted to the camera so you don't have a lot of appendages hanging all over. See the photos of this "softbox" mounted to an SB400 and to a D800. The orange flowers photographed are about one half inch wide. You can see them in the planter above the camera. The white and purple flowers are about one eighth inch wide. The last two photos contain an ant with is about one sixteenth of an inch long (and out of focus).



















I was just testing out a concept here to see how it would work. You could make a nicer looking unit by using black tape. I mounted this on an SB400. If you mounted it on an SB600, 700 or 900 or 910 the softbox with be higher and farther forward changing the angle of light and you could tilt the flash head up a click or two to direct the beam towards you subject which may be various distances in front of your lens at various magnifications.

spraynpray

Donald, you did great with that rig - I find the results very interesting indeed. The results from further back are better than the results from up close, but that is down to fine tuning I think (larger card). I did consider a bounce card, but didn't get as far as getting one to try. Using a larger 'bounce card' and moving it round a little to one side looks like it may do the job. Easy to mount too. Nice.

donaldejose

spraynpray: I have a few other ideas to try such as a larger bounce card to get the light more forward but not beyond the front of the lens so as to create any haze; a snoot modified to shoot down on the subject. In a separate post below I am showing another idea. All of these are just demonstrations. I am not "fine tuning" anything.

donaldejose

This strange looking $30 USD device is called an O Flash on e-bay. It mounts to your flash and directs light down and around the lens like an O Ring.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ring-Flash-O-Flash-for-Nikon-SB900-D700-D300-D200-D90-/160477713871?pt=Digital_Camera_Flashes&hash=item255d3795cf

I took some diffusing paper and taped it to one side to create a lighting ratio. I taped some typing paper to the other side to reflect light. The light ratio can be changed to taste according to how much diffusion material you use. You see a 100mm Macro lens fully extended and notice how far back the light source is from the front of the lens. I think this device works better with a shorter macro lens or with the lens not fully extended because an extended 100mm lens blocks some of the light.



Here are a few photos taken with the device. The flowers are about one half inch across.





Just another inexpensive idea to play with.

donaldejose

This is a $30 USD item I purchased from fotodiox. It is an octagon softbox which attaches to your flash as in the phto below.

http://fotodioxpro.com/index.php/fotodiox-8-octagon-softbox-for-nikon-flash-canon-speedlight-for-nikon-sb-600-sb-800-sb-900-flash-canon-speedlite-380ex-430ex-430ex-ii-550ex-580ex-580ex-ii-vivita-flash-sunpack-nissin-sigma-sony-pentax-olympus-panasonica-lumix-flashe.html

I think a very similar item can be bought directly from China for $6 USD!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120923407222?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

This is what it looks like attached to the camera. You can bend it a bit to get it to point down.



Here are the same one half inch in diameter flowers shot with this octagon softbox for comparison.





Once again, I didn't fine tune these photos. Once could vary the lighting pattern even more by blocking off some of the front of the softbox or diffuse the light more by by putting a diffusion dome or tissue on the flash before mounting the softbox. I am just trying to identify possible rigs to experiment with.

donaldejose

Another possibility. This is a snoot combined with the bounce softbox from the first example I posted. The point here it to just get that softbox farther away from the camera. Any tube could be used to move it forward. I used this item which I find a bit too long because the light is too much from the side at 1:1 but is fine at lower magnification. The issue of it being too far to the side at 1:1 can be solved by using a shorter snoot or tube. The flowers is one half inch across.

http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Universal-Reflector-External-Flashes/dp/B004277Y42

dissent

Some nice variations there. Interesting and subtle effects depending on the subject.

donaldejose

This is the snoot combined with the 8 inch octagon softbox to bring that softbox forward to the end of the lens. Any tube can be used to create that extension.



Here are some examples of photos taken with this combination.





In my opinion, the 8 inch octagon softbox mounted directly to the flash seems about best overall in terms of lighting and simple rigid construction. It wouldn't have to be an octagon softbox. Fotodiox and others make a 6x8 inch rectangular softbox which mounts to the flash. I think it would work about the same.

spraynpray

Hey Donald, slow down man, my head's going to blow up!

My 99 pence mini softbox arrived from China today (1 week) and I will cobble something together tomorrow and see how it goes. You have similar ideas to me but you already have the parts to try them. Thanks for posting all the results, this will be a useful thread for anybody looking to start macro.

donaldejose

Ideally, It would be nice to get the highlight from the upper right (or left) side shining down at a 45 degree angle to mimic the sun. The configurations I tried place the softbox "sun" directly over the lens horizontally and at a 90 degree angle when the camera is held vertically. Yet, I don't really want to add an additional bracket and mount the flash on the bracket (although that could be done). My idea is to take the mini softbox attached to the flash on the hot shoe and place diffusing (or blocking) material over half of the softbox to off set the light source to the right. This is a fotodiox 6x8 inch softbox with two layers of Kleenex tissue over one half of the softbox in an effort to get more directional light.

http://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Speedlight-Speedlite-600EX-RT-Panasonica/dp/B003Y30334/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365797092&sr=8-1&keywords=fotodiox+6x8+softbox

A similar item can be obtained from China for about $15 USD.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-x6-MINI-Softbox-Camera-Soft-Flash-Diffusing-Hood-Fits-All-flashes-/170997705746?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27d041ec12

This is what it looks like mounted with two layers of tissue paper over half of it.



Some photos taken with it. Flower is one half inch across. You can simply reverse the softbox when shooting in the vertical position to put the brighter half on top.





I think this device could use some fine tuning if someone wants to try that. I would try covering three fourths of the softbox with diffusing material to move the brightest light more off center. I would try using thicker diffusing material. I would try blocking the light on half the softbox, etc.

JJ_SO

double post. this forum software demands patience... oh no! By posting this sentence the original post, which was shown double after refresh, is gone. Okay, a last time again.



That's a detail of a material I used to copy and improve donalddejose's idea with small long diffusor. I wanted to have it simple, cheap, easy to carry and waterresisiting. That came out:

It's a 9 inch piece of black foam, the plastic taped to it and fixed with a rubber ring to the flash. Surface of the foam to the flash taped with silver gaffer tape.

I like very much that the shadows and highlights are softer, but have still texture.





Thank you very much for this inspiration, donald!

spraynpray

Here is my set up so far:





It is likely to change - I will try a larger softbox a la Donalds links above. I had the cheapo flash bracket (plate) on the bottom of the camera, I had the flash lead and the Gary Fong Lightsphere so the part I added is the natty bracket that holds the flash to the plate. If you loosen the single knob, the whole thing goes floppy. You position the flash where you want it to point and tighten the knob to fix it.

If I persevere with the set up, I will make a purpose made plate which will include a forward projection to make the camera assembly stable when I put it down.

donaldejose

Posting another option I tried.

This is a ringlight for about $90.00 which uses the Nikon TTL system so you and adjust output of the flash while in A or S or P mode. I thought that would be helpful.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Phoenix-SmartFlash-RF46N-Macro-Ring-Flash-Nikon-iTTL-P04261-/330896155784?pt=Digital_Camera_Flashes&hash=item4d0af2a488

http://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Smart-Flash-Digital-Cameras/dp/B0013L5INE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367344885&sr=8-1&keywords=smart+flash+rf46n

Of course, ringlights make the subject flat because the light comes from all sides. To combat that I taped one side of the ringlight shut with electrician's table, taped a recipe card for bounce outside the other side and taped a smaller recipe card inside the flash ring to keep any direct light from hitting the subject. All of this can be adjusted to taste. A benefit of this system is that nothing is hanging out the side of the camera. The attachments points are the hot shoe and the lens for a more solid structure. Just an idea.

spraynpray

Interesting result there Donald. Maybe a small amount of the ring uncovered at the bottom to add a little 'fill' up under would be good.

I have ordered a 12"x8" soft box which I will cut about to go round my lens a little.

I am trying to stay practical and portable with something fast, effective and cheap and I think between us (posters on this thread) we are getting there.

Msmoto

Some great ideas and gadgets on this thread. I have recently purchased an LED soft box and will get a photo up after I have tested it. The LED set-up will allow a high frame rate useful for the little bugs on flowers.

donaldejose

spraynpray: Yes, many variations of this device are possible and would make the photos better. One can use foil to reflect more, one can change the size of the reflector, one can cover the reflectors I have built with white fabric to create a mini-softbox, etc.

Msmoto: Yes, LED lighting is coming (maybe even LED monolights?) and should be useful. I have a small LED light that mounts on the hotshoe but I thought it would be too far away from the subject. A bracket on the side of the camera could move the LED light forward or perhaps I can find a hot shoe bracket which screws into the front of the lens and mount my small LED light on the front of the lens?

spraynpray

I'm waiting for a larger softbox to arrive which I hope to be able to 'wrap around' the lens to an extent but here is my state of play using the gear in my pics above:



I am learning that iTTL may be not the best way to go due to subjects isolation or being of light/dark tones which still fool the exposure system - maybe I can improve on that with different metering modes but I may go with good ol' manual flash to keep it simple.

donaldejose

Or maybe try center weighted or spot metering mode in place of matrix metering to eliminate the effect of a dark background?

proudgeek

I've been reading this thread with interest and have started my own experimenting Here's what I found:
Spot metering definitely works better than matrix metering
The position of the light source relative to the subject matters. I've had some success shooting in commander mode and positioning the flash directly above the subject (closer than the lens itself and just out of photographic range), augmented with a Gary Fong diffuser.
I really like the look of isolation that comes with a black background. What I've found is that the distance between the subject and the background is key (the further way, the more isolation you can create). I think that it's all a function of the distance between the lens and the subject.
Anyway, this is what I've come up with, goofing off during my lunch break.

Msmoto

I have purchased an LED set up by Steller Lighting Systems, about 7" x 4" in size and the cost was less than $150. It uses one or two SON.NP-550/F570, 7.2V 2100mAh. This exposure of an old 300mm f/4.5 Nikkor was done with the light and the 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro Nikkor, 1/400, f/5.6, ISO 12,800. So, it is not in competition with any speed light, but for quick snaps to illustrate something it is OK.

I will be testing this for outside shots as a possible fill light in macro photography. I think I can gain about 3 f/stops with a closer light position.

The quality of the light is quite acceptable.