Practical lighting for close-up photography

donaldejose

Lately I have been trying an extended flash bracket with an SB60 mounted to the side connected to the body with a TTL cord. The point is to move the flash off to the side and be able to adjust how far to the side, or how close to the lens by adjusting the bracket attachment to both the flash and to the camera. I found a normal flash bracket is too short so I found this bracket.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200908545993?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

It was designed to mount two flashes but I have been using it with one side attached to the camera body and the other side attached to the flash to give me extended reach and positioning like this:





At spraynpray's suggestion I put this 7x7 inch octagon softbox over the flash (diffusion panel up) and shot the same flower (which had deteriorated since I shot the original photos - but you can still judge shadow fill). Here is the set up with the octagon soft box.





Sometimes I have used the diffusion panel over the flash tube and other times I have just left the flash tube undiffused. Then I used the octagon softbox over the flash. Here are some examples so you can see the directional light produced by just one flash and how it looks both diffused and undiffused. The first two were shot i the later afternoon sunlight so some yellowish sunlight is affecting the color. The third photo was shot in the morning when the rose was in complete shade so the white is purer.

With the diffusion panel up.:


With the diffusion panel down.


With the octagon softbox (diffusion panel up - could also try it with the diffusion panel down for double diffused light?).


With the diffusion panel down, no soft box.


The long arm flash bracket lets you move the flash into various angles towards the subject and the diffusion panel lets you use various amounts of diffusion.

Recently, I have been posting photos on PAD taken with a D3100 and this flash bracket. More will be posted over the next few days. I like this solution because it is TTL, uses existing SB600 (or other) flashs, costs only $15.00 if you already have a TTL cord, provides a lot of flexibility and is a simple sturdy unit. Now that I have experimented with this contraption on a D3100 and kit lens to see what it can produce I will get a true macro lens out and mount the bracket to a D600 or D800 with battery grip and see how it does in that configuration. There are not a lot of insects around yet so I have been shooting the much larger flowers.

dissent

Looks to me like, at least for these flowers, you are getting interesting light both with and without diffusion.

spraynpray

@Donald: That's a super-simple set-up!

How about a third shot of the same flower with an 8"x 6" or 12"x 8" softbox on the flash? That would be really instructive to compare to just the diffusion panel.

donaldejose

Ok, windy today, When the wind dies down I will put a 7x7 inch octagon soft box over the flash and edit my post above to include that third option with all photos side by side for easy comparison.

ibecamewe

Lighting
As you're working indoors you either need to be close to a window so you can use natural light or use artificial light such as a flashgun. This is true no matter what kind of photography you are doing. If you were doing a photo shoot with a human subject, you’d want to have a good rapport with him or her, right? It makes for a better photo. The same principle applies to macro photography, especially when shooting insects. It helps to know their behavior; how do they respond to being approached by humans? Obviously if you are shooting flowers or sea shells, then you aren’t concerned with them scurrying away if you get too close. But it is still important to know as much as possible about the traits of whatever you’re shooting.

As in patience with your subject and patience with yourself. If you intend to photograph an insect, stalking said insect will more than likely prove unsuccessful. Instead of hunting down that elusive dragonfly, simply position yourself in an area that dragonflies frequent…and wait. If you remain vigilant, an opportunity will present itself eventually. But what if that perfect opportunity finally occurs and you blow it? Well, it happens. And this is where patience with yourself comes into play. Trust me when I say you’re going to take a lot of bad shots; a lot of poorly lit, out of focus, out of frame shots. Just keep trying. When you do nail that perfect shot you will be giddy with delight.

donaldejose

I just added this photo from today's PAD to my posting above.

This is the same setup as shown above with the diffusion screen down on the SB600. No softbox or any other modifiers. Very simple set-up. I add this photo so show the directional light achieved and the filling in the shadows.


D5100, kit lens at 55mm and f16, exposure comp. -1/3 (although that hardly matters because you can adjust much more than that in post production), SB600 side mounted on a bracket.

spraynpray

I think the flower having built in reflectors makes it a success Donald, perhaps if the flower was a dark tone, the light would look harsher?

donaldejose

Good point spraynpray. I will have to try it with a dark red rose.

donaldejose

Here is the same set-up used on a dark red rose. You can tell where the flash is by the shadow cast by the stamen.



I would say it is not too harsh. I think the diffusion panel is enough and you don't need a small softbox, but using one would fill the shadows more and soften the light more if you want that effect.

spraynpray

That's more like I expected to see Donald. I note D5100/18-55 - did you use a close-up filter or is the image at or close to mfd? Hand held or tripod? It is decently sharp, good job.

We have almost permanent wind here in the UK recently so all the flowers are moving a lot which is frustrating my. I am looking for a Wimberley clamp cheap.

donaldejose

I set the kit lens at 55mm. No close up filters. It focuses close enough for flower photos. Hand held and it was windy here that day. One of the best things I have seen for wind is to have an assistant with a shoot through white umbrella who will hold it where needed to block the wind but not be seen in the background. I had no assistant or umbrella; just waited for a relatively calm time between gusts of wind.

donaldejose

Here is another small soft box I purchased for my bracket rig and a few of the photos I took with it yesterday.

This is the $3.20 softbox: http://www.ebay.com/itm/271095191183?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Here is what it looks like attached to my bracket rig and my D5100:




These are some of the photos I took with it:

donaldejose

Another very simple $4.00 rig I just tried:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121150361015?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648

I used this with the pop-up flash on a D7000 and that seemed to have enough power for f22.

Here are some sample shots.

Vipmediastar_JZ

I'm glad this post resurfaced. I was going to ask a question.

I'll be going to a monarch butterfly festival this weekend.
I'll be using the 85mm 1.8g for the butterflies with the d800 and sb800 off camera with the sc-29 cord.
It's been a while since I used it but I was wondering if it's best to do ittl/b and use the stock flash diffuser or a square softbox like @donaldejose

And there is a switch on the sc-29 do you guys leave it on or off?

spraynpray

FWIW:

A quick chimp at your histogram will tell you how much +/- exp comp to add if you want to use iTTL, after that you're good to go. Or you could do a few trial shots at the same distance you will use to fill the frame until you get the right manual settings then you're set. I use iTTL balanced via an SB700 as a remote flash so can't help with the SC-29 switch.

donaldejose

I use an sc-17 cord and it does not have a switch.

Vipmediastar_JZ

Thanks for the info. I did some googling as I don't have the manual anymore. The switch is for af assist either thru the dc 29 on the hot shoe or on the flash.

That's probably more useful in dark situations.

I think I will set it to on as I plan to move the flash around for different angles and I would prefer that it is not out of focus. I read that some shots are out of focus when it is set to off and the flash is not at the same distance as the camera.

spraynpray

@Vipmediastar_JZ: I find it useful to have my camera set to release only when in focus and AF set to continuous servo.

Photobug

donaldejose love the pictures in your message, especially the set-up pictures along with the final pictures and the links to optional equipment. This is so helpful. In the winter I do a lot of indoor macro and the learning curve is so steep. I realized last winter I had a lot to learn with lightning...was not satisfied with my pictures.

Thanks to all for the great messages. Lots of excellent stuff here.

Would you suggest a standard LED ring light or the less expensive option using the extension from your flash? I was thinking of picking up a LED ring light for macro work.

donaldejose

Sorry, I don't know not having worked with an LED ring light. However, I do have this one comment about my experience with LED pannel lights: they create too many small pin point dots in any reflections in the image which look too unnatural for my taste so I stopped using them - even when I covered the panel with white paper I could still see all the tiny dots of bright spots unlike the even light of a softbox. I suggest you get one of each, shoot with them and post examples in this thread for others to see. If anyone has an LED ring light perhaps they can answer and post examples. I do have a small LED panel which I could mount on the bracket arm which held flashes but I have not done so. Perhaps I too will play with this some more when the cold keeps me inside. Something I have not tried is a two part system: use a 5x7 or 8x10 white card on a lightstand (or staple a white poster board to a piece of wood or prop it up with a picture frame), place this white card to one side of the subject and then direct your on-camera flash towards the white ard rather than towards the subject. Basically, you are using bounce flash to light your subject but this technique will require a stand or assistant to hold the white card. Equipment cost is about zero!

Photobug

Thanks donaldejose for the suggestion to use the bounce card. Will try it.

Msmoto

So, from a new member
JamJam
I am trying to decide the best way to improve the lighting for my macro shots. I have a D7000 and a D60 as well as a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 lens. I am primarily looking for something to help me take better flower and insect shots out in the field. Here is a link to my Flickr photos tagged with that lens:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/nikon105mmf28gafsmacro11vr

I know that there are many options for macro lighting including ring lights, but I have narrowed my options to something like the Nikon R1 system with the two smaller flashes positioned at the front of the lens or using a traditional Nikon flash, such as the SB700 both on camera with a large diffuser as shown here:

http://www.pbase.com/duncanc/image/99442654

and off-camera via a Wimberley F2 macro arm as shown here:

http://andrewmclachlan.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/wimberley-macro-flash-bracket-single-arm-set-up/

The Nikon R1 is ~$450 whereas the SB700 is ~$300, the Wimberely F2 is $169 + a couple of plates/adapters I would need are $85 & $69 for a grand total of ~$600. Obviously, there is a cost difference which is not the biggest deal to me. I am more interested in knowing which one people would recommend and which might be easier to learn. I know next to nothing about using a flash but would like to take the winter to learn before next season's spring wildflowers emerge.


Thanks!

sevencrossing

I use the Nikon 105mm f/2.8 lens on a D800 I have the RI plus an extra head I use an SB900 as the master plus up to 2 other SB 900s as fill inas with most subjects you need different lighting for different situationsit very much a case or trial an error to find a setup to get the results you want - See more at: http://forum.nikonrumors.com/discussion/1936/lighting-options-for-macro#Item_7

spraynpray

@Jamjam - @Dissent posted a very good link which reinforces what I said in your closed thread - excellent results without spend a fortune. In fact, I would say that the results from these rigs put the safe expensive options to shame.

http://orionmystery.blogspot.com/2010/12/more-macro-rigs.html#sthash.m1dotHot.dpuf

proudgeek

So I've started playing around with this and want some advice. My wife bought me the R1 macro speedlight system for my birthday. I thought I would start with just the lower priced kit and add the SU800 later if I felt I needed it. I've got a few examples here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdanford/12434406335/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdanford/12447481525/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdanford/12447995384/
Not bad, but I know I'm at the bottom of the learning curve. Depth of field is an issue, even stopped way down, and I'm looking for a macro slider to try some focus stacking. My question relates to the use of the camera as commander. I've been covering up the internal flash, because I want to be able to better control the light, but find that when I do that images are very underexposed (unless I shoot at a shutter speed of 1/15). But here's where I'm confused: I thought that the internal flash was a pre-flash only and didn't alter the actual image. I'm just at this point trying to better understand how this all works. Any thoughts would be welcome.