What is the best Flash for Macro Photography?

Flash Techniques in Macro Photography
One of the first questions you have to ask yourself as a photographer is, do I need to use a flash for macro photography? The answer to the question is YES you do need a flash for macro photography. There are times when it may be possible to take photographs using ambient light close-up. At higher magnifications the need to use flash becomes more increasingly evident and therefore an important part of the macro photographers set-up.

Macro Photographers looking for a system of flash photography are unlikely to find an out-of-the-box solution. A lot of the macro photography that you see on the internet is “close-up” using the flash as the primary light source. If you are considering a flash to your equipment list these are your options:-

Options for outdoor Macro Photography Set-up

Twin Flash
Ring Flash
Hot-shoe Mounted Flash Gun
Built-in Flash (Pop-up)
Twin Flash (Master) and Flash Gun/s (Slave/s)
Ring Flash (Master) and Flash Gun/s (Slave/s)
Built-In (Pop-up) Flash diffused
Twin Flash diffused
Ring Flash diffused
Hot-shoe Mounted Flash Gun using an off-camera hot-shoe extension cord attached to macro bracket arm and fitted with a diffuser
Ambient (natural) Light Only – No Flash

Options for Still life macro photography

Twin Flash
Ring Flash
Twin Flash diffused
Ring Flash diffused
Artificial light source (lighting)
Ambient (natural) Light Only – No Flash

*diffused includes all techniques, light box, light tent, reflecting light etc

Fill Flash | Fill-in Flash
Daylight photography can pose all kinds of problems for the happy-go-lucky photographer. In terms of macro photography this is usually a diurnal activity (done during daylight hours). Nocturnal macro photography is not something that I have come across (yet). It may seem strange to talk about using flash photography when there is an abundance of natural ambient light to use. The problem with the bright sunlight is that it casts shadows over parts of your subjects and this reduces the amount of detail in the photograph. To solve this photographic problem a small amount of flash is used to light the areas of shadow. This is called fill, fill-in or fill flash and is a valuable skill to learn in (macro) photography. The flash has to be fired at reduced power so that it does not alter the overall exposure of the image. In macro photography there a plenty of interesting methods of utilising fill-in flash for your photography. To do this you must adjust the flash exposure. If your flash is connected to the camera by a hot shoe you usually make the setting on the flash unit. In the absence of a light meter (I don’t bother with them either!) Spot metering can be a useful method of calculating the amount of exposure compensation if your camera has this feature (mine doesn’t!). Spot metering is considered by some photographers as essential for macro photography. (note to self - I need to buy a new camera!) So if you’re buying a new camera for macro and close up photography make sure it is capable of spot metering. What you are trying to evaluate is the difference in contrast between the dark areas (shadows) and the light areas (highlights) in the frame. I recently read a tutorial on macro photography that was approximately 150 words in length. The tutorial by an amateur photographer provided the reader with his exact settings followed by his “expert” advice “this works for me”. Now this photographer did put up some pictures which were very good and the settings he was using seemed OK as well. The problem arises when a student of photography tries to follow this photographer’s example. There are degrees of variation within equipment and environments to evaluate for each composition which renders copying setting from an photography forum a total waste of time. It is different to seek advice so that you can learn how to set up the camera yourself. Be inspired by great photographs and photographers and try to emulate what they do by all means but do not copy their camera settings and expect the same results. (sorry about that…simmering down!)

High Speed Sync (FP)
It’s going to be another one of those posts with lot of big fancy words and plenty to take on board. I’m fed up of reading about dark or back backgrounds associated with macro photography. Yes, they generally look abysmal but there are lots of ways to avoid them even with a simple set up like mine. High Speed Sync (or Synch if you prefer) is one of them. In this mode which is set using your flash unit you can tell your camera to use a faster shutter speed than the camera would normally allow.

Absolutely Curtains – Second Curtain Synchronisation
There are two distinct types of curtain synchronisation that are used in digital camera photography. First Curtain Synchronisation (also known as 1st Curtain Sync, Fast Sync and Front Curtain Sync) occurs when the shutter curtain is open (during an exposure) and the flash fires to correspond with the opening of the shutter curtain (at the beginning of the exposure). Second Curtain synchronisation occurs when the flash fires later in the exposure towards the end of the exposure. There is a little more to how this works but on a basic level this how the two curtain synchronisation modes work. Second curtain sync is a very useful camera feature (available on most DSLR cameras). Wildlife photographers interested in entomology find this specifically useful for insect photography. It is thought that some insects are very sensitive to camera flash and will make a quick exit when the flash goes off. When second curtain sync is used the flash occurs later in the exposure so that the insect is captured before the burst of flash is detected.

Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC)
To use flash exposure compensation simply select FEC (or whatever the equivalent feature is called in your camera) and us the plus (+) symbol to increase the amount flash (making the flash more powerful). Use the minus (-) symbol to decrease the amount of flash (making the flash less powerful).

Flash Exposure Lock (FEL)
Flash Exposure Lock is denoted by an asterisk symbol on some cameras. When you activate this feature it locks the flash on the part of the subject that you have chosen using the auto focus (AF) points. This works by firing a pre-flash and then calculates the amount of flash required for the exposure.

Going the Extra Mile!
Many photographers and photography critics complain about black or dark backgrounds in macro photography. You do not have to use flash for macro photography it but in certain situations it will not be possible to get an acceptable exposure. Ambient (natural) light at slow shutter speed will create an even exposure for some still life subjects. In addition still life and indoor photography can be lit using lighting for total control of the exposure. This is when a light box or light tent comes in really useful, this is great for taking still images of products for auction sites. A light box or (or light tent) is a structure that you can light with a light source (such as a lamp). The light is diffused by the material but enough penetrates the structure to light the still life subject inside. They come in all shapes and sizes and can be created for very little money from cardboard, fabric, paper etc. In essence this is the same technology used in portrait and studio photography only on a smaller scale Remember that a picture speaks a thousand words. If you can take and use your own close-up or macro photography on your website you have an advantage over your competitors (unless they are also doing the same which makes it all square). This type of photography is not strictly restricted to still life as some entomologists and scientists collect specimens and photograph them under laboratory conditions using the same or similar set-up. In many cases this is to get as much detail and therefore information from the species without any distraction from the background. The photographs produced are not generally of great artistic merit but not all photography is art (or is it?). In summary it comes down to finding a way of working that suits your style and suits your subjects. If you have the ingenuity to try something new you should embrace this opportunity. In digital photography failure is not expensive and this allows the photographer to try all kinds of wild and weird photography techniques. Many of the most successful nature photographers are the ones who are prepared to go the extra mile.

The Cost of Setting up a Flash System for Macro Photography
(Apart from all the $1.00 plastic milk bottles and polystyrene cereal bowls concepts) setting up a decent flash system for macro photography can be quite expensive. Even if you already own a good flash gun (such as the Canon EX range i.e. 580 EX) you will need a bracket (such as a Kirk, Wimberley etc) which may also require a quick release plate and a diffuser (Stofen Omnibounce) and an off camera hot-shoe cord. In fact by the time you have bought all these items you are looking at similar costs as a twin flash (for example the Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX Flash). Now, there is no denying that this type of set-up is great for wildlife and nature macro photography but as a beginner you may not want to spend this amount of money on a flash system. Perhaps you now understand why I use an adapted ring flash for my wildlife and nature photography. I actually enjoy trying to get the best out of the equipment by making diffusers, reflectors and deflectors. To me this is what photography should be about and not just a case of buying the most expensive equipment. There is no out-of-the-box flash system that will work perfectly for outdoor nature photography. The ability to adapt existing equipment to suit your subject is an important skill that has to be learned to be a successful macro photographer.

Flash Exposure Bracketing (FB)
Do you remember reading my comments about Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB) in my post about exposure? I said that this feature can not be used with flash and was therefore as much use for macro photography as a pair of chocolate underpants. When your camera detects that a flash is connected to the hot-shoe on top of the camera Flash Exposure Bracketing (FB) will be enabled. It is controlled through the flash unit and works the same way as the AEB feature. It is easy to set-up on a flash that supports this feature and the shots can be taken one at a time and not in a burst (consecutive). On the few occasions that I have used this function it has worked really well. I find it useful for still life macro photography at very close range and high magnification. If you are taking pictures of stamps or similar flat objects with a ring-flash it works really well. I would imagine that a twin flash would give very similar results.

Summary
So there you have it, another intriguing post about using the flash to fill-in. I don’t know why so many macro photographers are using flash as the primary light source in their photography? When light is already available i.e. day time you only need to use a small amount of flash. This should have no or (very little) impact on the overall exposure other than to remove areas of shadow. I hope this has enlightened a few people on how they should be setting up their cameras and compositions. Please remember that achieving natural images using flash photography is a very difficult but worthwhile technique to master.

Marvin Africa

marvin.africa@yahoo.com

Using Flash for Digital Macro Photography

Ring Flash – Is it the Answer to all Macro Photography Problems?
Welcome to my Macro Photography for Beginners website. In my last post I documented the way in which I successfully cleaned my Camera Sensor. This was much easier than I had anticipated and has given my camera a new lease of life. I am now enjoying using my camera again and making full use of small aperture values. In the UK the weather has been quite cold this week which does not bother me at all but it is not the best conditions for macro photography. Despite this I hope you enjoy this post and pick up some useful macro photography tips along the way. If you are a regular reader of my website you will already know that I use a Sigma EM 140 DG Ring-flash. I chose to use this equipment because my main interest is flower photography. If your main interest is bugs, spiders, insects, butterflies, moths or similar creatures you may prefer to use a standard flash unit on a bracket (or arm) and fitted with a diffuser. This is possibly the most versatile use of off-camera flash for macro photography. Using an ordinary flash gun has quite a few advantages as it can be used as an ordinary flash gun as well. A ring flash or twin flash is only really going to be useful for macro, although some people have been known to use them for portrait photography. Photographers argue and debate these topics day in day out all over the internet on forums, blogs and social network communities. It’s a matter of finding the set-up that suits your photographic requirements. Ring-flash always gets a bad press for giving flat results with no shadows. I believe that some of this criticism is unjustified and often propagated by photographers who have never used ring-flash themselves. There are a lot of nature photographers who use and recommend ring-flash for macro photography. The fact remains that macro photography is a tremendous challenge whether you use a ring flash, twin flash or a diffused flash gun attached to a bracket.

Figure 1. Bob-the-Builder taken using Sigma EM-140 DG Ring Flash (Click to enlarge)

How to Solve Lighting Problems?
It would be reasonable to assume that by adding a ring flash to your existing equipment all your lighting problems would be solved. If only macro photography was that simple. Adding an expensive flash unit will only give you more options of how to solve lighting problems. The problems still exist and in many cases the flash may cause some new ones. It certainly adds more weight to your camera! This will add more stress to the ball head of your tripod. Be prepared for this by using a suitable and high quality ball-head on your tripod.

The flash will usually do a reasonable job of illuminating the subject but in some situations will make the background dark. This is generally the argument against using this type of flash. However this is the consequence of using a ring-flash as the primary light source. Sometimes this effect can be beneficial depending on the subject. I have seen comments on photography forums and websites about black or dark backgrounds in macro looking amateurish. This is nonsense if you fill the frame with an interesting subject the background will become less significant. When your subject fills the frame there will be very little area of background. The problem can be rectified by adding more lighting or using additional (slave) flash units. Too much is made of dark backgrounds in macro photographs in my opinion. There are lots of ways to avoid dark backgrounds. Make as much use of ambient (natural) light as possible and use the flash to fill-in. . Image editing software can be used to alter the backgrounds appearance afterwards. This type of creative image manipulation is frowned upon by many photographers. In my opinion all is fair in love and war and we should do everything possible to improve the images.

The Power of the Sandwich!
Batteries – flash units need power. This means you now have to keep the camera and your flash unit fully charged. If one of them loses all their power during a session and you have no spare batteries your session will be short lived. This can cause missed opportunities and in some cases hair loss. This is not the fault of the flash unit it is a consequence of poor planning. It’s an obvious and slightly expensive solution to have a set of fully charged spare batteries for your camera and flash unit. It can be difficult managing all the separate equipment required for macro photography. It is a good idea to write a check list and refer to it before setting out. Tick everything you need to take with you off the list. Make sure you put a flask of tea on the list and a sandwich to eat. Macro Photography can get very physical and you will need plenty of energy. (read my post on the perils of macro)

The Sigma ring-flash is not waterproof, are any other ring or twin flashes waterproof? This is a major concern when faced with a British summer. However you can make a cover and use waterproofing solution to make it waterproof. I have not investigated whether a commercially made cover exists for this product. I really enjoy a day out in the rain with my camera, and I have learnt how to keep my camera and equipment dry. Water and complex electronics generally do not tend to like each other! I think that it is important not to be dictated to by the weather. If you do not go fishing you will never catch any fish!

Bumhole Syndrome
Remember that all photography forums and clubs have a resident “bumhole” who knows everything there is to know about photography but oddly never produce any photographs of any worth back up their wealth of knowledge. A “bumhole” is the type of person who reads an article or forum post about ring-flash and then copies the sentiments of the writer to lots of other blogs. forums and social networking communities. This means that one photographer who has used a product and found it unsatisfactory for his purposes suddenly becomes 10,000 people. I would guess that 90% of comments made about camera equipment are by people who have never used it. This means you have to read very carefully and eliminate any information that has been added by “bumholes”. In the words of the legendary singer, Morrissey:-

“There is always someone somewhere with a big nose who knows and he will trip you up and laugh when you fall”

The moral of course is to find someone you trust and find out what they think of the particular piece of equipment. The fact is no matter how you choose to do your macro photography there will always be problems to overcome. This is all part of the challenge and should be met with great enthusiasm by the macro photographer. Two of the most difficult obstacles you need to overcome with macro photography are motivation and dedication. How motivated are you to succeed and what is the consequence of failing? Are you dedicated to Macro Photography or just taking a few pictures to pass the time? The more determined you are to succeed can make a lot of difference to your results.

Lets face it there are thousands of different ways to take macro photographs and we are all trying to apply macro to different subjects. I like to take insects and wild flowers but also will attempt a shot at anything else. I recently spent an entire weekend trying to photograph water droplets. I suspended a bag of water over a bowl and punctured it. I then pressed the shutter release every time a drop of water fell. I managed to get a few good shots but also splashed my camera and lens. Not a good idea really but after two days and 500 shots later I had about 3 decent water droplet shots (see figure 2). I really enjoyed it, if only I had done this after cleaning dust from the sensor they would not have all been covered in dirty sensor marks. This makes it difficult to generalize a subject as diverse as macro photography and flash. Many people fail to realise the complexity of adding flash to the equation. Suddenly there are sudden bursts of light that have to be understood, initiated and understood to reap any benefits.

Figure 2. Water Droplet Macro (click to enlarge) - you can see that this was taken before I cleaned the camera sensor.

I very nearly bought a twin flash set-up for my camera. It was at the last minute that I opted for the Sigma EM 140 DG Ring-flash. Why I hear you ask? Well I realised that the sigma does everything that I need at the moment. It cost half as much and is compatible with my camera and my lens (albeit with a 72mm adaptor ring. BTW this does not cause any problems with the 150mm lens to my knowledge). I have certainly not detected any degradation in any of my photographs taken with this set up. The sigma ring flash works very much the same as a twin flash. It does not fire as a ring of light but as two bursts at either side of the lens. The flash assembly connects to an adapter ring that fits into the threads of the lens. The ring flash assembly can be rotated around the circle to any position you find productive. I have been very impressed with it and never regretted my decision to by the sigma. I am sure that Canon, Nikon and Sony twin flashes are also versatile and would do as a good a job, if not better but at such high prices this has to be expected.

To summarise this post a ring flash is only useful when working in macro or at least very close-up. If you are not close enough then you are simply re-creating the pop-up built in flash scenario. The anti-ring flash photographers may have never considered that the device can be operated off the camera. I often disconnect the ring flash assembly and hold it at an angle (between 35 – 45 degrees) towards the subject. This is a inconvenient and I have begun investigating ways to attach the ring-flash in this position permanently. I have designed a bracket but have not built a prototype yet. If anyone has found a way to do this easily already please let me know. It is also possible to diffuse the flash for softer lighting increasing the ratio of ambient light in the exposure. This should help with the black or dark background situation. There are lots of subjects that do not require any flash. I have taken a photograph of a coin with and without flash in figure3. Which photograph do you like best?

Figure 3. Which of these coins is taken using flash? (click to enlarge)

I have no other news or information to divulge this week. Except that I bought a new battery for my Canon 300D (Rebel or Kiss Digital). This is quite a useful tip for any users of this camera. Instead of buying the original battery as a replacement (BP-511) you should try to get the longer lasting BP-511A. It is a much better battery for this camera because it keeps it charge for a very long time. Remember that generic batteries are not a good idea and should be avoided. I have had them fail completely in the past and this could have damaged my camera. Keep away from the “bumholes” of this world and enjoy your macro photography.

Marvin Africa

marvin.africa@yahoo.com

N.B. the first reader to call me a "bumhole" in the comments gets to keep the coin!