Get started in macro photography with spring flowers

NM: Do you mainly use the monitor or the EVF?

RH: If I’ve got the camera very low down, on the mini tripod, I can just flip the screen up and do everything from there. If I’m lying on the ground using my elbows as support and stability for the camera, I’ll use the EVF. It all depends on the subject, the situation and the circumstances.

NM: What’s the key to good lighting for macro images of flowers?

RH: If it’s during the day, my preference is to work in overcast conditions with a nice flat light. Then I can introduce artificial light to get the effect I want. I use little rechargeable LED lights that I can position in order to get the lighting that I want. Small LEDs are great – they’re inexpensive, you can place them anywhere, be precise with your lighting and also get creative. If you’re just starting out, even the torch on your phone can work, but I would recommend getting one or two small lights with adjustable colour temperature. Put the White Balance to auto daylight on the camera, as that always seems to do a really good job.

NM: Where’s a good place to start?

RH: Your garden, if you have one. Woodland is great and gives you a lot of options. You don’t have to go looking for rare plants, either – daisies are great subjects for macro. There’s so much variety in wildflowers and things will differ depending on where you are, but you can learn the lifecycle of your local area and get to know when different plants will be blooming and where the good places are.

NM: What about wildlife in macro?

RH: Most of my photography of flying insects, such as butterflies or dragonflies, happens really early in the morning or late in the evening, when the insects are roosting. At those times of day, the insects are naturally torpid and you can get really close. Plus there are lots of small creatures in your garden that won’t fly away, such as snails, caterpillars and ladybirds.

NM: Is there an ethical dimension to macro photography?

RH: Absolutely! It’s incredibly important. Only choose subjects that you can access easily without doing damage, be sensitive to the environment, don’t trample or cut wildflowers and treat any wildlife with respect. There are some photographers I see who are all about ‘the picture at all costs’. To me, that’s a really worrying message. I see people on YouTube who have picked things to bring home and photograph or have done unethical things to insects, like put them in a refrigerator to make them more docile. We have to talk about things like that. Images should be taken in the natural environment. Yes, it’s OK to remove some dead twigs here and there if they interfere with your composition but you can’t remove living plants that are in the way and you have to treat insects the same way you would treat any other animal as a wildlife photographer.