Last week, we talked about some fun ideas for photographing tabletop stock photos in your own home. If you missed it, you can catch up here.
Macro photography is another great “at home” photo project that works really well for stock.
Macro is all about getting really close to your subject and focusing on small details.
It’s a fun way to turn the ordinary into art, such as these close-up shots of a mushroom, a leaf, and a flower.
Macro shots can be perfect for stock photography because they make interesting backgrounds for designers to work with.
There are dedicated “macro” lenses – which basically means that you can get extremely close to your subject while still achieving sharp focus.
But even if you don’t have an official macro lens, you may still have a lens that lets you get fairly close. If you’re curious, usually the minimum focusing distance is printed right on the front of a lens.
The idea is that you want to get as close as your lens will allow you to focus.
There are so many great macro subjects around your home! Everything from the veggies in your fridge to the junk in your garage has artistic potential – and income potential, too.
Here are a few tips for shooting close-ups for stock:
- Use a tripod. Getting close will really magnify any camera shake, resulting in blurry images unless you stabilize your camera.
- Watch your edges. Make sure there are no distractions creeping in along the edges of your frame. Try to create super simple compositions.
- Control your lighting. You’ll likely want to shoot with soft and even light such as window light or a shaded spot in your backyard.
- Manually focus. You may find it way easier to switch your lens to manual focusing – especially on a tripod – so that you can really control where you want your focus to be. Try switching to “live view” mode in your camera so you can see what you’re focusing on in the rear LCD screen.
Once you’ve created some macro shots to upload to your stock sites, don’t forget the importance of keywording!
Including words such as macro, close-up, texture, background, negative space, detail, and abstract will help buyers find your images. Use whatever words apply best to your particular shot.
Members – if you want a full guide to shooting macro shots for stock, check out the “Macro” Roadmap in your archives.
Give it a try! Macro can become quite addicting once you get the hang of it!
