Macro photography opens up an amazing world to photographers. It is a world that I love to explore so much that I have a number of macro lenses and other equipment to help me capture images of tiny subjects. I have three dedicated macro lenses: the Nikon 60mm macro, the Nikon 105mm macro and the Nikon 200mm macro. For this test I chose to use the 105mm macro with my Nikon D500. The D500 is a cropped sensor camera so the 105mm lens acts like a 157mm lens on a full frame camera.
In all types of photography, the closer you are to your subject, the less depth of field you have in your image. So when it comes to getting close to your subject in macro photography, there is very little depth of field. The plane of focus is often razor thin and this means very little of your subject is in focus and it can be difficult to get your subject sharp and in focus. As a result, you often have to close down your aperture to get more depth of field. Sometimes this means using an aperture beyond f22. The smallest aperture I can select with my 105mm macro is F57!
Scroll through the images above that were all captured at f8. You will notice that in the first image, all parts of the flower from tip to petals are in focus. As I get closer, the depth of field gets smaller and smaller even though I am still using the same aperture.
So a smaller aperture means less light entering the camera and a corresponding slower shutter speed. Depending on the situation, this means that we could increase our ISO or we could add flash. I choose to add flash to give me the best quality images.
A Variety of Options for Flash
I have explored using various options for flash photography. Everything from do it yourself flash modifiers to dedicated macro flashes. I wanted to capture images of the same subject with the different options to be able to put the photos side by side and see the differences.
For all the photos, I use a Nikon D500 which was set to 1/60th of a second, an aperture of f11 at ISO 800. Depending on the setup, I used two different flashes: the SB 910 and two SB-R200s. In every shot the flashes were set to TTL mode so they did all the work for the amount of light needed.
Option 1 – On Camera Flash
The first option is using a regular flash (the Nikon SB 910) mounted on the camera. I wanted the light from the flash to light the subject which was around 30 cm away so I changed the flash to manual zoom. I set the zoom of the flash head to its widest setting (17mm) to see if I could get some light on my subject.
The on camera flash actually did a better job that I thought it would do. I wasn’t sure if any light would hit my subject but it did. As you can see, the light was a bit further away than the other flash options so the shadows were a bit deeper. There is also a shadow on the branch on the left side of the image.
Option 2 – Homemade Cardboard Light Diffuser
In an effort to get the light closer to the subject and make it a bit softer, I made a light diffuser that channeled the light to my subject. I made the diffuser out of a cardboard cereal box and lined the inside with tinfoil to help reflect the light towards the subject. I also covered the front with some tissue paper to help soften the light. The diffuser directs the light to a specific place close to the lens so this option isn’t very flexible. In addition, the diffuser sticks out over the front of the lens and can sometimes get in the way.
The resulting light is softer than the on camera flash option. Because the flash is above the subject, there is light falloff and the bottom of my subject is darker than the top. The big difference with this option is the softer quality of the light.
Option 3 – Dedicated Nikon Macro Flashes: SB-R200
The Nikon SB-R200s and SU 800 Commander give the most flexibility for light. You can mount multiple SB 200s on the front of the lens. In this example I used 2 flashes but I actually have 3 that I can use. They can be rotated around the front of the lens and easily be positioned in various places and at different angles.
Using the SU 800 commander on top of my camera I can vary the output of the flashes is so many different ways. If I want the balance of light to be a ratio of 2:1 from one flash to the other, I can seamlessly set that on the SU 800. This was the most flexible option and it is easy to see why these flashes are a great choice for macro photography. However, they are a speciality piece of equipment for macro photography so they are the most expensive option here.
The example above is just one of the photos I captured. There were a number of different options of lighting that I was able to capture with this setup. The light isn’t as soft as a softbox but I was able to direct the light into the places that I wanted it. For example, you can see in this image, I put light into the underside of the fungus where the other flashes had difficulty lighting. There wasn’t any falloff of light from the top of the subject to the bottom.
Option 4 – Flash with Softbox Off Camera
I used the Nikon SU 800 from the last setup to trigger the SB 910 which I held off camera. I also could have used the popup flash on my Nikon D500 if I didn’t have an SU 800. The SB 910 had a small softbox attached to help make the light source larger and softer. A good option for a small softbox is the Waka softbox. I set the zoom on the SB 910 to its widest setting to try to spread the light out as much as possible. The camera was mounted on a tripod so I was able to hold the flash in different positions and explore different angles of light.
The light from the softbox was really nice and I liked that I could adjust the position of the softbox. You can see that in the image above I was able to get some light under the top right side of the fungus. There was a bit of light falloff from top to bottom of my subject but overall it did a good job.
The biggest issue I have with this option out in the field is that it is very cumbersome. Usually I am not shooting using a tripod because I need to be more mobile and flexible with my subject. If I am photographing a quick moving insect, I can’t use a tripod. This means that I would have to have the camera in one hand and the softbox in the other. In practice, this hasn’t been easy to accomplish. I have even tried putting the softbox on a tripod and trying to place it near my subject but it doesn’t always work well. However, if you can make this setup work, you can get great light for your macro images.
Option 5 – Custom Made Softbox
I met some other photographers capturing macro images last year and I was impressed with the light modifier that they were using. They explained that their friend had custom built their softboxes for them and gave me his contact information. I got in contact with him and gave him the specifications of my camera, flash and lens I was going to be using and he built me one. The top part of the softbox is adjustable so you can move it back and forth. However, the softbox is quite large and sticks out in front of the lens and can bump into things. So you need to be aware the modifier when you are composing and capturing your image.
As with other softboxes that light the subject from above, there was quite a bit of light falloff from the top of the subject to the bottom. The size of this softbox created really soft light that actually wrapped around the top right part of the fungus that cause shadows in the other images. Overall, the quality of light was great. The great thing about this softbox compared to the homemade cardboard one is that I can adjust the front depending on how far away my subject is compared to my camera.
Recommendations
It may help to look at each of the options side by side to have a better comparison of the different options. Pay close attention to the quality of light, the light falloff from top to bottom of the subject and the shadows.
You may look at the the photos above and wonder what is wrong with the no flash option. It has the brightest background and it is sharp. The shutter speed for the no flash option was 1/6 of a second with the same aperture (f11) and ISO (800) as the other images. When I used a flash, I set the shutter speed to 1/60th of a second which made the background darker.
As I already mentioned, I don’t usually shoot macro images using a tripod so a shutter speed of 1/6th of a second would never work for the majority of my macro photos. Even with a tripod, if I was trying to capture an image of a moving insect or if there was a little wind, I would just get a blurry image. This is why I use flash for macro photography.
Check out how the different flashes in action in the video.
So which option would I recommend?
I would highly recommend starting macro flash photography with the homemade flash diffuser. You will need a flash like the SB 910 (or the newer SB 5000). The great thing about this option is that anyone who already has a flash just needs to make their own diffuser. There isn’t any extra cost if you already have a flash. This flash also can be used for regular flash photography.
The other option that I would recommend is to get a small softbox like the Waka softbox or the Altura softbox for your flash. These are both relatively inexpensive options and can be easily attached to your flash. If you are using a camera with a popup flash it may be able to control your off camera flash. Make sure you check your camera and flash are able to wirelessly work together.
Macro photography is very rewarding but it can also be difficult. It can be difficult to focus on your subject and even to find your subject when working with extreme magnification. If you have tried creating your own light diffuser and you have tried wireless flash and you are still frustrated with the quality or with the ease of use, then you may want to look at specialty macro flashes like the SB-R200 and the SU 800 controller. This option provides the ultimate in control and ease of use with macro photography.
Adding flash to your macro images will help you use smaller apertures and get more keeper photos. The higher the magnification you use, the more essential flash becomes to successfully capturing an image.
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