Crystal Keyes Photography: February 2015

If you are like me and don't own a macro or you simply like to step outside the box and be creative this is a great tutorial for you!

I cannot bring myself to buy a macro, when the only time I need it is basically for ring shots. If you are a newborn tog or shoot a lot of macro, this may not be the best option for you, however if you like to shoot rings and still life this is great!

I will show you a step by step on how I achieve this look...

This is my set up, natural light to the right, glitter paper and rings.

I will show you two different common lenses to get the macro look, without using an actual macro. I shoot Nikon, so I am using a Nikkor 35 1.4 and a Nikkor 50 1.4

You can virtually use any lens, but I have found that prime lenses work better especially the 35 and 50.

First, you are going to detach your lens from the body. Now if you are using Nikon, I know the aperture defaults to closed when the lens is detached..if you are using Canon I believe you default to wide open so you will skip the next step.

...I use tape to tape the lever down. If you use your finger it can get really challenging. I typically keep masking tape in my camera bag as it's thicker and works a little better, but I had this on hand and it worked fine in a pinch.

Now, once you are set up and ready to shoot decide which technique you want to use..

I have 3 that I use and I find each one works differently and gives a completely different look.

1. Totally free lensing

2. Placing the lens backward and holding up to your camera body

3. Holding the lens 1-2 inches from your camera body

Here are the "normal" photos...My ISO was 800 in every photo I share. Even though the light was brighter, I use a higher ISO so I can have a faster shutter speed which will help with camera shake. Both "normal" photos were shot f/2.8

Normal 35 1.4 (shot at 2.8)

Normal 50 1.4 (shot at f/2.8)

Technique 1.

Free Lensing, be sure your aperture ring is open (see above)

You will hold the lens very close to the camera body, but without threading the lens move the lens in different directions to get a different DOF. You can achieve vertical and diagonal focal lines by doing this, almost like a tilt shift.

By doing this you have full control over the aperture as it is technically at 0. You are creating your focus. It can be very challenging sometimes to find the focal point, but practice makes perfect!

free lensed 35

free lensed 50

different angle, free lensed 50

Technique 2.

Placing the lens backward and holding up to your camera.

I swear this works like a magnifying glass...it is harder to get shots super crisp, but you can get creative shots this way. When I do this I hold the lens right up against the body (backward) and literally move myself forward and back until what I want is in focus. By doing this you are able to get really close to the subject.

holding the lens backward against the camera body, 50

holding the lens backward against the camera body, 35

getting closer to the subject, holding the lens backward against the camera body, 35

Technique 3.

Holding the lens 1-2 inches from your camera body.

Using the same technique as 2, only holding the lens a little further from the camera body. Make sure to move around until your subject is in focus. This is probably the least sharp method, however you can get some crazy bokeh and call them "artsy" ;) I also found it was much easier to do this with my 35, however experiment because everyone is different!

I know with me, February in Indiana is a slower time for my business so I love to try new things, hopefully you can find some of these techniques useful or at the very least open your creative brain door.

Feel free to comment any questions and share with your friends!

Goodbye <3