Macro with point-and-shoot cameras

Sometimes people ask me why their macro shots are not sharp, and I would go on my usual talk on aperture, depth of field and high iso for a quite a while. So, I decided to write a small post on macro for newbies, aimed for people who use point-and-shoot cameras mainly in Auto mode but not happy with their close-up  photos of flowers or bugs taken in local park.

Shaky camera/object and shallow depth of field are two major problems for macro photography. The former gives you blurry pictures, and the latter results in just part of the object being sharp. In addition, the light is very important factor.

Let's start with the light issue. Personally I try not to shoot under the direct sun because the shiny and glossy objects such as leaves will be overexposed (completely white), and the shady areas will be black. Cloudy weather is the best choice for macro. Flowers in the shade of a house or tree are also good for shooting. If you have a (white) umbrella you can try to use it over the object of the interest.

Even slightest camera movement during macro shooting will produce blurry images. On DSLR this can be addressed by increase of iso (sensitivity) and hence very short exposure but this will produce high amount of noise in compact cameras, with some exceptions. For example, on Fuji X10 I routinely use iso 400 for macro, and very happy with the results. The best solution is a tripod. Even a cheap tripod is better than nothing. Don't forget to disable image stabilization and activate timer mode unless the camera has an infrared remote control. You need a timer to eliminate a camera shake from pressing the release button.

The object also should be immobile. Do not shoot on windy day.

Second, learn how to control the aperture on your camera.  The aperture affects depth of field, and the close the object to the lens the smaller the depth of field at the same aperture value. It seems that in auto mode many compact cameras use apertures nearly entirely open (in combination with very short exposure time). With this settings camera produces sharp images but with very narrow depth of field. You want to have aperture closed to some extend. Generally with Fuji X10 I  use aperture from about 4 to 7. Be aware that at big aperture values the diffraction may be an issue. Closing the aperture reduces amount of light entering camera and results in longer exposure - another reason to use a tripod.

Also keep in mind that many cameras in supermacro mode can take pictures at very short distance, and occasionally the lens may touch the object, so it is good idea to use a protective UV filter.