Help with macro shots

[rpogge2]

OK, so I was lookign at the eye-candy thread ... great pictures!

So my girlfriend has a Nikon D70 + Tamron 90mm Macro lens.
SO I have been trying to take some pictures but they always turn out realy bad. How do you guys take such awsome pics? Do you use a tripod? and most importantly do you just let the camera autofocus and do its thing? or do you mess with the settings? Also do you use a flash or no? If yes is it the one built in the camera, or do you use a special flash of some sort? I have no clue about photgraphy and .. she doesnt realy either ... lol. But if I could get some pointers I would LOVE to show off my Zoas ;)

Thanks for any tips or tricks !

Ryan

 

[edwing206]

Well, in the tread that you were asking about your torch, the picture looks distorted. Are you shooting perpendicular to the glass? It helps eliminate distortion if you are. Use a tripod to lessen the shake and get less blur.

 

[rpogge2]

No I was at an angle. ANd I dont have a tripod yet, but im getting one tommorow. Its mostly the colors that Im not capturing though... that torch is realy bright neon colored, but in the pic it looks very dull and grey. Some pictures I have seen on here are so bright and vibrant.
Ryan

 

[greystreet41]

turn off your pumps
bump your ISO to like 1600 or higher
push your f-stop to however high that lens will go
bump exposure to +1/3 or +2/3
you have to tripod it--shutter speeds will be slooooow

 

[edwing206]

ISO 1600 will give you major noise.

 

[Paintguru]

I'd leave the iso around 200-400
I was told an F stop of around 11 is sufficient
DEFINITELY use a tripod
turn off the pumps
Shoot directly perpendicular to the glass

 

[BeakerBob]

turn off your pumps
bump your ISO to like 1600 or higher
push your f-stop to however high that lens will go
bump exposure to +1/3 or +2/3
you have to tripod it--shutter speeds will be slooooow

Good advice above except for the ISO. Nikons don't like the high ISO and the colors go flatter on most cameras at the higher ranges. You need to shoot perpendicular to the glass, and use the tripod. Try shooting in the "A" mode (Aperture) and use the self timer unless you have a remote release.

Take a look at the MENU, OPTIMIZE IMAGE, and adjust the settings to what you want. Are you using the correct WHITE BALANCE? If you are heavy into actinic "20K", then you should use the Custom White Balance setting.

 

[greystreet41]

I shoot canon and noise is not a major issue with 1600. Portrait and wildlife shots yes, but not a problem when shooting macros of corals.

 

[BeakerBob]

I know that Canons excel in the higher ISO, however, he is shooting with a Nikon D70. Maybe the new Nikons will give Canon a run for their higher ISO's!

 

[rpogge2]

Thanks for all the info, I had to order a tripod, I am still waiting on it.
Will post some pics when I get it.