Whether you shoot with a 35mm or digital camera or video, the world of close-up photography yields fascinating results. Casual snapshooters seldom take close-up shots, so adding a few well-executed close-up shots to your collection will catch plenty of attention when viewed by others.

WHAT TO SHOOT?— There are no limits. Nature subjects such as flowers, leaves and rocks are very popular objects to photograph, since capturing the colors, shapes and textures is an interesting challenge. Look also for close-up details of commonplace objects. They can be good "what is this?" abstract puzzles for the viewer.

WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED?— It depends on what type of camera you will be using. 35mm point & shoot cameras are limited to the closest they can focus, so most are not well-suited for this type of photography. A 35mm SLR or a digital SLR camera is a natural choice for close-up shooting, since the viewfinder gives you an accurate preview of focus and cropping. A set of filter-like close-up lenses enables the prime lens to focus much closer. Each lens attachment in the set is a different strength, so select the one from the set to cover the corresponding distance range. If you intend to do quite a bit of close-up photography, consider getting a fixed focal length macro lens. This type of lens is designed for close-up shooting and will focus continuously from infinity down to a few inches.

Digital point & shoot cameras and video cameras often have outstanding close-up capability. Their lenses are much shorter in focal length than 35mm cameras, providing good close-focusing ability and plenty of depth of field. LCD viewfinders and monitors give you a great preview of the subject. With some, switch the camera into a special close-up mode to shift the lens into the correct focusing range.

LIGHTING TIPS AND TECHNIQUES— Good lighting, whether sunlight or artificial, is the key to successful results. Take several shots, moving the camera position between shots, to try different lighting angles. If you're shooting a flower or some other translucent object, take some pictures with natural light coming from the side and some with the light coming from behind the flower. The side- and back-lighting will make the colors glow and add more dimension to the photo than with frontal lighting. Be sure to use a lens hood to keep the lighting from causing lens flare that will degrade the image.

The quality of light is also important. Cloudy and partly cloudy days are often better for close-ups outdoors, since the lighting is much less harsh than on a bright sunny day. Ideally, the lighting should have enough contrast to cast a shadow, but the shadow should have some detail in it and not be solid black. The strong lighting of full sunlight can be very effective as a sidelight to bring out texture and form of opaque objects such as weathered wood and metal. Care must be taken to keep important details from washing out in the highlights.

Congratulations to Sharon King for winning the
Porter’s/Tamron Calendar February 2007 Monthly Photo Contest! Sharon’s winning entry in the “Pets” category is ready for downloading as a 2007 monthly calendar at porters.com.