Macro Photography and Backgrounds

For me, it's important to read as much about photography as possible. The more perspectives I have, the more ideas I can try. I'm constantly trying to improve, so this is good for me.

I came across a post on LinkedIn today about the subject of macro photography and backgrounds, The author had mentioned effects that one can achieve by using a pure white background. I thought to myself, that's nice in theory, but I can't really apply that when I'm traveling (such as in my Key West shoot).

Of course, there are image editing techniques that can be used. They don't require Photoshop to work - Elements is more than enough. For me, though, that's like hard labor. I'm not sure if I'm willing to commit.

But does the author have a point? Yes, I think so. Consider these pictures, which are my favorites:





and compare them with:





Do you see the difference? To me, the flowers in the first set pop out - because the background contains no distractions whatsoever. This isn't to say that I don't like the second set of pictures - I do - but they're not as "simple" and "clean" as the first set. And that makes a difference to me.

So, where does that leave you? A few suggestions if you'd like to achieve the same effects, which apply even if you have a point-and-shoot:

1) Avoid harsh sunlight if you're in a garden. Change your angle.

2) Try to zero in very closely on the subject - this reduces the number of distractions in a natural way.

3) Look for a monochromatic background and shoot against it - the Botanical Gardens in DC had plenty of options - but I had to look closely, shoot low, and try different angles. It takes a bit more work and planning, but it's worth it.

Till tomorrow!