Wide Angle Macro Photography - a guide to getting started
/Wide Angle Macro Photography …
… is pretty much what it sounds like. It is a style of macro photography that takes advantage of a specialized lens setup in order to add some wide angle context to our images. Think of it as closeup photography that comes with a story attached.
This is a spider - up close and personal
This is a macro photograph of a spider. Lots of cool detail, but not much of a story.
This is also a spider, but it is directly over your head, sizing you up for lunch
This spider comes with a story. The wide backdrop, showing trees and sky, tells you where this beast is in the world, and with a little imagination, it conjures up a story of spiders dropping onto unsuspecting photographers as they amble though the woods.
Let’s talk about the equipment we need to take a closeup photograph of our subject, with the kind of perspective you can only get with a wide angle lens. All you need is a camera, mirrorless or DSLR, and a wide angle lens (something that can get you to 20-22mm on a full frame sensor (or about 14mm on a crop frame) PLUS a short section of extension tube. The key here is to limit the amount of extension to around 10-15mm.
You could get much the same results by using a built for purpose wide angle macro lens, like the Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide Angle Macro, which you can find here…
This is the Canon version, but this lens is available for just about every brand. A cheaper alternative can be found in the Mistaken Zhongyi 20mm f/2 Super Macro - but bear in mind that this ultra niche lens comes with 4.5X magnification!
This one is also made for just about any camera brand.
Don’t worry if you don’t have one of these specialized lenses, our wide angle plus extension outfit will get the job done very nicely. But we should consider the limitations of this system.
With our lens at 21mm focal length, on 12mm of extension, your wide angle field of view will be about 100 degrees (on a full frame camera), but your working distance will be down to around 20mm and the magnification ratio will be about 0.7:1. As you decrease the focal length, the magnification increases as the the working distance shrinks. Same with adding more extension - it also gives you less working distance and more magnification - but at the cost of practical usability. On the other hand, increasing the focal length or decreasing the amount of extension, both result in a more comfortable working distance and a little less magnification. But as you get up to 30 or 35mm focal length, you lose the wide angle perspective and the background closes in on your subject - like a macro lens.
Wide angle macro storytelling
As you can see, the challenge of wide angle macro photography lies in making the best compromises under the unique circumstances of a given image. The shot shown above was made at about 24mm - which meant a less panoramic backdrop, slightly less magnification of the small plastic figure, but a nice long working distance of 30mm. In this case the balance works and I can tell the story of this sad little figure precisely as I had imagined it. I go into a lot more detail about the technical side of wide angle macro in the video (which you will find at the end of the article).
Another part of the puzzle that we haven’t looked at yet is the lighting. It can be very challenging to light subjects that are only a few millimeters in front of a wide angle lens. Getting enough light on the subject without creating a ton of lens flare can be tough. But with practice, it can be done by exposing the image for the background and then adding as much light as you need to balance the exposure of your subject. I do this with a penlight, a Lume Cube, a speedlight, a ring light, a ring flash, or some reflective card - depending on the specific circumstances. Another lighting option is to use the light you have and deploy exposure bracketing, but to do it justice, you really must use a tripod. Check out the accompanying video for all the details about exposure bracketing as well as focus stacking (another way to add focal depth to the foreground).
Above you can see a comparison of the effects created by adjusting the focal length of a wide angle zoom lens. A delicate balancing act!
One very valuable piece of gear that you can use to expand the in-focus extent of the foreground is a tilt shift lens adapter. You could also buy a tilt/shift lens, if you are a multi billionaire. I’m stacking with adapters. The one I use is made by Kipon and it allows me get tilt and shift functionality from my Nikon DSLR lenses when using them on a Fuji X-T2 mirrorless camera. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this tool for making the foreground stand out in sharp relief. These adapters are available for almost every mirrorless camera and every DSLR lens you might want to use.
This adapter allows me to use my Nikon lenses of a Sony E-mount body. The adapter shown in the video is for Nikon lenses and Fuji-X-mount cameras.
Setting up a wide angle macro shot often starts with selecting the background, though it doesn’t have to. I like to first find the backdrop for the story I want to tell, and then find the subject to complete the shot. I will even use a preserved specimen from the studio, on occasion, especially when I’m having trouble locating the right subject while out in the field. Again, there is a lot more detail on this process in the accompanying video.
This is a breakdown of the equipment used in the video, with several options for different budgets. The lenses that I demonstrate in the video are listed below. Please note that some of these links are affiliate links and that as an Amazon affiliate, I may make a small commission from qualified purchases (but you do not pay anything for using them!).
AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G from Nikon- my favorite affordable medium wide angle lens. I just love this lens for wide angle macro!
AF-S Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-4.5G VR - This is also a kit lens, it came with my D7500, and I don’t use it often. It turned out to be surprisingly capable as a wide angle macro lens.
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 DX - a perfect lens for wide angle macro when using a crop frame camera body, like the D7500 - one of my all time favorite 3rd party lenses.
Here are some of the other important pieces of gear you will need…
Meike MK-S-AF3A autofocus extension tube which is not the one I used, but is the one I have ordered. The 10mm section will be perfect for this type of photography!
My favorite lightweight field tripod from Pro-Master - the Specialist SP425CK carbon fiber - a little smaller that my studio Specialist, this tripod is the perfect blend of strength and portability. I feels like a much more expensive tripod!
A MUST HAVE addition to whatever tripod you use, the incredible Benro GD3WH three-way geared tripod head. This thing was made for challenges like wide angle macro!
For all the details on how I use this gear for wide angle macro photography, check out this video - it should cover everything you will need to get started with this creative and exciting variation of macro photography!