Part #4 of this Series is all about backgrounds, which are integral in all compositions...both big and small.
Macro Photography
Tools and Techniques
Part #4
Backgrounds in Macro Photography
An effective photograph is a compilation of visual components which, when combined, create an eye-pleasing result. Interesting subject matter may be photogenic, but it cannot stand alone. We need to accentuate our macro subjects by presenting them against aesthetic backgrounds. More often than not, this is easily accomplished by changing the camera angle, or by utilizing natural elements we find at the scene.
Utilizing Natural Materials
Leaves, chunks of bark, even reflective rocks (…as in the example above) can be used effectively as make-shift backgrounds. Just about any natural material we find lying around can be hand-held or propped up behind a macro subject to accentuate a scene.
We can opt to maintain detail in our background to help define our subject when it’s deemed beneficial, or choose a softer, more pleasing compliment. The amount of detail and degree of apparent focus in our chosen background is completely controllable, dependent upon its distance behind the subject. In macro photography, even when our lens is stopped down, the depth of field is so shallow that a background can be easily thrown out of focus just by positioning the material a few inches farther away from the subject.
In the above example of the Spring Beauty flowers, a small chunk of sunlit, mica-encrusted rock was propped up behind the flowers. The amount of distance behind the primary point of interest determined how far out of focus the background appeared in the photograph.
A proven method for creating indistinct backgrounds by utilizing materials found at the scene, is to wiggle the hand-held object rapidly behind the subject during a long, natural light exposure. The subject remains stationary, so the primary point of interest in the photograph remains sharp.
Since the background is in motion during the exposure, it’s presented as a pleasing bokeh of soft color and texture.
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In the above photos, a green leaf was selected as background material. In the first example, the stationary leaf was propped up a few inches behind the subject during a four second exposure. The veins and impurities in the leaf are clearly visible.
During the second four second exposure, the same leaf was manually jiggled around behind the subject to create a muted, more pleasing compliment.
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This same technique can applied to create soft backgrounds in insect photography...as long as the subject remains stationary.
This colorful Sphinx caterpillar was very much alive, but completely immobile. During a 1 second, natural light exposure, a bright green leaf was rapidly shaken behind the subject to create a soft background.
Field Challenge 1
A nature photographer (…we’ll call him “Bugsy“) locates a colorful caterpillar posing photogenically on an oak branch. The handsome larva is immobile and the lighting is perfect, but the background seems dull and distracting. The caterpillar is a pristine specimen, and it appears to represent a species he’d never seen before. He wants to create the most eye-pleasing rendition as possible so he starts searching the surrounding area for something to improve the background. He spots a colorful maple leaf, holds it up directly behind the subject and takes his photo. It’s perfect! The contrast in colors really brings the scene to life!
This is a classic example of a field practice which should have been avoided. Since Bugsy had found his caterpillar resting on an oak branch, it’s fair to assume that this particular caterpillar species may be found only on oak trees. A trained mind would immediately recognize this photographers “natural”, maple leaf background as fake and contrived.
A better solution would have been to have presented the background material completely out of focus so the leaf was un-recognizable. He could have also opted to utilize leaves from the same tree to simulate a more realistic background…one which not only appeared to have occurred naturally, but helped to identify the subject.
Or, Bugsy could have simply re-positioned the camera angle until the existing background seemed more pleasing.
As photographers, our primary objective is to create artistic imagery which is pleasing to the eye, but when depicting our work as naturalists, we should try our best to maintain veracity standards any time a crafted background is utilized. If a chosen background material is recognizable, and it is being used to define the subject, it should depict authenticated fact.
Using Reflected Light to Create a Background of Bokeh Halos
A natural background consisting of a series of light circles can add an entirely new dimension to almost any subject. We've all seen these in-camera anomalies. We may even have created them before, purely by accident, and were pleasantly surprised by how well they augmented our scenes and complimented our subjects.
To become proficient in utilizing the technique of creating picturesque backgrounds of light circles requires a bit of practice, coupled with an understanding of how our lenses and digital sensors react to reflected light.
The effect and intensity of reflected light be controlled by changing the angle of perspective. When shooting directly toward the sun (…or with the sun shining from directly behind our shooting position), the reflections on the light-reflecting surface will be extremely intense. At 90 degrees (..from either the left or right), the effect will be minimal. For practical purposes, selecting a shooting angle from somewhere in between these extremes will create the most pleasing results.
Out-of-focus “halos” of light behind our macro subjects add aesthetic compliments to our compositions and help to transform the mundane into harmonious works of art.
Best of all…they are relatively easy to create. The only ingredients required are a lens or macro accessory which affords shallow depth of field, and a sparkling, reflective surface positioned a short distance behind the subject.
For optimal impact, light halos should be completely round. This is accomplished by selecting a fast shutter speed and adjusting the lens aperture to its widest setting. (When most lenses are stopped down beyond their widest settings, the out of focus reflections will not be perfectly round. The light circles will assume the outline of the aperture blades.)
It’s true that depth of field on our subject will be compromised when our lens is wide open, but to ensure that we get those perfectly round circles in our background, we must sacrifice some apparent focus on our primary point of interest.
The size of the light circles we create is determined by increasing (or decreasing) the actual distance of the subject from the source of the reflection. This is the easiest method to control the size (and quantity) of the light circles in our out-of-focus background. Moving the subject closer toward the background will result in smaller circles. Increasing the distance between the subject and the reflections will exponentially enlarge and lighten the halos. Eventually, when extended far enough away, the background will dissipate completely.
If moving the subject (or the background) is impractical, the lighting effects can also be varied by moving the camera closer (or farther away) or by adding extension tubes to the lens.
If this seems confusing, you are probably not alone. Hopefully, this field challenge will reflect some light on exactly how this distance-to-background thing works:
Field Challenge 2:
Our nature photographer (Bugsy), while scouring the landscape for his next macro subject, discovers a photogenic mollusk shell. The specimen displays natural form and is nearly free of imperfection. He immediately begins to conjure up images in his mind’s eye. The concentric lines and opaque texture of the shell certainly qualifies to create visual impact…but he requires something more. He needs to fashion an aesthetic background to bring his shell to life.
It’s a sunny day, so he decides to utilize the light reflecting off the rippled surface of a nearby creek to create a background of light halos. He props his shell on top of a stream-side rock he finds anchored a few feet in front of the source of the reflections and examines the scene. With the bright sun shining at a slight angle from behind the rippling creek, he observes the reflection of dancing light behind his subject from his intended shooting position. It seems nearly perfect for his anticipated result.
He selects his 105 mm, f-2.8 lens as the most practical choice for the effect he hopes to achieve. At the medium-telephoto lens’ closest allowable focusing distance, he critically focuses on the shell. The background of flickering light, which is two feet behind his point of interest, is pleasingly out of focus…but he envisions that from that position, his light halos might render too small. Since neither the subject nor the background can be moved without compromising his proposed dynamic, he decides to place an extension tube between the camera body and the lens. This allows him to focus on the shell from a few inches closer than before. This closer focusing position, not only enlarges his subject, but the incurred decrease in depth of field from the lens extension throws his background of dancing light even further out of focus, helping him to attain the slightly larger halo circles he was aspiring to design.
With his lens aperture opened to its widest setting, he meters the scene. The resulting shutter speed of 1/750 second freezes everything…and those effervescent, out-of-focus reflections behind the shell are recorded as perfect circles of light.
In this example, our photographer was unable to move his subject or its background farther away from each other, so he opted to extend his lens and move his camera a little closer toward the shell, thus decreasing his depth of field just enough to achieve his intended result. If the position of the subject or the background could have been changed, he could have simply increased the distance between the shell and the reflections to achieve the same result.
It’s wise to remember that, when the sun bouncing off rippling water is being utilized as an out of focus background, a really fast shutter speed of at least 1/500 second will freeze the reflected light circles and help to keep them perfectly round.
A slower shutter speed will cause the circles to elongate into elliptical “blobs” of light.
Man-made Backgrounds
Utilizing artificial materials to create aesthetic backgrounds for our subjects is as old as the art of photography itself. For outdoor macro photography though, our choices of materials will be limited to what we feel can be comfortably transported into the field. Man-made backgrounds are most commonly utilized by wildflower photographers, since, unlike most insects, a flower won’t run off or fly away during the setup process. Truly dedicated wildflower enthusiasts create specialized, folding contraptions using 20 X 30 inch slabs of foam board material. These versatile, inexpensive backgrounds are simple to build and can be easily customized to conform to a photographer’s particular preference.
Although a bit cumbersome to carry around, these simple, pop-up backgrounds can actually double as wind breakers.
A few other man-made backgrounds that can be carried into the field are textured felt material and squares of poster board in various colors. These uncomplicated backgrounds can be easily propped up (or hand-held) behind our subjects to create more pleasing renditions.
(Blue Poster Board Background)
In order to isolate this "story-telling moment", a slab of blue poster material was gently slid into a patch of Black-eyed Susans... directly behind these two proud parents, beaming over their little flower child.
Between puffs of wind, it took several takes to get this one keeper image.
© Bob Cammarata 2015
bobcammarata.blogspot.com
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