25 Beautiful Macro Photography Shots
Macro photography is the art of taking close-up pictures that reveal details which can’t be seen with the naked eye. For example, while we can see the fly on the wall, our eyes aren’t equipped to make out the fine details of the hairs on it’s face. This is where macro photography comes in. It gives us a glimpse into the world of the very small, which goes largely unnoticed by us as we hurriedly shuffle through our day.
In this edition of our Monday Inspiration series we present 25 beautiful examples of macro photography. A round-up of some truly revealing and inspiring macro photographs which are sure to have you marveling at the world around you. You may check out the links at the bottom of this post for further resources on the subject of macro photography.
You may also be interested in the following related posts:
- 35 Beautiful Examples Of Rain Photography
- 45 Beautiful Motion Blur Photos
- Beautiful Black And White Photos
- (Really) Stunning Pictures and Photos
25 Beautiful Examples Of Macro Photography
Eye of a Tokay Gecko
“A close-up shot of a Tokay Gecko. Their eyes remind me of old-fashioned keyholes. Thanks for looking!” The photo is taken by Alan M.
La force et la passion
“She felt her strength and passion back by 1 small drop of water.”. The photo is taken by Leon Baas.
High-Tech Jumper
“Jumping spider on a DVD reading my data! Shot with a Canon 20D with a Canon MP-E macro lens.” The photo is taken by Coder.
Bubble Magic
“Close-up of a wet leaf … taken with a Canon Powershot A610 :)” The photo is taken by Sophie.
Lasius Vlavius
“This yellow meadow ant is trying to find a way to dry ground after the rain”. The photo is taken by Leon Baas.
Flower Detail
Close-up of a very colorful flower, shot by MeLissa Stolte.
Frog’s eye
Photos are taken by Justin Dotson.
Dewdrop Refraction
Taken by Brian Valentine.
Water lily
The photo is taken by Chun-Chih Fan (ddsnet).
A flower
The photo is taken by Indah Susanti.
Another vision
The photo is taken by Kristina Buceatchi.
A Flower
The photo is taken by Cyril Cattin.
Crane Fly
This insect looks like something out of a Sci-fi movie.
A flower
The photo is taken by Chan Chen.
Spider
Stunning detail of a spider.
8.365 I saw the sea
The photo is taken by Lux Tenebra.
Water & Rose
Beautiful colors.
Refracted Daisy
You can see the refracted daisy in the blurred background.
Flower in water
Amazing picture of a flower sitting in water. The reflection almost looks surreal.
House fly
Simply wonderful photo.
Red Veined Darter
Truly stunning macro of this insect covered in morning dew. Wow!.
Resources
- Closer and closer
A huge macro photography group on Flickr. - MacroPhotography.org
Articles,gallery,forum and more. - Insect macro photography
Very informative how-to on the subject. - Macro photography on a budget
Get into macro photography without going broke. - Macro Photographers Flickr Pool
- Macro Photos: No Limits
- Water Macro Photography
Related posts
You may also be interested in the following related posts:
Hen3co
September 21st, 2008 2:37 pmSome stunning photos!
Don’t like spiders though, but the rest are beautifull!!!!
Jeeves
September 21st, 2008 2:41 pmamazing pictures.. wonder what kind of lens / Cameras/settings they were using ?
Hey , this would make a good topic if you can teach Photography novices few awesome tricks with Digital Photography..
bob marleyy
November 23rd, 2010 2:07 am:p
Mini0n
September 21st, 2008 2:47 pmAwesome! =)
Spiders are ugly! lol
Gabe Diaz
September 21st, 2008 2:52 pmall great photos but that last one is truly amazing.
Arda
September 21st, 2008 2:59 pmVery beautiful!
David
September 21st, 2008 3:05 pmCrazy! You don’t get to see this kinda of thing too often. Nice post.
Philip P.
September 21st, 2008 3:26 pmWow – just an amazing set of photographs! The last is just mind boggling. The timing to get that shot.
Huge kudos to all the photographers!!
Dex
September 21st, 2008 3:40 pmWonderful. But i fuckin hate spiders. :|
What was God thinking about when he created spiders?
Kyerious
May 26th, 2011 2:53 pmHe was thinking the same thing when he created social misfits like yourself? This is going to be fun? :)
Top Rate Photographs BTW, Very impressive!
Brendan Falkowski
September 21st, 2008 3:46 pmThe last one is great.
The “Flower in Water” (3rd to last) is a well known Photoshop effect. Use your brain people, water doesn’t move like that in such a small area…
Rob
September 21st, 2008 3:47 pmwow – I love macro
Rúben M.
September 21st, 2008 3:52 pmI love macro shots, many photos are only point and shoot, but other have so many work behind :)
anjhero
September 21st, 2008 5:13 pmTHis is jus so cooooooooooooool…. Jus Awesome!!
Ben May
September 21st, 2008 5:30 pmGreat list of pictures!
cheesy
September 21st, 2008 6:51 pmgreat detail! Hope to see more of em’! thanks smashing! ;)
IdeasInTime
September 21st, 2008 8:13 pmrealy cool
Arthur Henrique
September 21st, 2008 9:02 pmReeaaalllyyy coolll gallery!! The details are sou beautiful… tks smashing mag! =D
Geshan
September 21st, 2008 9:23 pmAmazing shots, great.
Geshan
Andris
September 21st, 2008 9:40 pmThose are really stunning photographs. Thanks a lot for sharing them. Check out some of my pictures at:
Curt Simon Harlinghausen
September 21st, 2008 9:44 pmAmazing pictures. Just great article.
sureshdavid
September 21st, 2008 9:54 pmAwesome photos lol… Its Pretty cooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllll………..
Sam
September 21st, 2008 10:03 pmVery amazing! I love the shots.
xyz
September 21st, 2008 10:05 pm@Dex
Wonderful. But i fuckin hate spiders. :|
What was God thinking about when he created spiders?
I guess if spiders were not there we couldnt have come out with a wonderful movie called Superman! lol Anyways, nice collection of pics..
sa
July 13th, 2010 9:24 amoh yeah
breko
September 21st, 2008 10:47 pmCould anybody give an advice what camera to buy (not too expansive) to make such pictures?
Shannon
March 28th, 2011 4:33 amIt probably doesn’t matter anymore, but shots like these primarily come from a specific lens, not a specific camera. That lens is a Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens for Canon SLR Cameras. You can pick one up new for about $1,050 currently. Used, you may be able to get a great deal and spend only a few hundred bucks or so, but that’s rare.
You’ll also need an SLR (single lens reflex camera), preferably digital, and any Canon dSLR will do, really. I was getting great stuff back when I had my 5 megapixel 10D.
Finally, for a minimum setup, you will want to get a good light source. That can be daylight, a flashlight, a studio flash, an on-camera hot shoe flash, or a dedicated macro flash. The little pop-up flashes on the camera are worthless at the distances these images are created because the flash is blocked by the lens. An external light source is absolutely necessary if you go above 2x magnification. Naturally, Macro flash is best, and those start at about $500 for a decent one and go up from there.
If you want to shoot macro on a budget, get some extension tubes and a cheap dSLR. Be sure to bring lots of light and lots of patience. Extension tubes can run you between $12 and $200. You may have some difficulty getting very high magnifications without a bellows, and you’ll need a lot of light and a heck of a lot of patience and perseverance. Shots like those are darned difficult to achieve.
Have fun. :)
speedcu
September 21st, 2008 10:48 pmgreat!!! really impressive work! love it
ed
September 21st, 2008 10:58 pmwow!
neosheet
September 21st, 2008 11:21 pmits very..very.. awesome, i love Crane Fly
Fish
September 21st, 2008 11:43 pmOh my god, the photos of insects are freakin’ AMAZING. Great job once again Smashing Magazine.
asp.net
September 22nd, 2008 12:02 amamazing photos !!!
Nathan Beck
September 22nd, 2008 12:23 ameeew…. some are a bit creepy but oh my how do they get some of those shots!!! Amazing stuff.
Ben
September 22nd, 2008 1:05 amAwesome shots. If anyone prefers butterflies to spiders as I do, I’ve got some examples of those here.
Sadiq Hussain
September 22nd, 2008 1:07 amAmazing photos I have never seen such details.
Barend
September 22nd, 2008 1:23 amFantastic selection! But some of them are edited I guess?
Adam Alyan
September 22nd, 2008 2:04 amImpressive!
carlos
September 22nd, 2008 2:12 amamazing shots, the last one is unbelievable! Well done Tim and the Smashing Team a brilliant collection of fascinating photos…
SiGa
September 22nd, 2008 3:02 amThese are SO amazing – I hope I´ll ever get that far with my own camera!
Thanks for this collection!
Andrei Gonzales
September 22nd, 2008 3:04 amAs somebody who does a bit of photography, I can honestly say that a good amount of those photographs had used some pretty expensive (USD1400+) lenses. Others were fixed afterwards – still great shots though.
Dedail
September 22nd, 2008 4:01 amEinfach genial. Mehr bitte.
PrabhakaranG
September 22nd, 2008 5:30 amAwesome, I am luving it!
heather
September 22nd, 2008 6:45 amgreat photos, loved the cat.
so many of these are flora/fauna, do people ever use macro photography for inanimate things? buildings, reflective surfaces, metals,… does anyone maybe have some examples of these?
Siah
September 22nd, 2008 7:07 amsome really breathtaking stuff..
atxanne
September 22nd, 2008 7:12 amThe insects almost seem to pose for this photos, just breathtaking. I’d like to see more pictures like the cat photo, but it seems to be linked to a site with nothing but external links. Which site was this image from?
yoshi
September 22nd, 2008 7:15 amvery nice
Possumposs
September 22nd, 2008 7:38 amLove this article! Makes me want to go buy a Macro Lens right now…. Although, the red lily photo looks like it has photoshopped water
Grant Friedman
September 22nd, 2008 8:35 amCool pics! I love Macro photography!
Dr. Girlfriend
September 22nd, 2008 9:08 amAbsolutely gorgeous works! “Bubble Magic” (the macro of the wet leaf) taken with a humble Canon Powershot A610 proves Walker Evans was right. It’s not the camera, but the brain behind it that matters.
Fantastic shots from some truly talented individuals.
Carlos Lorenzo
September 22nd, 2008 9:20 amNot only the quality is good. There are some subjects that take the leading part. That bug with big thick antennae and the cat’s eyes caught from an angle are stunning.
Jehzeel Laurente
September 22nd, 2008 9:32 amthis is truly awesome! :)
Raj
September 22nd, 2008 9:33 amReally amazing photos.
For all those who hate spiders; sure they are creepy and scary, but they are natures way of keeping the insect population under control. Without them, we’d have too many other little critters around.
dariusz
September 22nd, 2008 11:27 amRespect to Igor Siwanowicz, just look at all images @ linked site. Amazing and… some disturbing.
KellyP
September 22nd, 2008 11:39 amA great source of photography is megapixel.net (which is based in canada and offers both french and english versions of all their content. They post macro photos from their readers every month.
sevenTsix
September 22nd, 2008 12:15 pmNice pics.
ps: asking for a thumbs us from SU users will not always get you some and more likely to get you a ‘no rating’ or thumbs down even. Just be aware.
h-a-r-v
September 22nd, 2008 1:28 pmOne of the best posts ever.
Janckos
September 22nd, 2008 4:47 pmexcellent job!
jian
September 22nd, 2008 4:57 pmoh…..my god!…
佩服….牛
OverZero
September 23rd, 2008 1:05 amWorks by Igor Siwanowicz are simply stunning.
Monica
September 23rd, 2008 1:26 amWooooooooooooooooooooou!!!
Ronny
September 23rd, 2008 1:29 amWhat a ridiculous list of AMAZING pictures!
sudarsan
September 23rd, 2008 1:31 amI like all the photos.,. great job
Pedro
September 23rd, 2008 2:46 amNo disclaimer on spiders?
Nice work, but I almost had an heart attack! :O
Shinden
September 23rd, 2008 4:17 amthe dragonfly is awesome, the dews are like magnifiers attached to the dragonfly
perke
September 23rd, 2008 5:24 amgreat shots, love the last one…amazing!
norseye
September 23rd, 2008 5:47 amMove in close and everything is scary beautiful
MSOnWired
September 23rd, 2008 5:54 amThese photos have amazing color, balance, and obviously… detail. Macro is a different world.
onwired.com
Justin
September 23rd, 2008 6:14 amThe ladybird photo is so powerful. A truly surreal experience when seeing all photos … amazing, simply amazing. Also great to see that Smashing Magazine is crediting the photographers and not just presenting a list of photos without saying who took them. Great stuff guys ! Keep us inspired !!
Glasgow Web Design
September 23rd, 2008 7:01 amThe photos are great with brilliant colours – I assume they’ve all been photoshopped?
black diamon
September 23rd, 2008 7:24 amamazing photos congratulations team it´s really incredible
Adrian Rodriguez
September 23rd, 2008 7:57 amThose are some awesome shots!
michal
September 23rd, 2008 1:55 pmeeeeew…
hate spiders
rybaxs
September 23rd, 2008 5:36 pmhigh macro definition.. cool! what type of lens did u use?
zanulvo
September 23rd, 2008 6:57 pmgreat pics
JD
September 23rd, 2008 10:54 pmTOTALLY AMAZING! — I understand why you guys hate spiders but that hate just doesn’t make sense. They eat a whole lot of disgusting insects–which truly harm our lives. So next time you see a spider, PLEASE SPARE IT!
Lillan
September 24th, 2008 11:25 amWOW – stunning pics. Nature IS beautiful!!!
G.
September 24th, 2008 12:14 pmWow!
Rob
September 25th, 2008 4:25 amThis guy is truly amazing mark plonsky
Mila Jones
September 25th, 2008 6:00 amAMAZING. Oh, and who cares if you hate spiders, that doesn’t make the photos any less breathtaking!
Robert Bragg
September 25th, 2008 2:27 pmif you enjoyed these macos take minute to view some other exceptional ones http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/563994337DDoRSf
Julissa Morales
September 26th, 2008 12:26 pmEs increible lo que se puede lograr con un Macro estas imagenes estan preciosas
Daniel
September 29th, 2008 5:57 ami don’t know… but i don’t like spiders! xD
they r bad little monsters…
i preffer the first photo… so… bye bye!
Jim
September 29th, 2008 4:02 pmStunning! I commend the photographers who have taken the shots in this series for their vision (actually for their macro vision) in seeing beauty even in things considered by many as hideous and monstrous. Simply inspirational!
ardhian.satrya
September 29th, 2008 8:26 pmI like the last one, very different!
Jaibem
October 1st, 2008 12:34 pmSuperb!!!… Those are some awesome close up.
Aneesh Abraham
October 1st, 2008 7:54 pmGreat Collection!!!!
lilian
October 4th, 2008 9:20 pmme kedo kon la marikita
Steve
October 6th, 2008 10:30 amI love the posts here, but being totally afraid of spiders, this post just kills me!
greghousesgf
October 17th, 2008 8:37 amwhy do more people hate spiders than flies?
Ihatespiderss
October 21st, 2008 4:41 ammy god. disclaimer for the spider pictures please!!
but amazing photography.
Tully
October 22nd, 2008 7:28 pmTruly Awesome
http://www.flickr.com/mtully
joice ribeiro
October 23rd, 2008 3:33 amthanks forsharing
joice ribeiro
October 23rd, 2008 3:34 amthank!
Marguerite
October 23rd, 2008 9:08 amThe Refracted Daisy and Red Veined Darter photographs are superb designs for a Baccarat milllefiori paperweight. My sincere congratulations to the photographers. Absolutely brilliant!
I’d like to suggest they contact a glass company that produces paperweights. :-)
María Cecilia Gómez B.
October 25th, 2008 11:52 amThose are beautiful and incredibles pictures, congratulations to the photographers, but as I love a lot cats ¨the another vision¨ from Kristina Buceatchi had captured me…
Todas las fotos me parecieron muy bellas e increíbles, felicitaciones a todos los fotógrafos, y claro, como a mi me gustan tanto los gatos, ¨la otra visión¨de Kristina Buceatchi me encantó…
grace olsson
November 13th, 2008 12:53 pmBeautiful photos—but lots are with too much effect.Good for the eyes, of course. To show the capacity of the creaction…but I dont feel that all are arts.Photography is a little bit different.
legend-yu
November 19th, 2008 9:23 pmSO COOL! 我能和你们交朋友吗？（Can i make friends with you？）
shaaaks
November 20th, 2008 11:56 pmNot nice.
chris
November 24th, 2008 9:19 amdoes anyone know what animal or insect is the one in picture number 13..?
jack
November 25th, 2008 5:09 ammacro=large micro=small
adonis
November 26th, 2008 7:16 pmAmazing and beautiful…
Orgil
December 2nd, 2008 9:05 amwow this is sick i love! and i love spiders.. and what’s with the quality it’s way too high
hnk
December 9th, 2008 4:29 amdex, I wonder what God was thinking when he created you?
The photos are fantastic.
vishal
December 19th, 2008 1:33 amIt’s fantastic photography!! I like too much