35 Examples Of Stunning Macro Photography
Macro photography is also known as close-up photography. Compared to other types of photography, macro photography is quite difficult, because of the nifty equipment, lightning and other techniques involved. However, in the end it comes down to what kind of pictures you want to take and what level of precision you are striving for.
In this inspirational showcase, we’ve collected some beautiful macro pictures, as well as some useful macro photography tutorials – for people at all levels of experience.
You may also be interested in the following related posts:
Stunning Macro Photography
Mr. Attitude
by Cyrus K
Homies on Da Hood
by Marshall Alsup
Deflated
by MuffinMummy
Flower in a Drop
by Szabolcs Vass
Winter Blues
By Ursula I Abresch.
Cold Miner
by LordV
Treble Chef
Created by Glynn McDonald.
Butterfly
by GOLDENORFE
Ant
by Alliec2007
Recently at the fairytale forest
by Gecko_gr
Farewell, Old Friends
by MuffinMummy
Spider
by IRAWAN YUWONO
Curved
by Kristoffer Jonsson
Summer Refreshment
by Frankieleon
Years of Lessons
by Frankieleon
Ripples of Colour
by Alex Bates
Stapelia leendertziae flower
by Martin Heigan
Multi-Color Bungee
by Frankieleon
Drips
by Alex Bates
Hover
by Alliec
Rose
by 5348 Franco
Spider with Egg Case
by Jimmy hoffman
Red Eye Tree Frog
by Juza
Hover Fly
by LordV
Pseudo Scorpion
by LordV
Gear
by LordV
Beauty of Rust
by Frankieleon
Grass Drops
by ViaMoi
Banded Demoiselle
by Alliec2007
Fred Eye
by Snack Happy
Dew Drop
by Alliec2007
Mother Ship
by Frankieleon
Getting Stuck In
by Alliec2007
Macro Photography Tutorials And DIY Tips And Tricks
Macro Photography for Beginners, Part 1, Part 2
This series of macro photography tutorials is a must for anyone starting a career in macro photography. These tutorials contain almost everything, including detailed explanations of macro photography, lighting, focusing and much more.
Picture by DodogoeSLR
How to Shoot Super Macro Photos
A superb article on macro photography. It gives you a basic explanation of macro photography, as well as equipment, set-up, depth of field, flash and examples of what can be achieved and how.
Picture by fensterbme
Macro Photography Tutorial For Taking Bug Pictures
In-depth tutorial on how to take bug pictures. It covers camera equipment, close-ups, reversing the lens, lighting, flash, tripods and much more. Very educational for anyone interested in taking macro pictures of small insects and bugs.
Picture by dincordero
Extreme Macro Photography on a Budget
If you want to achieve extraordinary results, macro photography requires both good technique and good equipment. Lenses, lights, cameras and tripods cost thousands of dollars. Here is a useful DIY (do it yourself) tutorial on building a nice macro lens from a Pringles can.
Picture by leafy
How to Take Close-Up Pictures of Small Things
This is an amazing resource for beginners. It covers basic things, such as what kind of camera and lens you need, and then gets into exposure, lighting, focus, combinations and much more.
Picture by Clicks 1000
How To Take Macro Photography: Close Up, 030
Another article to bookmark if you’re just learning macro photography. A lot of information, over four pages in fact, which will surely come in handy.
Depth of Field Calculator
A really useful online tool that lets you calculate Depth of Field (DOF) before taking pictures. It can be used for almost any camera and lets you adjust for focal length (mm), f-stop, the subject’s distance and more.
How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio
This tutorial is nothing short of fantastic. It shows you how to build a small lightbox in which you take pictures of small objects, flowers or anything you can think of. It won’t cost you much: all you’ll need is a cardboard box, cutting utensils and some paper.
Mini Macro Studio for Less than $0.02
Another useful tutorial on building a mini-macro studio out of everyday objects in no time. The set-up is very simple and requires only a sheet of paper, folded and taped. It is very easy to make and produces nice results.
Macro Photography Tips for Point-and-Shoot Digital Cameras
Can’t afford all that heavy equipment? Then look at this tutorial. It provides all the basic tips and tricks on taking good macro photos with your point-and-shoot digital camera.
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Andrew Turnbull
June 26th, 2009 6:38 am1st. excellent collection, macro photography rocks!
Thanks Smashing
kevinsturf
June 26th, 2009 6:50 amthese are so cool and hi res. I love the insects ones
GIEI
June 26th, 2009 6:51 amAwesome macro also on http://www.fotografainerba.com ;)
Gerd Wippich
June 26th, 2009 7:12 amThank you. I like the photographs with insects themes very much. Have tried something similar, but my picts are far away from being that perfect, though…
DKumar M.
June 26th, 2009 7:29 amSome nice examples there… quite inspirational.
DKumar M.
@instantshift
Dan
June 26th, 2009 7:36 amgreat article. very useful tips. thanks
Edward
June 26th, 2009 7:50 amI agree nice collection. Super sharp :)
ubik15
June 26th, 2009 8:11 amI love macro photography, thanks for the useful (and cheap) tips!
Extraordinare
June 26th, 2009 8:25 amSTUNNING!
Gabe Diaz
June 26th, 2009 8:50 amWOW! Love macro shots, especially those of water and insects. These are beautiful!
Jorge
June 26th, 2009 9:02 amwaoooo exelente colección felicidades
Armand
June 26th, 2009 9:11 amSome of those are really nothing special. Make it 20 and it will be a really nice list. And there are really way too many snails in one collection…
Eric
June 26th, 2009 9:49 amBeautiful shots! I love macro photography!
Ra
June 26th, 2009 10:18 amWonderful!
Michael Mogill
June 26th, 2009 10:18 amExcellent collection!
Peter Klein
June 26th, 2009 10:26 amvery cool collection. excellent shots
peteskenandore.com
June 26th, 2009 10:29 amCaptivating.
Faraz Sayyed
June 26th, 2009 10:30 amsupper sharp… nice collection :)
Jessica
June 26th, 2009 11:44 amI have to preface this by saying I’m a journalistic photographer with a formal education in photography.
This post and the other post made recently with “stunning” photographs were quite poorly chosen. In fact, the vast majority of the photos were unremarkable, vapid, or simply poor photographs. For example, the photograph of the soaring eagle should not be posted anywhere on the internet that is not a wildlife website or Stephen Colbert’s website, and photos of kitties and puppies should not be hailed as “stunning” photography in any situation.
While It is true that Smashing Magazine is a GREAT resource for designers, you need to leave the photography blogging to photographers. This is not your area of expertise, and it’s made clear by the photographic content that has been posted. Most professional photographers would (and do) cringe at the two posts I’ve referred to. Please stick to design or hire a knowledgeable photographer to blog about photography.
Don’t be offended. I still love you guys.
jsoe jimenezq
April 14th, 2010 10:20 ammy name is Jose Jimenez and this is for the Raza Locows orale pues truchas con lo que escriben in a web so pa La Raza Viva La Raza Mexicana Latinos chicanos to dos somos chingones orale pues say que honda a los vatos De Tyler TX.
Karol Kyno~ TwitterSparrow
June 26th, 2009 12:46 pmkKyno says Absolutely beautiful.
Johnba
June 26th, 2009 1:30 pmImagine it as video! wow!
Adam Dexter
June 26th, 2009 6:29 pmCheck out my hyper macro photos of human eyes, show with a Canon MP-E 65mm
http://adamdexterphotography.com/
Tejendra Shandilya
June 26th, 2009 7:48 pmAWESOME …….
Bimal
June 26th, 2009 8:03 pmAwesome Pictures !!!
Jake
June 26th, 2009 8:20 pmReally sweet collection, thanks for the post!
Sheni Meledath
June 26th, 2009 10:56 pmthanks for the info.
Mars
June 26th, 2009 11:04 pmwooowww! great shot, nice lens, a very composition
Enk.
June 27th, 2009 12:41 amLovely Post.. I love macro Photography !
Thank you Smash ! :)
Zeeshan Mian
June 27th, 2009 5:55 amOnly those humanbeings who are blessed with love,devotion and belief in natural beauty would must say….
” STUNNING “
Aneslin
June 27th, 2009 6:29 amexcellent one
thanks for the share
Taa
June 27th, 2009 6:42 amtalk about inspiring images! Also makes me really appreciate the miracle of Mother Nature–so many good shots here – thanks :)
Facundo
June 27th, 2009 7:40 ami love macro pics are the best
Bine
June 27th, 2009 8:43 amGreat pictures !
Scott
June 27th, 2009 9:59 amI am afraid the soccer ball and the back of the tennis shoe are not macro photos at all, nor even that close.
From wikipedia: The classical definition is that the image projected on the “film plane” (i.e., film or a digital sensor) is close to the same size as the subject.
While Smashing Magazine does present some photography that is very appealling the average viewer, I tend to agree with Jessica that many lack the technical qualities that any serious photographer would refer to as “Stunning”. Please hire a pro if you post future photography articles – it will do well for your credibility.
I do love Smashing Magazine, but have thought this about every one of your photography showcases…
Therapix
June 27th, 2009 6:26 pmGreat pictures indeed!
RIP MJ
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smalllotus
June 27th, 2009 8:36 pmwonderful~
Adrian
June 28th, 2009 7:20 amLOL. Love that Tree Frog. He just chillin’.
ahmad
June 28th, 2009 7:22 pmvery well !!!!!!!!!
panyang
June 28th, 2009 8:54 pmamazing..great references
Tanneru
June 28th, 2009 9:36 pmThose things begin to repeat and get boring. Always the same things in different variations. Please something new!
Prabhakaran
June 28th, 2009 10:51 pmStunning post, thanks for posting the tips. Need to give a attempt!
kant
June 28th, 2009 11:08 pmmicro photographs are TOO GOOD. Awesome images.
bielik roman
June 29th, 2009 1:42 ampozri si to ….
Krish
June 29th, 2009 9:36 amExcellent macros.
Jehzeel Laurente
June 29th, 2009 6:40 pmYet another inspiring post. I think I need to buy my own DSLR.. woooooot!
ReadyPhotoSite
June 30th, 2009 5:52 aminsects remind me some 3D creatures, the nature made them perfect indeed!
ModifyEvolution
June 30th, 2009 6:51 pmmacro photography is quite difficult, because of the nifty equipment, lightning and other techniques involved.
Yes. Lightning is necessary for macro photographs.
Ana
June 30th, 2009 7:30 pm!Qué belleza!
Felicidades
Yatin Taneja
June 30th, 2009 9:30 pmDo we really need a SLR camera. Why not shoot these things with video Camera? We can choose right frame and then same the screen OR frame.
FreePhotoResources
July 1st, 2009 2:21 amGreat Gallery, love the different perspectives in some of the shots!
Radoslava Marinova
July 3rd, 2009 11:36 pmyou have very good ideas. bravo, you are sorcerer…!!!
MolW
July 4th, 2009 9:57 amSome more nature-themed macros: http://blogs.msdn.com/mswanson/articles/wallpaper.aspx
romina
July 5th, 2009 4:00 amwoooooooooooooooooooow,just say wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
JESUS E. HERNANDEZ R. (VENEZUELA)
July 5th, 2009 9:59 amNinguna malabra describe mejor estas tomas como es, excelencia! les felicito, soy amante de la macrofotografia, lamentablemente mi equipo es muy limitado para tan buenos resultados como los que ustedes exhiben, no obtante me gustaria poder la manera de conseguir aqui en venezuela, lentes macro con mayor capacidad. En el blog gentedeprensa.blogspot.com publico de vez en cuando algunos de mis trabajos en macro.
John
July 7th, 2009 2:58 amSome nice shots but some of these are not macro shots – i feel the author does not have a proper understanding of macro photography
RRomeo
July 7th, 2009 8:04 amcheck mine:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reidlromeo/17063488/in/set-72057594059112505/
sets:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reidlromeo/sets/72057594059112505/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reidlromeo/sets/72157601969202973/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reidlromeo/sets/72157601960249800/
tom@plasticprinters
July 13th, 2009 2:03 pmmacro is my favorite. need to get a better camera.
CHICOTENN FABIAN
July 21st, 2009 9:15 pmTOTAL WAOOoooooooo SUPER WAOooooooo ME ENCANTAN.
RICK
July 26th, 2009 2:50 pmRealmente tus fotos no se le pueden colocar una nota de un 10 y no se pueden decir que son excelentes .- Solo se me ocurre decir que tus fotos, la camara y el fotografo no son de este mundo ………………felicitaciones ………. te lo dice un adicto a la fotografia ——- SIGAN ASI
Mark
August 5th, 2009 6:24 amWish I could see more of these, but Flickr is blocked here at work. Bummer.
pete
March 7th, 2010 2:33 pmwow n1 collection of macro shoots
check mine at: http://www.mkirste.de/index.php?x=browse&tag=Makro&pagenum=1
Matt Bamberg
March 15th, 2010 6:53 pmJust love these picture. I’d love to know what kind of lens was used to take each of them.
Matt Bamberg
David Hardwick Photography
March 22nd, 2010 8:33 amFantastic macro photography. I would love to try this out someday soon.
Abed Algabar Banat
April 14th, 2010 1:07 pmYour photos at the top of beauty and I wish you more creativity I love this theme of photography and I also hope to be half your level
Carmen
May 4th, 2010 11:57 amHi All,
I am currently taking macro pictures on my small compact digital camera and am interested in upgrading my camera to a Nikon D5000 or the Canon EOS ti2. Any suggestion on which one I should purchase or other sugguested models?
Many Thanks
Claudia
May 8th, 2010 12:49 amEvery image is so captivating!
Myles Thompson
May 24th, 2010 2:54 amFantastic. Just spent a small fortune on a big fat camera with a chunky macro lens, focus rails, some lights – even bought a house with a room suitable for a studio. Spend so much time with the children in the garden looking at insects – seemed like a natural extension of all that rummaging around in the undergrowth.
matt
May 25th, 2010 11:40 amwhat cameras and lenses did u use because i have got some that are like them and just under the same quality better than them with a lumix TZ3
zaid
July 2nd, 2010 2:58 amim realy impresed what these pic so great
nasim
August 17th, 2011 11:39 pmvery very nice…