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3 Simple Tips For Snowflake Macro Photography
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3 Simple Tips For Snowflake Macro Photography

Nose red, fingers numb and seeing double (from my macro lens) – these are the things I look forward to during winter time. Whenever I am behind my camera with the macro lens attached, it always amazes me how snowflakes come in different sizes and shapes. I've always wondered how people captured shot of snowflakes. These tips are easy enough to give a try! Read - "3 Simple Tips for Snowflake Macro Photography" Read more: Focus Stacking: The secret to increased depth of field in macro photography Capturing snowflakes can be tricky, but these three secrets have helped me tremendously. * This post contains affiliate links. Thank you in advance for supporting Click it up a Notch!

  • No.
    01
    The right gear

    I like to use the Canon 100mm 2.8L, the Canon MP-E 65mm, and sometimes even the Lensbaby Edge 80 (with macro rings). I’m able to utilize apertures of f/2.8-f/9 while capturing snowflakes with these lenses. The MP-E even has up to 5x magnification which makes the need for extension tubes completely unnecessary. mjap2

  • No.
    02
    Ditch the accessories

    I don’t use a tripod or extension tubes. I prefer the freedom to move around to get a better angle. This is helpful, especially since snowflakes melt so quickly. I just try keep a steady hand and use a little timing on my breathing. Since I’m hand holding my macro lenses, I need to be mindful of my settings. For the 100mm, I can get away with a shutter speed of 100 since it has image stabilization, but for the mp-e 65mm, I go from ss250 or higher and have to compensate with a higher ISO. mjap6

    Read more: 7 Best Macro Photography Tips for Creative Photos

  • No.
    03
    Grab a blanket

    Thankfully I don’t have to go out in the cold and freeze. I just open my window, lay a blanket over the window sill. I like to use different kind of textures for the snowflakes to fall on to and to experiment with. I also prefer to use a fuzzy fabric, snowflakes seem to last a little longer before they melt. This gives me a little time to take more than one photo on each flake I find. mjap8

8 Comments
  • Sonja Carree
    November 30, 2016 at 5:03 PM

    Thank you , good in sight .

    • Sonja Carree
      November 30, 2016 at 5:04 PM

      And beautiful photo’s , Love them ..

      • Marisa Johnson
        December 2, 2016 at 10:41 PM

        Thanks so much, Sonja.

  • Laura
    December 2, 2016 at 2:20 AM

    thank you so much – thinking this is good advice for shooting bubbles also!!!!

    • Marisa Johnson
      December 2, 2016 at 10:42 PM

      Exactly, Laura. The first photo is actually a bubble about to pop. :)

  • Erna
    December 15, 2016 at 1:33 PM

    These are gorgeous photos! It’s starting to snow…I think I’ll give it a whirl.

  • Steve
    October 4, 2017 at 10:42 AM

    Hello, I have just recently been reading some of your posts on macro photography. Quite interesting and informative by the way. I have a couple questions for you as I also do macro photography. You mention lensbaby lenses in several of your posts. Are you using these on a canon camera? Do lensbaby lenses require adapters like nikon lenses do on canon cameras or is lensbaby just a brand like sigma and tamron where they make lenses with mounts to specifically fit a certain brand? I have a Nikon d610 rig and many many lenses, but have recently been thinking of switching to canon just to use the mp-e 65mm’s 1x-5x capabilities. I can use an adapter for my nikon lenses to a canon camera so wont have to completely give up all my lenses when I switch. Thanks for posting your experiences and keep em coming. very good stuff on here…

    Steve

    • Courtney Slazinik
      October 29, 2017 at 8:53 PM

      When purchasing a Lensbaby you specify which brand of camera it is for so they send you the correct lens for that brand.

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