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Extreme-macro.co.uk is a free learning site by macro photographer Johan J. Ingles - Le Nobel geared towards budget-conscious intermediate level macro photographers who want to know how to do extreme macro photography and the equipment that we use.

Extreme-macro.co.uk covers the lenses and objectives we use, the photography techniques to use them, types and styles of lighting, specialist macro equipment such as positioning stages and bellows, useful software for stacking and post processing and general insect curation techniques used in 1:1 to 20:1 range of field and studio macro photography, with a particular emphasis towards focus stacking.

What is Extreme Macro?

There is no standard definition for extreme macro, but there is a tentative definition which gives some insight into its unusual nature. Macro photography (1:1) is usually pursued using off the shelf lens and camera equipment, whilst microphotography (10:1+) is undertaken using microscope equipment. Extreme macro covers the range between the two, and borrows apparatus used by both specialties to make images.

Macro Photography

... this site is geared towards budget-conscious intermediate level photographers

The fact of the matter is that macro photography, and especially macro photography of insects, is one of the most popular types of photography around. A lot of macro photographers want to move onto extreme macro focus stacking - but they don't really know where to start. I had much the same problem; useful information about this photography niche is scattered on the four corners of the Internet in some of its more obscure alleyways. By putting this site together I hope to make it easier for folks like myself, who had a lot of questions when they started out. I personally have lots of questions left myself and there's plenty more information to come in due course.

The macro photography principles, methods and equipment covered in this site are not just reserved for macro insect photography. They will be useful for photography of minerals, dental, medical and scientific photography, coin photography and general commercial closeup and macro photography of small objects such as jewellery as well.

Extreme Macro: First Steps

Moving high magnification closeup and extreme macro photography can be overwhelming and expensive by making uninformed equipment choices. In terms of first steps, in order of difficulty and expense: to do extreme macro, move on from standard 1:1 magnification macro into more extreme macro by using close-up Raynox lenses first because they give you nice in-camera control.

Then, if greater magnification is for you (ie approx. between 1:1 and 5:1), consider taking the next step in your extreme macro photography by doing some reverse lens macro: with reversed old 35mm enlarger lenses on a simple Velbon stage, with a set of bellows and a DIY diffused flash unit for indoor work, or a diffuser on a bracket or ringflash with a focusing helicoid for outside work. This is the time to download a Zerene Stacker trial and try some macro focus stacking.

Beyond this, look towards an infinite objective on a tube lens, driven by an electronically controlled stacking stage such as a Cognysis Stackshot Stacker. Of course, depending on the equipment you already have, other routes like stacking two lenses will also work for you if you have them, but the sequence above is probably a reasonable progression path for most people both in terms of cost and in terms of picking up gradual know-how.

Focus Stacking Walkthrough

1 ➤ The focus stacking workflow

2 ➤ How to prepare a focus stack

3 ➤ How to shoot a focus stack

4 ➤ Software tools for focus stacks

5 ➤ Postprocessing tools for focus stacking

Focus Stacking

A tried and tested focus stacking workflow designed to create high resolution in-focus images with a depth of field infinitely larger than is possible with a single image. The most standard technique used for extreme macro.

Macro Calculators

... macro calculators are never as accurate as real-world measurement

Extreme-macro.co.uk also hosts a number of macro calculators relevant to the macro photographer. Macro photography calculators are never as accurate as real-world measurement, but do come close to giving the correct values, so should act as a useful guideline for image shoot preparations. The focus stack step size calculator gives you safe step sizes for stacking, and the stacked lens calculator gives you the resulting magnification when combing two lenses. The extension tube magnification increase and working distance calculator is very similar to the bellows magnification increase and working distance calculator and both concern themselves with magnification and working distance. In addition to these, extreme-macro.co.uk also hosts a reversed lens calculator, a microscopy na to f/stop calculator and infinite objective focal length calculator, Raynox calculator and the broadly similar closeup lens calculator.

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