Karen Hutton: Exploring the world of macro/close-up photography
Karen Hutton’s creative approach to macro photography takes out the technical details that turn many new photographers away from exploring close-up photography. Her approach is perfect for garden photographers looking to create beautiful images.
Karen Hutton likes to use macro and close-up photography to tell a story.
KelbyOne course takes creative approach to macro photography
It doesn’t take long to see that Karen Hutton’s high-energy personality is contagious.
Her YouTube videos are a dead giveaway of her energetic approach to photography and life. And, it’s this high-energy approach to travel and landscape photography that has made her a popular speaker, educator and voice for photography.
She is a Professional Fujifilm-X Photographer, living in California where she spreads her love for her chosen profession to anyone who will listen.
• Click on the link if you want more on KelbyOne on-line photographic courses.
Lady bugs and aphids on Milkweed plants.
“I believe in discernment, truth, wisdom, strong artistic choices, love and the power of uplifting others,” she writes on her impressive website. “I believe that art is love made visible.”
Karen also believes in simplicity. When asked by Ferns & Feathers how her course would benefit someone who is inexperienced in the world of macro, she is quick to explain that her goal is to take the complexity out of macro photography. “It’s creative and meditative” she explains adding that
“It approaches macro in a less technical way, and more as: A way of seeing + thinking,” she explains. It’s “a way of telling stories; a way of being and of well-being; a way to understand beyond ourselves. Thus, (the course is) more an exploration that anyone can enjoy.” Karen explains.
“The course breaks down the stages of storytelling (like a filmmaker does) in a simple way that any photographer can use to shape their images in a more meaningful way. As a for instance, by finding relationships, then using the light to paint, bathe and wash your characters with it in interesting ways to create an emotional impact, you tell an interesting story with your images.”
Readers who don’t have an expensive camera and maybe count on their cell phone or a simple point-and-shoot compact camera are not left out from enjoying the macro experience.
“The course is built for anyone, regardless of the type of camera they have. It’s about a way of sensing, thinking and seeing… which is a different kind of approach and welcomes any kind of gear,” Karen explains, when asked about gardeners who like to take pictures with their smartphones or compact cameras.
Karen emphasizes the importance of telling the story of the hidden beauty of our gardens.
We how the beauty of our gardens by “telling (showing) the great stories found within the garden. Stories about what you love, how the various elements interact with one another – and finding meaning in all of it.”
If you want to experience some of Karen’s macro photography, take 5 minutes to watch her video in collaboration with Fujifilm on the Great American Road Trip. In this video she uses the road trip to explore the details found along the route.
Karen Hutton
It’s not hard to fall in love with her approach and her work. Whether it’s capturing the spirit of the Sierra Nevada mountains of her California home, intimate details of her travels to France and Italy, or capturing beautiful light of St. Thomas on the Hill in the Upper Sava Valley of Slovenia.
“A lifetime of chasing – and creating with – light began when I was 8 or 9,” she writes. “I had a vision about the transformational power of light, which ignited a sense of purpose that leads me to this day.”
Her outstanding images, humour and genuinely positive outlook, are inspirational to those looking to discover their artistic voices in photography.
Macro photography in our gardens can be extremely rewarding. For more on shooting close-up images in our gardens, be sure to check out my comprehensive post on macro/close-up photography. I have also done a separate post here on flower photography.
But how does all this high energy translate into macro photography?
After all, The world of close-up photography demands the maker slow down, study the world in minute detail and find intimate compositions that can be almost invisible to the naked eye.
• Click on the link if you want more on KelbyOne on-line photographic courses.
In one of her many videos, Karen talks about the importance of discovering the natural world and the smaller details that are so easily overlooked.
“There is so much beauty that fills our world.” Karen explains. “And it comes at every shape and scale and texture. I am awestruck by amazing vistas and cityscapes, but as a citizen of the earth, I want to look, I want to appreciate the smallest components as well as the grand design.”
Karen Hutton’s on-line course turns the focus on creative macro photography.
Review: Karen Hutton’s hour-long macro/close-up photography course
I was fortunate enough to have taken Karen’s one-hour photography course on macro and close-up photography.
After viewing the on-line course on my laptop in the comfort of my home, I can say without a doubt that this course is aimed at people looking to experience the world of close-up photography in a creative rather than a highly technical approach.
It is not aimed at a master of macro photography. That’s not to say there is nothing for the experienced macro photographer to take away from the on-line course, Karen incorporates plenty of excellent tips and approaches to macro and close-up photography for even the most experienced photographers.
The course is, however, aimed at photographers looking to expand their creative horizons and experiment in a world they may never have explored to any great degree in the past.Technical explanations are kept to a minimum, there are no complex descriptions of using flash, and even discussions around lenses are kept to a minimum.
For those of us who are more gardeners than photographers, I think this course is the perfect introduction to macro and close-up photography.
It will challenge you to look at, and approach, your garden and photography in a new more creative way. Karen’s whole approach is to see macro photography as one part of a larger story that begins with seeing the subject in a wider context before moving in on the more intimate details.
It’s the ideal vision for our woodland/wildlife garden approach. Although the single flower is beautiful in itself, it is really just one part of the larger concept that makes up our woodland gardens. The native trilliums in our gardens, for example, depend on the tree canopy for their survival. The tree canopy, therefore, is part of the the trilliums’ and other spring ephemerals larger story and should be included in our story as we explore the details of our trilliums.
It’s an approach that tells a more creative and complete story, as we move in closer and closer to our subjects.
It’s storytelling in a very intimate way.
She refuses to get hung-up on the true definition of macro and, instead, shows how “close-up” photography can be captured with everything from a point-and-shoot camera, to a telephoto lens or a simple zoom lens with a macro feature. Most of us have at least one of these tools in our camera bag.
Karen begins the course by showing students how they can tell a story by moving from a distant view of their subjects through to the middle, medium and finally the more intimate macro or close-up views.
Along the way she uses images to illustrate her story-telling approach to close-up photography.
She touches on the importance of light, explaining the varying emotions that different light can evoke in an image.
She talks about exploring macro at home using everything from kitchen utensils and garden produce to backyard flowers.
Finally, she explores design and movement in close-up images, and wraps it up with the importance of capturing natural patterns in nature.
Macro on-line course is both inspirational as well as informative
In conclusion, Karen’s creative approach to teaching macro photography makes it more accessible to all of us. It inspires us to think about why we are trying to capture an image; why we even want to capture the image, and how we can best illustrate the intimacy of that moment.
Karen’s approach of using macro photography as a means to tell the complete story of our gardens is an approach that inspires us to look deep into what makes our gardens special.
“The course breaks down the stages of storytelling (like a filmmaker does) in a simple way that any photographer can use to shape their images in a more meaningful way. As a for instance, by finding relationships, then using the light to paint, bathe and wash your characters with it in interesting ways to create an emotional impact, you tell an interesting story with your images.”
If you are looking for technical expertise on lenses, lighting and how to obtain 1:1 images of your favourite flower, I suggest you may want to look elsewhere. But if you are looking to be inspired to take your close-up and macro photography to another level, Karen’s course might be the spark that ignites a whole new world of photography.
Karen’s courses are available at KelbyOne, The Ultimate source for Photography Education on the web.
What is the KelbyOne on-line photography program?
Before I explain the KelbyOne on-line photography program, let’s take a look at the founder of the program, Scott Kelby. I was introduced to his work many years ago when I purchased one of his incredibly informative Photoshop books from my local Costco. Since then, he has gone on to write a plethora of books and articles on everything from Lightroom and Photoshop to getting the most out of your iphone camera.
Scott is the brains behind KelbyOne, the extensive on-line photography educational program boasting more than 100 of the world’s best and most entertaining photographers sharing their knowledge and expertise with the photographic community and anyone looking to expand their knowledge about their hobby or their chosen profession. It’s all online and can be accessed from your computer, tablet or even from your phone. There is no need to leave the comfort of your home to gain a wealth of knowledge.
Courses on everything from travel photography, to portraiture, to creative landscapes and Black & White photography are just a few of the more than 900 on-line courses available.
Students can purchase courses individually for as low as $9.95 or by monthly subscriptions for less than $20.00. There is also a yearly membership for those looking for the ultimate learning experience. The courses offer something for everyone whether your are a beginner, hobby photographer, or a seasoned professional.
“Our goal here is to make learning something that you look forward to. This way you, our community of photographers, can move past the hurdles and bring to life the images that are stuck inside of you. We feel like the content has to be fun, cinematic, and inspiring, and taught by the most personable and experienced photographers in the industry,” states the KelbyOne site.
Macro photography: How to get up close for flower and insect photos
Garden macro photography can open up a whole new world and getting good images have never been easier. Here are some tips on capturing more intimate scenes, from flower closeups to butterflies and other insects that call your garden home.
This image of Aphids on a milkweed plant is a fascinating study in nature. If you look close you can see ants “farming” the aphids while two lady bugs wait in the wings to devour the aphids. These are the fascinating images that macro photography offers photographers.
You don’t need expensive equipment to get great garden and flower close-up shots
Getting up close and personal to flowers and insects in the garden can be an eye opening experience.
Even on the worst of days, when the flowers look spent, the trees are tired and the unbearable heat saps the energy out of any hopes of capturing a beautiful image, there is always macro or closeup photography.
Somewhere out there in the garden – probably very close by – is an insect, a butterfly, a tiny flower, maybe a mushroom just begging to be photographed. And, depending on your expectations, capturing these images is not really difficult. Close-up images are available with almost every camera including more inexpensive compact, point-and-shoot cameras. If you have never used the closeup/macro mode, I encourage you to give it a try.
Closeup photography will open an entire new world to you that maybe you never knew even existed in your garden. The impressive colours in a beetle, the incredible detail of the wings on the butterfly, the daily life-and-death-struggle that largely goes unnoticed in the garden – all open up to us as we move in close.
For more on photographing flowers in your garden, check out my comprehensive post on flower photography in your garden.
For more on garden photography, be sure to check out my Ten tips for Great Garden Photography.
If you are looking to purchase a new or used camera, Check out my article on The Best Camera and Lens for garden photography.
And, if you are wondering how a point-and-shoot digital camera that’s more than 10 years old can perform in the garden, be sure to check out my post on the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS.
If most of your garden images are pictorial approaches showing wide vistas of flower beds probably taken with a wide angle lens, or, even more intimate vignettes of groupings of flowers and maybe a birdbath, you owe it to yourself to experiment with macro or closeup photography.
Macro/closeup photography enables you to tell a whole new story in your garden. If you think there are no more images to be taken in the garden, think again.
If you are looking for more information on taking closeup or macro images in the garden, be sure to check out Kelbyone’s many online photography courses.
This native Bumble Bee on salvia was photographed with a manual focus 105mm macro lens on a 20-year-old DSLR camera with a flash equipped with a small, inexpensive flash mini softbox.
The image of aphids and ladybugs on the milkweed is a perfect example of the everyday struggle in our gardens that is easy to overlook. I was on my hands and knees trying to find a monarch caterpillar to photograph when I saw the scene playing out under the leaves of the milkweed. The scene would have gone completely unnoticed if I was not looking for close-up images down low in the garden.
What equipment is needed to shoot garden macro photography
Don’t get confused by the terms macro or closeup photography. Macro technically means getting so close that you photograph your subject at lifesize or 1:1. Closeup photography is simply getting in close enough to your subject to create an image that satisfies you. For example, neither a monarch butterfly, nor a large dahlia, need to be shot at life size for an effective closeup image.
For true macro, a specialized lens or accessories are needed. Most of today’s compact cameras come equipped with a closeup setting that allows you to photograph flowers, butterflies and insects up close.
A macro lens shot wide open probably at f2.8 creates this lovely soft background in this flower photography image. This effect would be difficult to achieve with a compact lens set on close focus.
In the image of the ladybugs and aphids, it certainly helped that I had my macro setup with me that included a DSLR, a manual focus 105mm manual focus macro lens and a flash equipped with a mini-softbox attached to soften the light. Although I consider this setup my more “serious” macro setup, the DSLR is 20 years old, the lens is at least 22 years old and even the flash is an older model. I shoot it all on manual – manual exposure, manual focus. Nothing fancy here.
This is an example of the images that are possible with a high-end point-and-shoot on macro mode. This Bee balm was photographed using the FujiX10 compact camera with a 28mm-110mm (in 35mm terms). Notice the soft background that is made possible by the speed of this outstanding lens.
Garden photographers may not want to invest in a more “serious” macro setup like this. No problem. Chances are you already have a perfectly useable closeup or macro lens on your compact point-and-shoot, travel, or bridge camera. Even your smartphone has the capability of getting up close to most subjects you will want to photograph.
Check out this link for my ten-year-review of the Fujifilm X10 that I used to take the Bee balm image above.
The important factor is getting comfortable with using these features on your camera and learning to work with light to capture interesting images. Macro photography is no different than any other types of photography in that light is the key component to capturing interesting images. Harsh, mid-day light may not be the best time to photograph.
This Iris was again shot with a 100mm macro lens to give an extreme closeup. The size of the flower means it could have been photographed with many close focusing compact cameras possibly equipped with a closeup filter accessory.
Digital has changed the world of macro photography
If you are like me and struggled to obtain usable macro images during the film years, you might be surprised how digital has completely changed the approach to macro or closeup photography.
In my film years, I would not have thought of shooting closeup or macro images without the use of a tripod. The combination of wind blowing the subject around and film sporting ISO settings of 25 (Kodachrome), 50 (Velvia), made getting good macro images a real challenge.
Impossible without a tripod.
A monarch feeds on a thistle in late summer. Capturing these images takes time and patience but are beautiful natural snapshots in time.
Today’s modern cameras allow you to pump up the ISO to astronomical levels and still get excellent results without lugging around a tripod.
In fact, if you are shooting with a Fuji camera, you can shoot the digital equivalent of Fuji Velvia at pretty much any ISO you like. Even “Kodachrome”, which Fuji calls classic chrome, can be photographed at pretty much any ISO you like. That’s a far cry from using the ridiculously low ISO settings of ISO 50-64 for the original slide films.
ISO levels of between 1600-3200 would be unthinkable during the Kodachrome and Fujichrome years. Today, these ISO levels can be starting points for many of today’s modern cameras, especially if you use software like On1 NoNoise to reduce the noise in your images.
I like to stay below ISO 1000, but shoot as low as 200 ISO if given the opportunity and when I use flash.
What does all this mean to the garden photographer?
It means you can grab your compact camera, set it on closeup mode and get excellent hand-held images of a butterfly, or a closeup of your favourite flower in full bloom.
With a little more planning, you can set up a tripod beside your favourite flower, move in close and wait for a butterfly or insect to come land on it.
In this macro image you can see the extremely limited depth of field resulting from using the lens wide open (f2.8) with only the eyes being in focus. Today’s modern cameras offer “focus-stacking” which allows the maker to take several images focusing in different areas of the subject and then blending them together to make the entire subject tack sharp.
Modern technology has even made firing the camera from a distance with a wireless remote a whole lot easier. Heck, with some cameras, (a Lumix for example) you can even trigger it with an app on your cell phone while you’re sipping on a glass of wine or your morning coffee 10 feet away from the camera.
Times have certainly changed for today’s photographers wanting to add macro or closeup photography to their arsenal. All we gardeners need to do is take advantage of what today’s modern cameras and lenses offer us.
What accessories are good for garden macro photography?
As noted above, excellent macro images can be taken on anything from a good compact point-and-shoot camera with its built-in lens, to a modern high-end DSLR or mirrorless camera equipped with an expensive macro lens that enables extremely fine detail and close approach.
The quality of the image and your success rate will generally increase in direct proportion to the amount of money you invest in the equipment, but don’t let that stop you from getting the most out of the equipment you already have in your bag.
There are, however, accessories you can add to improve your results significantly no matter what equipment you are using.
• A good off-camera flash, for example, goes a long way to opening up possibilities in the macro world. I’ve added an attachment from Fotodiox that goes over the flash to create a mini soft box. This combination has certainly improved my macro images.
• Small LED lights, like this one from B&H Photo are another example of how technology has changed the world of macro photography. These small, battery powered lights that fit in the palm of your hand, provides a continuous light source that is easily manipulated around the subject even as you are looking through the camera.
• Similar to the LED lights mentioned above, is the Godox RING48 Macro Ring LED Light that fits around most lenses a provides perfect, but controllable light.
• Collapsible reflectors, like these from B&H photo, are available in gold, silver and white, and allow you to reflect light into dark areas of the image.
• Closeup lenses, like this kit made by Lensbaby at B&H Photo that thread on to the front of your lens are an easy way to turn any lens into a close focusing lens. I like to use one of these on the Fujifilm X10 which, although the camera already has an excellent close-focusing capability, only gets better with the Nikon close-up filter.
• Extension tubes can only be used on cameras with interchangeable lenses. Extension tubes like these at Adorama photography have no glass elements inside of them, are inexpensive and do not degrade image quality. Their prime duty is to allow any lens to focus more closely. That makes them a useful addition whether you are using a 50mm or a longer telephoto lens. Using them with a telephoto lens is exceptionally helpful to allow you to get images of small subjects from a distance.
An up close macro image of this native bloodroot provides details that easily go unnoticed by the naked eye.
Just get out in the garden and give macro a try
There was a time when macro was a specialized area of photography. It involved expensive lenses and approaches that required meticulous attention to detail and exposure. That’s no longer the case. Getting great shots of your garden up close has never been easier with today’s modern cameras and accessories.
Take a few mornings to wander through the garden and catch the light skipping across your favourite flowers. Move in on the insect waiting for the sun to raise the temperature enough for it to begin its day.
Focus on what you want to capture up close in your garden and consider adding accessories that make it possible to capture those images. Close-up photography can open up a new world for you and hep you become much more intimate with your garden and the critters who call it home.
