Beginner Beginner Macro

[LizTheKid]

Good Morning all,
I'm after a bit of help and advice if possible.

Yesterday, I finally managed to get out in the garden and get some snaps using my Canon 1200D and 18-55mm standard kit lens, with reversal ring to take some macro pics of small life. Many, many photo's were taken but none (if I'm being honest) am I overjoyed with. There are a few which are ok but all lack the clarity and detail I'd hoped for. For example below is probably snap of the day:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/60589312@N03/29702723641/in/dateposted-public/lightbox/

As I said, it's all basic beginner equipment I'm using. I could have tried to setup with my tripod which may have yeilded some slightly better results, but trying to do that in full manual mode combined with awkward backwards lens while chasing wasps etc around the garden seemed like too much fuss.

The camera was set to shutter priority with this particular pic taken with 1/320th and auto ISO@1000.

I guess what I'm asking is, am I expecting too much from the quipment I've got? Or should I be using different settings? How can I get better results?

Any help, advice, critique is greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Billy.

 

[petersmart]

Nothing wrong with that - in fact very good with the limited setup you have.

Macro shots of insects are very difficult no matter what the setup - when taking outdoor macro shots I always expect to maybe get a 20% keep rate if I'm lucky and lower if I'm not.

And one really good thing about using your equipment "on the edge" is what it teaches you - especially how to push it to get the results you want.

If you look at my wasp shots on Flickr you will see that a much more expensive set up doesn't get you massively increased difference in terms of a shot:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/20926615@N05/albums/72157623715955928

And THIS particular shot was one out of 200 when most of the others were binned - so it pays to keep trying:



Spider on Dandelion Flower - 2 by Albert Hurwood, on Flickr

Taken on a 350D with a cheap +10 close up lens bought off eBay.

So my advice is keep going!

 

[GardenersHelper]

I agree with everything Peter said. What you might like to do is to post (same picture and text would be fine) in the Macro and close-up forum. Don't worry about being a beginner, there are people with all levels of experience and expertise posting there, including plenty who are new to this stuff. It is quite common to find it difficult to start with. That forum is very friendly and helpful.

(I'd rather discuss the specifics there than here so more of the folk who are interested in close-up will get to see it and contribute.)

 

[LizTheKid]

Thanks @petersmart, appreciate the feedback. I'll press ahead and hopefully find some better settings. Funnily enough, I actually have a 350D that I use as my spare camera. I might try taking comparable snaps on both and see how they turnout and if there's any obvious differences.

@GardenersHelper I've created a new thread in the Macro forum as suggested - somehow missed that forum entirely. Thanks for that suggestion.