UST SO WE’RE CLEAR, succeeding in the world of close-up photography does not depend on your camera having a depth-of-field preview button. There are many close-up opportunities that never require the use of DOF preview. In fact, I can think of at least three situations in which using DOF preview would not only prove useless but even futile.
SITUATION 1: The subject is parallel to the camera. When the subject fills the frame and is parallel to the film plane, there are no major depth-of-field concerns. Your choice in aperture could be any of the choices your lens offers up, but here’s my feeling: When depth of field is not a real issue, I’d strongly advise using an aperture between f/8 and f/11. These are, in tech-speak, critical apertures. They offer up the best contrast, color, and sharpness, but again, they are to be called upon when depth of field is not a concern, which is almost always the case when the subject is flat and parallel to the CCD or film plane.
SITUATION 2: You’re using a wide-open aperture. Keep in mind that the image you see in the viewfinder is always a presentation of how the subject would look if shot through a wide-open aperture (see here for an explanation of this). As you focus on a subject, you might think it looks good just like that (viewed wide open). If that’s the case, simply set your aperture wide open, adjust the shutter speed until the camera meter indicates a correct exposure, and shoot. Since you’re choosing a wide-open aperture, it would be futile to use the DOF preview button; the lens can’t possibly stop down when you’ve set a wide-open aperture.
SITUATION 3: You want round specular highlights. If you’re trying to capture round specular highlights, you will be, once again, choosing a wide-open aperture—the only aperture that can deliver them. (See here for more on specular highlights.)
Autumn leaves and a bit of a dusting from Jack Frost offer great close-up opportunities, if you’re willing to venture out in the cold. I’m not a fan of cold—never have been, never will be—but as long as I’m a fan of many cold-weather close-up subjects, I will grit my teeth and bear it. And on this particular frosty, foggy morning, it was easy pickings at the local park. There was no shortage of texture-filled opportunities, but it was this one leaf that caught my attention. I could only surmise that this still-somewhat-green leaf got tired of looking down from the tree above at the many other leaves that had already fallen and could wait no more. With all the strength it could muster, I imagine, it managed to rip itself from its branch and was soon enjoying the remaining days of life among friends.
Using a tripod, I simply framed up the one large leaf, and because I was directly overhead and parallel to it, I chose the critical aperture of f/11. All that remained was to adjust my shutter speed until the camera’s meter indicated I had a correct exposure. I did also use the camera’s self-timer to ensure sharpness, and so 2 seconds after I pressed the shutter release, the exposure was recorded.
Micro-Nikkor 200mm lens, f/11 for 1/15 sec.
Several years ago while visiting my brother in Seattle, my daughter Sophie screamed out from the living room, “Daddy, a bird just flew into the window!” I jumped to my feet, ran out of the house, and quickly found myself standing above a very dead English sparrow. I realize my reaction may sound a little heartless, but I exclaimed, “A photo-op, for sure!” and got my camera and Micro-Nikkor 105mm lens. I fanned out one of the wings, spritzed it with “dewdrops” using a small spray bottle of water, and was quickly immersed in my subject.
Since my point of view was parallel to the wing, there were no depth-of-field concerns—and no need to use the DOF preview button. I was free to simply compose, focus, and shoot, using the critical aperture of f/11. And when I was finished with the shoot, Sophie and I gave the bird a proper burial in the corner of my brother’s garden.
Micro-Nikkor 105mm lens, f/11 for 1/250 sec.
While in the Tuscany region of Italy a few years ago, I was feeling a bit cheated by the absence of the red poppy fields that, according to the guidebooks, carpet the area every spring. In talking to the locals, I learned that everything was late to bloom due to a wetter-than-normal winter. Not one to wallow in self-pity, I decided to look for other subjects, and when all else fails, I never have to look far when I fall into my “close-up” frame of mind. Opportunities for close-ups are literally everywhere!
It hadn’t been more than a few minutes when I realized the field I was standing in was home to a butterfly hatch. Right before me in the knee-high grass, a single butterfly was busy sucking nectar from a yellow buttercup. From a position parallel to the subject, I chose f/4 (the wide-open aperture on my 200mm lens), focused on the butterfly’s eye, and quickly adjusted the shutter speed to a correct exposure. I managed to fire off two frames before my subject flew off.
Choosing a wide-open aperture was easy here, chiefly because the area surrounding the butterfly was thick with knee-high grass. Had I stopped the lens down at all (to a small aperture), the added depth of field would have rendered a distracting background, and I didn’t want anything but my butterfly to be center stage. Since this was a no-brainer, DOF preview wasn’t necessary.
Micro-Nikkor 200mm lens, f/4
