How to Photograph Snowflakes
It’s winter, and we have had a decent amount of snow this year! Some of us may be more excited about that than others. I for one, love it! During this winter, I have explored the world of macro photography. Macro photography is simply taking photos really, really close up. There are so many tiny details I feel like we so easily overlook. And these details are AMAZING! It’s like looking at a whole other world. So here are some things I have learned by photographing snowflakes:
See this on the Daily Project.
1. You need a macro lens or extension tubes. My sister takes macro photos with her phone. She has a clip-on lens that enables her phone camera to take very close photos. For me, I use extension tubes. They are very inexpensive compared to a macro lens. I have had the most luck using the 20mm tube with my sigma 35mm art lens. Using an extension tube is very similar to freelensing. You have to move in and out to grab focus and it takes a steady hand. This leads me to my next tip.
2. Set your aperture to f/8 or above. This will help you grab and keep focus of all the snowflake details. Snowflakes have very fine details, especially on the edges. You will want to increase the clarity and texture in Lightroom for your post processing to really enhance nature’s finely crafted features.
3. Use a dark background! I use dark navy mittens. I also took my black sweater dress outside and used that. This is a good time to play around with different fabrics and colors to see how the flakes show up against them. I like using my mittens because the chunky yarn has little hairs that help grab the flakes and hold them up. This makes all of those details easier to see.
Bonus Tip: It’s also easiest to go out and take pictures while it is snowing. Just let the flakes fall on your backdrop (fabric or mittens, or sweater), and when you see a good shaped one take the photo!
For inspiration see some of my favorite macro photographers here:
https://www.instagram.com/michellebaisa/
https://www.instagram.com/skahdee/
Thanks for reading!