Macro photography of Cannabis, looking for advise.

[HeadHunterpipes]

Recently purchased a Canon EF 100MM II Macro lens for my Canon 5DII.
Totally new to Macro photography...... Looking forward to learning and having fun photographing some weed .
I have a few basic idea's, color of back drop, lighting.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I'm wondering if that lens has sufficient depth of field to capture trichomes on buds with greater depth.

 

[HeadHunterpipes]

I'm wondering if that lens has sufficient depth of field to capture trichomes on buds with greater depth.

I have no idea, I haven't ever had the lens on my camera body yet.
I would like to start experimenting with it in the next 3 or 4 days.
I guess I can buy some macro extensions, never used them before ?

 

[HeadHunterpipes]

I'm wondering if that lens has sufficient depth of field to capture trichomes on buds with greater depth.

Yes you are correct , I bought this lens second hand, pretty much new .
I was hoping it would work, Its a sharp lens .
looks like i will buy some Macro tubes

 

[HeadHunterpipes]

I was shopping for EF 65mm MP lens x5 magnification the company that had it didn't answer my messages on the sale .
Thats when I bought the EF 100mm macro great lens ,,I like it , But doesn't have the magnification.


As the world turns ... I be looking for a EF 65mm mp

 

[singlecoiled]

I know this is a late reply, but a good macro/micro lens can be magical with cannabis. Add this to a real camera and your in for a treat. (any DSLR or mirrorless camera will work)...

Narrow depth of field: If your new to photography, this may make no sense, but once you use a macro you'll see what this is all about...There are pros and cons to a narrow depth of field..

1. You'll need a tripod to get crystal clear pics. With such a narrow depth of field you will be using higher F-Stops, (example F-16 -F-22) this allows more trichomes to be in field of vision. BUT it also lets in less light, so you'll need a long shutter time..

2. Tripod. A must have, holding the camera by hand and keeping it in focus will be tough at higher F -Stops....

3. Flash, you'll also need this to help light your subject up...This is optional, but has worked really well for me. I use remote flashes, one behind the plant and one facing it. This really helps to remove shadows and to show color.. (the flash will go through the plant lighting it up through stems and leaves)...

4. Turn all fans off for picture time ! Any movement will blur the pics if the shutter time is long.

Its been a while since the OP posted this, I'm wondering how things turned out.

 

[Oldchucky]

I know this is a late reply, but a good macro/micro lens can be magical with cannabis. Add this to a real camera and your in for a treat. (any DSLR or mirrorless camera will work)...

Narrow depth of field: If your new to photography, this may make no sense, but once you use a macro you'll see what this is all about...There are pros and cons to a narrow depth of field..

1. You'll need a tripod to get crystal clear pics. With such a narrow depth of field you will be using higher F-Stops, (example F-16 -F-22) this allows more trichomes to be in field of vision. BUT it also lets in less light, so you'll need a long shutter time..

2. Tripod. A must have, holding the camera by hand and keeping it in focus will be tough at higher F -Stops....

3. Flash, you'll also need this to help light your subject up...This is optional, but has worked really well for me. I use remote flashes, one behind the plant and one facing it. This really helps to remove shadows and to show color.. (the flash will go through the plant lighting it up through stems and leaves)...

4. Turn all fans off for picture time ! Any movement will blur the pics if the shutter time is long.

Its been a while since the OP posted this, I'm wondering how things turned out.

I think someone banned him! For some reason! But beach bum didn’t think it was a good reason!

 

[singlecoiled]

I think someone banned him! For some reason! But beach bum didn’t think it was a good reason!

OK, thanks.... Cancel nation ! Just ban them. I hate that.

 

[Oldchucky]

Those Tips might still help someone out! Thanks for posting them!

 

[singlecoiled]

Those Tips might still help someone out! Thanks for posting them!

Here is an example, I am no pro but I like the way this turned out... Nikon 55 mm (old film camera macro)... Manual Focus.

 

[Oldchucky]

Just for curiosity sake, as I have a iPhone, but I used to play with SLRs, 40 years ago! L O L! To increase the depth of field you would lower the F stops and increase the shutter speed? To try and get the entire bud in focus or is that not possible? Lower, the f-stop, the wider The aperture?

 

[Oldchucky]

Oh, well it’s probably a moot point! What we need on this site is an iPhone photography class! L O L

 

[Zer0Tolerance]

Just for curiosity sake, as I have a iPhone, but I used to play with SLRs, 40 years ago! L O L! To increase the depth of field you would lower the F stops and increase the shutter speed? To try and get the entire bud in focus or is that not possible? Lower, the f-stop, the wider The aperture?

In order to get more in focus in a single shot, you'd use a higher number fstop. Like, F22 or something. But, that's going to limit the amount of light your camera lets in, so you'll need to slow the shutter down some until the exposure is good.

 

[singlecoiled]

Just for curiosity sake, as I have a iPhone, but I used to play with SLRs, 40 years ago! L O L! To increase the depth of field you would lower the F stops and increase the shutter speed? To try and get the entire bud in focus or is that not possible? Lower, the f-stop, the wider The aperture?

Yep, the depth of field is insanely shallow depending on your macro lens. Higher F -stops (excuse me if I'm off on my terminology)... As an example F-22 will increase depth of field enough to see most trichomes, while blurring the background out nicely (bokeh)... And yes, at a higher F-stop, much less light will come through forcing a long shutter time.. You can crank the ISO up to help with this, but I prefer not to.

Cool to see someone from the SLR days, believe it or not, I still shoot film from time to time. I'm using a DSLR camera now, I'm not ready to jump to mirrorless...

Correct me if my terminology is backwards.. Low F stop number = more light, less depth of field (a more open aperture). High F-stop = Less light, more depth of field. (a more closed aperture)

 

[Oldchucky]

Yeah, It used to be Kodiak, or Fujifilm! 100 200 400 or 800 iso! Enlargements would suffer under the 400 or 800 iso! Had a crummy Vivitar SLR, that I used to haul around with me backpacking! But it took good pictures! Just kind of a pain in the ass developing negatives, and then proofing them and picking which ones you wanted! When you had to get it done at the store! My first experience with a loop! L O L! A lot better nowadays! Looking over proofs on a light table and saying, I want this one or this one! Printed!

 

[singlecoiled]

Yeah, It used to be Kodiak, or Fujifilm! 100 200 400 or 800 iso! Enlargements would suffer under the 400 or 800 iso! Had a crummy Vivitar SLR, that I used to haul around with me backpacking! But it took good pictures! Just kind of a pain in the ass developing negatives, and then proofing them and picking which ones you wanted! When you had to get it done at the store! My first experience with a loop! L O L! A lot better nowadays! Looking over proofs on a light table and saying, I want this one or this one! Printed!

Good stuff ! I came into film after digital mainly to learn from it... I love anything analog, I'm silly that way... (still play record albums too)...

Here is the film I currently use... Fuji Velvia slide film.... Yes, I shoot slides and use a projector to view my photos. The colors from the Fuji Velvia are amazing !

 

[Oldchucky]

I didn’t know you could even by Film or get it developed! Last I heard there was like one place in the country developing it! L O L! I would drop my pack! Get down on my hands and knees and take a picture of an Indian paintbrush, flower, or something like that! And saddle back up And hustle to catch up with the other cats, who are tired of my stopping and taking pictures! L O L! But it was a hell of a lot of fun! This was 45 or 50 years ago!

 

[Oldchucky]

Right on! Keep it up, man!

 

[singlecoiled]

I didn’t know you could even by Film or get it developed! Last I heard there was like one place in the country developing it! L O L! I would drop my pack! Get down on my hands and knees and take a picture of an Indian paintbrush, flower, or something like that! And saddle back up And hustle to catch up with the other cats, who are tired of my stopping and taking pictures! L O L! But it was a hell of a lot of fun! This was 45 or 50 years ago!

Yep, there are places to develop and believe it or not, film photography is making a comeback... Down side is that it is crazy expensive to buy and develop film. This is good for me though, it makes me think about each shot...

I'm also a backpacker, have a set up now under 10 pounds. (pack, tent, stove, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, water filtration).... I always think back about how tough it was to backpack back in the day. Those backpacks in the 70's-80's were back breakers !

I backpack and film often, In fact I'm planning a trip soon to the Appalachian trail to take pics... Fall in the Shenandoah mountains is a real treat. I enjoyed your story of falling behind to take pics, the two hobbies play very nicely together. (same goes for cannabis/photography)

 

[Oldchucky]

Sierras here! 10 pounds! Back in the day my sleeping bag weighed six or seven! I don’t think I ever went up with less than 55 or 60! For a week! Been through some hellacious storms, so I have to be prepared! And eat well also! L O L! 11,600 foot passes will test your metal! I’ve seen a lot of Studley dudes, wind up in tears going up one of those things! Ha ha ha! Had to be talked up! L O L!