11 Tips for Taking Stunning Macro/Close up Photos with your Mobile Phone

Mobile phone photography has a wide range of subjects. Some people like to shoot the city scene, but also love the portrait, some people love the magnificent scenery of travel, there are people focused on macro photography in the field.

At this stage, macro is the only subject where the mobile phone can challenge the SLR. For example, in the just finished MPC camera competition, there are a lot of mobile phone photography big shot macro works.

In reality, shooting a macro with a mobile phone is easy, but there are some tricks to shoot a special macro photo.

1. Know Your Camera’s Limit

Many phones have a macro feature, and some have AI support, but the results are still not satisfactory, and the external macro lens can directly change the focus distance and depth of field of the Camera Lens It will work much better than the macro algorithm that comes with the phone.

After the Macro Lens is installed, it is necessary to know the maximum size of the object it can shoot and the focal length in advance to capture the fleeting moments in the shot.

2. Choose the Right Weather

It is often said that photography is an Art of light, and the weather just determines the intensity of light.

If you shoot macro outdoors in the sun, you’ll notice that the highlights are often so overlaid with intense warm light that you’ll lose some of the detail.

I prefer to shoot macro on cloudy or rainy days, not only because the soft light on a cloudy day can brighten the colors of plants and animals, but also because the crystal clear water drops after rain have an indescribable natural charm.

Of course, only in the warm moist environment, will emerge more lovely small animals to be your Model.

3. Be Patient !

Patient is the key to do anything well. Sometimes you looking around and did not find a suitable shooting object, do not worry, perhaps you are looking at a place that is not suitable for animal and plant life.

Sometimes a dragonfly is not to let you near it, do not worry, maybe there is a weak companion nearby.

4. Wipe the Camera Lens

There is a old saying that says: “To be a good worker, you must first sharpen the tool. “.

So if you want to take a clear macro photo, in addition to 
prevent the external lens from scratching in the daily use, it is advised to wipe the phone lens each time before shooting.  

5. Find the right subject

Understanding the habits of creatures, will be easier to find suitable subjects to shoot, the water side dragonflies, bees in the flowers, the grass of the cricket, Decay Wood Fungi, and so on.

In fact, as long as it is wet, secluded places, there may be hidden countless surprises.

6. Set The background

Clutter can sometimes get in the way of the subject, which is why minimalism is so appealing.

When the flowers and plants behind in the screen more dazzling, might as well try to change the shooting angle to avoid these messy background, or take the initiative to clean up some unusual abrupt branches and leaves.

7. Make sure the focus is sharp

The most common problem in macro photography is misalignment, resulting in a super blur photo. To solve this problem we must first understand what is “focal plane”.

The Red Line in the picture is the “focal plane” , which varies according to the angle of the same object.

It has two features, one is that it is always parallel to the phone, and the other is that it intersects the subject most clearly. So, try to put as much detail as you want in the same focal plane to make the picture as clear as possible.

Focusing is the key to avoiding blurry in macro shooting. Due to the uncertainty of shooting outdoors in macro, the use of a tripod is not that flexible. So how do you focus when you’re holding it?

My solution is twofold:

For the dull subject, tap the screen to focus, and go back and forth to find the focal plane, patiently repeat several times, at the clearest moment, steady your hands, hold the breath, and gently press the shutter.

For Flexible Subjects, use manual focus in professional mode.

Don’t get too close to the subject, but keep the focal length in professional mode to a minimum and use any objects around you to measure the distance between the focal plane and the Camera Lens. Then look for the angle and approach the subjiects slowly, holding both hands in the clearest moment, and gently pressing the shutter.

Finally, no matter which way I choose, I take a few more shots so that I have a better chance of getting the clearest shot I can.

If you encounter insects that are very slow or ignore you, take advantage of the opportunity to change your angle of view.

8.Use the cropping tool to make a second composition

Sometimes, in order to get a clear shot of a bug, there’s not enough time to compose it, so you need to make up for that with cropping. Most retouching software has a cutting function, often through the appropriate cutting, can turn the bad into magic.

9. Use the Repair Tool to Clean Up 

It’s refreshing to get a clear picture, but sometimes it’s hard to notice the dirt on foliage until it’s finished, so we need some post editing to remove them.

Here I’ll use the Snapseed repair tool, zooming the photo to the right size and using a subtle smudge can solve the problem.

10. Use Macro Lens

The phone comes with a camera with a focal length between 26 mm and 35 mm, and the iphone, for example, comes with a camera with a focal length of 28 mm. The camera phone’s 28 mm focal length is very close to the camera lens’35 mm focal length. The lens with this focal length will get the same view as the human eye.

If you’re shooting macro with your phone like this, you can either zoom in or moving closer to the subject. Because most camera on the phone is not a macro lens, it is hard to focus if you get to close. Zooming in on the subject is even less reliable, and the noise can be quite intense.

So if you want to shoot macro with your phone, it’s best to have a macro lens on your phone.