Often times if you want to do macro photography, you’ll have to get a dedicated macro lens, and that comes with a price. There is however a much cheaper solution that can give you better magnification then a lot of the macro lenses you see on the market today. Reversing the lens is easy, cheap, and the results you are just mind blowing.

Understanding the term macro:

A true macro lens is considered to have 1:1 magnification, or life size. Those two numbers represent the reproduction ratio. What that means is if your lens is capable of shooting at 1:1 magnification, your camera will be able to fill the entire picture with an object exactly the same size as your camera’s sensor. If it is 2:1, the magnification doubles and now that object will appear twice as big. If it is 1:2, the magnification halves and now that object will only fill half the frame.

Almost all true macro lenses will be able to get 1:1 magnification. A lot of manufactures claim that some of their lenses have macro capabilities, but in reality the maximum magnification you’ll be able to achieve is 1:2 or less.

How to get the poor man’s macro:

Reversing the lens (it’s as easy as it sounds) will give you magnification that far surpasses 1:1 magnification and costs next to nothing. Simply attach the lens the opposite direction!

To do this there are a couple of methods ranging from hand holding the lens in position, taping the lens on, implementing pvc pipes, or simply buying a reverse lens mount. The last one is the easiest, but if you’re really pinched for cash, pvc pipes and duct tape won’t hurt.

Some lenses are more ideal for this then others, but most lenses will get the job done. Here are some things to keep in mind though when choosing what lens to use:

• No auto focus. All focusing will be done manually so you really want prime lens to make the process a bit easier, but this isn’t too important.
• Manual lenses are good. Because your camera will have no way of communicating to your lens (to change the aperture) you will be shooting wide open at all times. Having an older lens where you can control the aperture manually will give a little bit more control, but it’s not necessary.
• Scratches. You won’t be able to put a UV filter on the back of the lens to protect it, so be careful. Avoid using expensive lenses.

Using the poor man’s macro:

If you ever tried this before, you probably realized that it is next to impossible to get a sharp image when shooting at a magnification greater then 1:1 when your hand holding the camera. With that in mind, here are a little pointers to get shoot photographs.

• Use a tripod. Even at 1:1 magnification, the slightest movement will cause tremendous blur in a photograph. Using a tripod will greatly reduce this and make your photographs sharper.
• Remote shutter release. Pressing the shutter release on your camera causes camera shake, stop this buy using a remote shutter release.
• Change the ISO. If you need more light, you would normally shoot at a larger aperture, but since you won’t be able to do this (unless you have a manual lens), changing the ISO is the next best thing.
• Use a focusing rail. A focusing rail will allow you to change the distance between the lens and the subject, I find this method of focusing much easier then manually focusing the lens.

It all comes down to experimentation. You’ll have to figure out what your lens is capable of doing and what I can’t do.

Taking it one step further:

You can get even more magnification by adding a more gear to your poor man’s macro setup. Adding extension tubes, flashes, or other lenses will open you up to a whole entire world you never knew existed. Give it a try!

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