The #CreateYourLight Return to the journey with theme 20! This time we invite you to explore the creative collaboration between experts in various fields! For each theme, we invite two photographers from different fields of expertise to explore their crafts under one genre.
We start with Cruise lady And Aureli Gonin, Who explore food photography together. Donna Cross is an award-winning blogger and food photographer, and Aurelie Gonin is an action sports videographer, producer, editor and director.
We went to Tenerife to learn what magic they could create using our first S-line mirrorless macro lens. NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f / 2.8 VR S. What happens when you combine two completely different creative styles to explore food photography?
Frozen blueberries, sparkling details এবং and dragon’s breath
Aurelie typically shoots action with a 24-70 zoom lens, and her voice was surprised when she first looked. NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f / 2.8 VR S Many say: “You can imagine a new kind of picture” when you shoot close with this “beautiful” lens.
The NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f / 2.8 VR S A macro lens with outstanding resolution: It is extremely sharp and full of character. Its 24.5 MP and 45.7 MP sensitivity 6II And 7II Make sure you have a huge canvas on which to draw all the details of even the smallest things. And, of course, the extraordinary light-assembly and focusing ability of the Z-mount system allows for exceptional aesthetic control.
Donna captures every sparkling ice crystal of frozen blueberries and you see all these benefits together. Aurelie is interested in finding out how Donna makes those frozen blueberries look so white. You can too, if you see us Video. Get ready to try it at home: you need a freezer and that dragon breath!
Tip 1: Sharp from front to back – Focus stacking is easier than you think
Between us Video, Donna to create images that focus on frozen berries that are “crystal sharp … everywhere.” He showed us how Focus Stacking — or ‘Focus Shift’ — is not as complicated as it may seem.
As Donna mentioned, people think that all you have to do is compress your aperture and push it to f / 16 or f / 22. But if you set the camera to f / 5.6 and use focus stacking, you will actually get much sharper images.
Just select ‘Focus Shift Shooting’ from your menu Nikon Z camera, And then set the number of images — and increase the focus (‘steps’) – you want. Set the first focus point in front of the subject, and the camera will do the rest. The camera automatically shifts the focus from front to back as it captures images.
Oh, and donor top tip? Make sure you create a new folder for each set of shots, so you don’t have to spend hours trying to figure out which shots go in which batch.
Flat-lay photos and how to align your camera perfectly
With a 1: 1 reproduction ratio, NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f / 2.8 VR S Macro is optimized for work, yet it is a stunning lens for detailed portraits or top-view food shots. Between us VideoDonna does just that, taking advantage of the medium-telephoto angle of view to shoot beautiful still-life compositions using a tripod.
A still-life shot directly from above is known as a ‘flat-lay’ photo, and Donna lets us penetrate one of her secrets: placing a special spirit layer in the camera’s hot shoes, which is a great way to ensure the camera is lined up everywhere. Stays. As Donna says, it is important to check and re-check the alignment. It’s so easy to move the camera out of place when you adjust the settings. With that spirit level guiding camera positioning, you can use yours Nikon Z cameraIts touchscreen to make sure the angle is right. You can check the alignment by going to the camera’s display-menu options and turning on the virtual horizon. Virtual Horizon shows the camera tilted left or right and will be displayed on a viewfinder display or monitor.
For numbers, Donna prefers to shoot at an ISO of 100 and an aperture of f / 5.6, which she says is good for overhead because it gives you a lot of focus and detail. Depending on the amount of light available to her, Donna can shoot at speeds of less than 1/20MA second or more.
Snapbridge for flat-lay photo
Donna says flat-lay scenes don’t need to be practiced, thanks to Nikon’s Snapbridge app. Say goodbye to the days of standing, squatting and standing again when you perfect your shot arrangement.
If you look Video, You’ll see that Donna uses Snapbridge to open the live view on her smartphone while she tunes the system to the floor. He can see what the camera looks like on his phone screen in real time, which prevents him from getting back up and checking the camera monitor every time he adjusts. When he’s ready to shoot, he can activate shutter release via the SnapBridge app – ensuring there’s no risk of accidentally moving the camera while taking a shot.
Tip 2: Check with aperture and distance
The NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f / 2.8 VR S Lets you get amazingly close to your subject: 0.29 meters away! When you shoot around this, your focus is a very narrow plane with which to work.
Even if you’ve been shooting macro photography for a while, focusing in a narrow plane like Focus can still be a challenge. If you’re having trouble achieving the focus you want, it’s helpful to remember the relationship between the plane of focus and the depth of field.
The plane of focus is a 2D field in front of your camera at the point of focus. Although it is called the ‘plane’ of focus, it is not actually a plane (as would be the case with a glass) but has a curvature (like a lens). Anything closer than a plane will be out of focus, like something outside of a plane.
The depth of the field — as you almost certainly know ত্ব is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in the sharp focus within your frame. In other words, the depth of field is the area Nearby That 2D plane of focus, where the objects are still sharp enough for the image you want to create.
Field depth is affected by proximity, focal length and aperture. Since the focal length is fixed for NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f / 2.8 VR S, we are only going to talk about proximity and aperture.
First of all, let’s talk about proximity. The closer you are to your subject, the more limited the depth of your field will be. When shooting close to the NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f / 2.8 VR S, you’ll get a much thinner depth of field than if you’re shooting from a greater distance.
What about aperture? Close the aperture and you will increase the depth of field. If you shoot too close and close the aperture, the depth of your field will still be thin, but it will be significantly larger than the wide opening. When you’re shooting a moving subject – such as an insect or a flower swaying in the wind – closing the aperture gives you a greater chance that your subject will be intensely focused.
With the NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f / 2.8 VR S, your field of focus is sharply rendered even when shooting at shallow depths of field. But if you want to use bokeh to draw attention to your subject while shooting macros, it is always worth checking with your subject’s position and aperture setting. Going to f / 5, f / 6, f / 8, or f / 11 with the NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f / 2.8 VR S will give you incredible sharpness and, indeed, f / 16 or stop is nothing unusual in more macro photography.
These were the first two tips for shooting macro food photography. Come back in two weeks for the remaining three tips!
Already … what is your biggest macro challenge? Show us every detail. You’re working with a tack-sharp, focus-stacked wonder — or capturing miniature wonders of the natural world. Tag your photos with # CreateYourLight so you get a chance to appear on our channel.
