Quick Tip: How To Capture Extreme Close-ups
Some pointers for dramatic, macro shots of the eye
Adam Voorhes, a studio shooter based in Austin, TX, recently tried out new lenses by photographing extreme closeups of everyone in his studio. How sharply would his lens capture an eye?
The answer was “not very.” After all, the most beautiful part of the eye, the iris, is covered by the cornea, which diffuses the colorful fibers below.
Luckily, his pictures took on needed snap thanks to the perfectly sharp eyelashes. They stand out so dramatically because Voorhes placed his lights so their reflections fell immediately behind the lashes, exaggerating each strand.
Other tips for eyeballs:
• You don’t need a 1:1 macro lens. Reverse-mounting a normal lens should get you close enough.
• To boost sharpness, stabilize your subjects’ heads by posing them next to a wall and asking them to press their noggins firmly against it.
• Stick with subjects who have long eyelashes to get this killer effect.