Reverse Lens Macro Photography

This post was written by the other half of Great Little Minds, as he wanted to share his discovery about reverse lens macro photography. 

Owning a DSLR camera is a wonderful experience, it opens up so many opportunities for creative photography. However, the hobby can get even more expensive once you realise the potential of buying dedicated lenses for different situations where your kit lens that came with the camera doesn't quite cut it.

One area I have always been fascinated by is macro photography, seeing minute details in the tiniest of plants and insects. You can buy wonderful macro lenses dedicated to the task which produce amazing results, but they are expensive as always. There is a cheap alternative which can still produce amazing results.

All you need to do is take your kit lens or any other lens you own and mount it on the camera back to front. What this does is reverse the angle of light, so that the wider the angle of the original lens, the more the magnification when reversed. The only expense is a ring to fit on the filter side which has the mount mechanics for your camera on the other side. This is the one I used to fit my Canon 300D with a standard 58mm kit lens...

There are several points you need to remember when taking photos with your lens reversed...

Nothing is auto – You need to manually set your exposure and the only way to focus is by moving closer. With a zoom lens, you have some flexibility being able to zoom in and out. Check each image histogram after the first few shots to guage your settings are correct.

Shallow DOF – As your subject is so small, the depth of field is tiny, so getting those eyes on an insect only 5mm long in focus is very tricky. Take lots of photos and review on the computer later.

Use a flash – As the subjects are so small and you need high shutter speeds to avoid camera shake, the use of a flash helps a lot. You need to bounce and diffuse the light down in front of the lens, so try using shiny card or paper plates cut to size and stuck over your flash. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, just enough to bounce the light.

Be careful – All the electrical bits for your lens are on the outside and the glass is exposed to dust and scratches which are magnified even more when reversed, so take extra care.

Worker and Queen Ant

I was inspired to try this out after watching this video by Thomas Shahan on YouTube

Our son has enjoyed getting involved, as he loves insects etc. and has enjoyed trying to take some photos himself, with a little guidance.

Whilst not interested in the actual taking of the photos, our daughter has been fascinated by the photos themselves. It's a great opportunity to see things in great detail, that you normally wouldn't see. Particularly when you see something in real life, like a bee, and then see it super detailed in a photo and can relate the two to each other practically because you've been there and seen it with your own eyes. The children have also loved hunting around the garden for insects, plants, flowers anything they thought would make good close up photos. So whilst this post is written in quite a detailed way, with specifics, that would be more suited to an adult or older child, don't over look that a subject such as macro photography may also be interesting and fascinating to younger children too. It's all about giving them the opportunities. 

Clematis