Macro Backgrounds

[Chase Creek 0]

If you shoot small objects (like flies) in Macro, take a run to your local home improvement store and check out the paint color sample cards and kitchen counter sample cards. They make great backgrounds for your shots, and they're FREE!

Shown below are counter sample cards.

[Al Beatty 0]

Hi Chase Creek,

 

Wow! What a great idea and what a simple solution. That is a good looking shot on the fly as well. Take care & ...

[SCOwens 0]

Thanks for the idea, I will be going on a paint sample raid my next day off

[Henning Sæbø 0]

I have i nice background tip for you

 

Here is my set.

Blue plastic bag.

 

Flyphotos with setup above:

 

 

[flysmallie 0]

I use a setup similar to Henning except that I use the flash off camera and have no background at all. In the picture below the light is coming from the side and about 20feet directly behind that fly is my refrigerator. You can do the same thing if you don't have the off camera flash option by using a tying light over the fly and turning off your flash. Just make sure the room is dark except for that light and it's not bleeding into the background. Seems difficult but it's really easy once you get it figured out.

 

 

 

[Chase Creek 0]

Great tip. With macro, the depth of field is usually very narrow, so the background is never in focus. That leads to all kinds of possibilities for background colors and textures.

I hadn't thought about plastic bags. They come in all kinds of colors. Now I'm going to have to look around the house to see what I can find.

Thanks!

[Chase Creek 0]

flysmallie - Very nice. I use a homebrew light box with different color background inserts, and a couple of desk lamps. I also take pics of my brother's stuff he sells on e-bay, so the box comes in handy. I am lucky to have a tying/ photography room where I can leave my stuff set up all the time. I'll have to try your method, also. I like the results.

[flytire 0]

i posted that idea 2 years ago on my blog. still a good idea

 

works great as a regular background too

 

http://flytyingnewandold.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-take-on-fly-photography.html

[flysmallie 0]

flysmallie - Very nice. I use a homebrew light box with different color background inserts, and a couple of desk lamps. I also take pics of my brother's stuff he sells on e-bay, so the box comes in handy. I am lucky to have a tying/ photography room where I can leave my stuff set up all the time. I'll have to try your method, also. I like the results.

 

 

Thanks. I like those light boxes, makes things simple. I don't own one but I have used them and they are very handy.

 

I usually just use a sheet of printer paper and curve the back up into a background. Then smother it with flash and a small DOF. Presto.

 

[mikechell 0]

I prefer a patch of my yard for a background. I find this pest presents my flies and makes them look much better.

Here you can see one of my #20 Green Drake Nymphs.

 

[Chase Creek 0]

Oh, yeah, I see it! Is the rib silver or gold? My eyes aren't what they used to be.

[Henning Sæbø 0]

[tidewaterfly 0]

I use a sheet of craft foam most of the time. This green color works fine for the majority of the flies I've photographed.

 

 

 

[Nor-viser 0]

I have i nice background tip for you

 

Here is my set.

Blue plastic bag.

 

Flyphotos with setup above:

 

 

 

Which diffuser are you using on your flash unit?

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

I prefer a patch of my yard for a background. I find this pest presents my flies and makes them look much better.

Here you can see one of my #20 Green Drake Nymphs.

grass.jpg

I actually clicked on the picture!! You dawg!

 

I like using sheet foam and felt sheets, they both come in different colors although I usually use blue, black or grey. The 11 x 17 size sheets are large enough when I'm shooting multiple flies in the same shot that I don't get any other stuff in the background.

Also, I'll use a wooden board or a nice piece of spalted pecan tree that I got out of my wood pile and cut a board from.

 

Kirk

 

This is a setup I used to use with plastic bags over my shop lights for diffusers, kind of an inside out lightbox.

 

 

 

This is my most commonly used setup. Even though I have a Rubbermaid storage container as my lightbox/diffuser, I still occassionally cover the lights with the bags.

 

Spalted Pecan backgrounds.

 

 

Black felt bg.

 

Blue foam bg.