Closeup Shooting: A Guide to Closeup, Tabletop and Macro Photography

by Cyrill Harnischmacher

Close-up photography is one of the most fascinating areas in photography. This illustrated guide will take the reader on a journey into the wonderful world of small, smaller, and smallest objects and show him how he can capture their beauty with photographic images. Each step of the way will be carefully explained; how to choose the right equipment, how to use ambient light or create artificial lighting, and how to conceptualize and frame the perfect shot. Whereas the nature photographer is exploring facets and structures in his environment, the "table top photographer" is trying to shoot a small object, a product, or a small treasure for display on the web (e.g., eBay) or in print. Here, the choice of the appropriate lighting and backdrop, and the creative use of the camera's features are key to a perfect image. Cyrill Harnischmacher explains all aspects of close-up shooting for both inside the studio, as well as outdoors. This book is filled with beautifully illustrated examples and detailed instructions on how to set up a system and workflow for successful close-up photography.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction

124 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kyrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I confess, a great deal of the information went over my head because I am not an advanced photographer. Some of it, such as how to create pictures, what equipment to carry, how to preserve your work was potentially useful. The book was published in 2007, and cellphone cameras have become more popular and advanced in the years since. Not sure how much still applies, since I do not use anything else. I did like the pictures though.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is decent. It opened my eyes to the breadth and depth of macro photography. While it had some useful tips (the section on where to place secondary lighting toward the end of the book was informative), it was generally lacking in practical advice.

Part of the problem is that the book made a feeble attempt to pander to the point-and-shoot amateur. I'm sure that the publisher needed to expand the potential audience...but throwing the occasional bone to the point-and-shoot while otherwise canvasing minutia from filters to flash was distracting.

The book is for people who own DSLRs and are fairly experienced with photographic concepts. It shouldn't have tried to be otherwise.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for basics on close shooting as per the first chapter. A few interesting tables (e.g. depth of field at various magnifications) and explanations of concepts (e.g. aperture and diffraction).

Good clear description of closeup and macro accessories and how to use them. Though I felt that some of the material was dated (surprising given the Rocky Nook publication copyright of 2007), I still enjoyed the practical and money saving aspect of DIY construction of equipment such as lightboxes and imaging tables. Very cool.