Reverse-Lens Macro Photography [tutorial]
May 15, 2007There is no better way to capture the intricate detail of flowers, bugs, or other small objects than by delving into macro photography. Typically this is done with a special lens that allows you to focus on subjects very closely. However, with a little ingenuity (and some less-than-orthodox techniques) you can produce some amazing close-ups without a macro lens. This tutorial will show you how.
UPDATE: This tutorial originally included some tips for capturing macro water drops and refractions. That section has now been expanded and moved here. This post now focuses exclusively on the reverse lens technique.
Background Info: I am quite new to the world of macro photography. In fact, it was exactly one month ago today that I first experimented with this new technique, but I feel like I’ve learned so much already.
Macro photography can be one of the most creative and fun ways to take pictures. Photography, perhaps more than any other art form, naturally lends itself to a keen observation –the more you look, the more you see. However, when you slow down and look beyond the surface level, you discover a whole new world (cue the Aladdin theme song) through the lens. A flower garden is no longer just a pretty splash of color, but an endless playground of possibilities.
…That’s quite enough buttering it up. Here’s how to do it.
How To: There are numerous ways to get great results, but for this tutorial I want to focus on one particular technique. First, I must give due props to Alan Walker for telling me about it. I’m calling it the Reverse Lens technique. Basically, you take a second lens and set it up backwards against the lens on your camera (see image below). If you’re really hard core, like Alan, you can tape the two lenses together like this.
If you’re anything like me, then your curiosity has already gotten the better of you =) You will probably save yourself some frustration if you read the rest of this before trying it yourself, so allow me to explain how this works. The lens on your camera is designed to take a wide angle of view and focus it onto a much smaller plane (traditionally, a strip of film). This allows you to capture huge landscapes on a frame of film only 35mm wide. Zoom lenses work by altering the angle of view (see diagram 1). To simplify it a bit more, just remember that a single lens takes the subject from “big to small.”
Now, imagine if you flipped the lens around. (see diagram 2) The subject would go from “small to big.” This is essentially how the lens on a projector is set up; it takes the small image and enlarges it. As I understand, you can get great macro results with a single reversed lens like this, but you need a special “reversing ring” accessory.
Now lets take a look at what happens when you put the two lenses together. The reversed lens takes a really small subject, and magnifies it. The attached lens then takes that magnified image and shrinks it back to fit on the “film.” The result is that the small object now fills the frame of film -exactly what we want!
Still with me? I hope so. It gets a little more complicated, but it makes perfect sense once you think about it. If your second lens is a zoom lens, then you can actually zoom in closer or farther from your subject. In other words, not only can you do shots that are pretty typical for macro, but you can also do shots that are the verge of being classified as microscopic. It’s important to remember that the lens is backwards, so your zoom will be backwards too. If you “zoom in” the reversed lens, it will appear that you are zooming out in the viewfinder. The more the lens is zoomed out (“wide angle” or “short focal length” for you technical buffs) the more extreme the change in scale, but when you zoom in, the scale shrinks. I feel like this is a very difficult concept to describe, so instead let me just show you the diagram below.
If the diagram doesn’t help, then don’t worry about it. Just remember that the lens is backwards so the zoom will be backwards too.
The above diagrams were designed to help describe the techniques outlined here. They were not designed for technical accuracy.
Based on my experience and what I’ve read elsewhere, it’s best to use a fixed 50mm lens as the one attached to the camera. These lenses typically have a very large aperture and the image quality is superb because there is comparatively very little glass for the light to pass through before reaching the film. For my reversed lens I used a 28-80 zoom lens. I also tried the setup with an 18-200 lens attached to the camera, and the same 28-80 lens reversed, and I experienced no problems. That all goes to say that you should be able to pull off this technique with nearly any two standard-range zoom lenses.
When you first put the two lenses together and look through the viewfinder it will probably just look black. This is mainly because the aperture of a lens will shrink to it’s smallest setting when it’s not attached to a camera. In other words, most of the light is being blocked. While it is indeed possible to take pictures like this, it’s not very easy. If you look on the back of your reversed lens, you will see a small lever.
That lever controls the opening of the aperture. If you slide it to the other side it will open it as wide as it can go. Doing that will allow you to have considerably faster shutter speeds even at low ISO values (of course, make sure the aperture of the attached lens is open as wide as it will go too). Since the lever is spring-loaded, you will need something to hold it in place. I cut and folded a piece of card stock (i.e. “thick paper”) and wedged it in place. Be careful not to damage the lens while doing this, and make sure you don’t accidentally drop something down that slit. (Note: this paragraph was written based on my experience with Minolta equipment. It may or may not be applicable for Nikon or Canon.)
Before you get started, there are a few things to keep in mind.
1.) The two lenses have to be literally butting up against each other. Unless you tape the two lenses together you will need to be careful that they are held tightly together so that light doesn’t leak in from the side and wash out the image. On more than a few occasions this caused me to think the Exposure Compensation was all whacked out because the images weren’t consistent.
2.) Set the focus to manual. Autofocus simply won’t be able to help you. You won’t be able to adjust the focus by turning the ring but by moving the entire camera closer to your subject. Note that very small objects probably won’t be in focus until they are less than 1 inch from the end of the lens.
3.) If your second lens is set to a wide angle (remember that this is will appear to be zoomed in, in the viewfinder) you will most likely get a vignette. With the lenses I used, I wasn’t able to avoid it when the focal range of the reversed lens was inside the 28-50 range. You can crop it later if you really don’t like it, but it’s just something to be aware of.
4.) Keep an eye on the exposure; chances are, the camera’s metering system won’t give extremely accurate results since you are shooting through a second lens. I found that I often needed to turn down the Exposure Compensation. Setting the drive mode to Manual (M) is a better alternative if you’re comfortable with that.
5.) Turn off the flash. Unless you have a wireless or external flash your subject will be too close to the lens that the flash will cause a shadow to fall on it. This is called “self-shadowing.”
6.) Make certain that you have a UV filter or lens protector on both lenses. If you scratch the lens itself, there’s virtually nothing you can do to fix it, but if you scratch the $20 UV filter, you can always pick up another one. I always keep a UV filter on all of my lenses, for what it’s worth.
7.) Using a tripod is completely impractical.
8.) A cable release or remote would be ideal since the slightest change in position can throw the whole image out of focus. Pressing the button on the camera often “bumped” the position and caused the focus to shift. Using a remote allows you to trip the shutter without bumping the camera. Likewise, you could use the self-timer, but that requires an extraordinary amount of patience.
Examples: The three pictures below emphasize how powerful this setup can be. The first image was taken with only the 50mm lens; it’s as close to the subject as I could get while keeping it in focus. The second was taken with the reverse lens set to 80mm, and the third was set to 28mm.
Or consider the following example: In the image below you see a very small speck right in the middle of the image. That speck is actually a bug.
I wasn’t able to focus any closer with my 50mm lens, but when I added my reversed lens set to 28mm I was able to get close enough to see the bug’s eyes.
Advanced Techniques: You can purchase accessories like extension tubes, reverse rings, macro flashes and others specifically designed for macro photography, but I’ve never played with any of them. As far as I can tell, none of them really enable you to do anything that you can’t already do with a reversed lens, but rather they are designed to make things easier.
I don’t think these really count as “advanced” techniques, but you can also consider cropping your photos to give the impression that you used a more powerful lens. You could also hold a magnifying glass in front of the lens for a little extra reach. Or you could throw down some cash and invest in a real macro lens. Experiment and see which one suits the needs of the photos you want to capture. Better yet, make up your own!
Lessons Learned: Using a reversed lens is mad fun, but it can also be frustrating. Initially it seems like the magic bullet for extreme close-ups, but, like everything else, it is not without drawbacks. It requires a lot of patience, which isn’t always the case with photography. Trial and Error will become your closest companions, and Curiosity your mentor.
The reversed lens is a great “tool” to have in your toolbox, but don’t let it define you or your style. Make the technique fit into your workflow and become yet another thing that makes people think, “Yep, that looks like so-and-so’s work.” It’s not the paintbrush that makes an artist great, neither does the lens make the photographer.
Have fun with it. Learn from it. And for cryin’ out loud, go do something with it! =)
Pingback: Macro Waterdrops [tips and tricks] May 16th, 2007 A couple years ago I stumbled across a [...]
[...] of all sorts of photography tips and techniques scattered all over the internet. Somehow my Reverse Lens Tutorial made it on there. I’m not really sure how that happened, but I think it’s cool! I [...]
Bless you for your tutorial!!!!!!!!!!
I have been shooting macro for a long time first on film then with digital. I have a 65mm micro lens but until recently in the last 2 months I have been disappointed in trying to get that “microscopic” shot. Bugs eyes for instance. I bought a book last month that described the reverse lens technique and then set about to find a reversing ring for 62mm. It wasn’t until I joined Flickr that someone gave me a source. I tried it and just didn’t get it until NOW. I will once again go out in my garden and try it.
You are right….a tripod in this case just doesn’t work. When I took the picture of the web, however I did use a tripot, my new 105mm micro plus a 1.75 teleconverter….worked like a charm, but I would have loved to get one of the drops full frame, I think that the reversing technique is the ticket. I can hardly wait until Sunday.
Thanks so very much for you generous spirt….
Julie
I’ve found much better results simply reversing the main lens rather than going through the trouble of using two lenses taped together. I am in the process of making a 52mm lens EF mount converter so that I can switch between them.
Canon EOS 30D
35-80mm canon lens
35-70+macro Ricoh lens (better reverse macro results)
Thanks for the tips, Adam! It seems like one would have a harder time dealing with light leaks, but I guess that depends on the diameter of the lens.
For anybody who wants to try reversing a single lens you should note that, by default, most cameras won’t release the shutter if there is no lens attached. There should be a setting to change that however.
[...] lenses. Although he uses two lenses for the technique, a good explaination of why it works is on Stephen Elliot’s Reverse lens Macro Photography Tutorial. The method also works well with a single medium focal length lens. This is probably the least [...]
alright so im still not really sure how to do this. I have an 18 to 55mm lens and a 55-200mm lens. I want to have the 55-200mm lens set at 200mm attached to the body and have the 18-55mm lens reversed set at 18? that setting will be easiest to use right? and don’t use a tripod? i thought youneeded one for macro?
Michael, I would try the opposite first. Mount your 18-55 lens on your camera, and reverse your 55-200 lens. Set them both to 55mm and then give that a shot. Then try zooming the reversed lens, or mounting it and reversing the other. There’s no science to it, so enjoy the freedom to experiment.
Don’t worry about the tripod just yet –I don’t use it at all anyway. For now, just try to understand the relationship between the two lenses and determine what settings are best for getting the shots you want. Have fun with it!
It is very nice of you to give this info.
Thank you
[...] Well, you could try if your’re curious but I won’t taking responsibility for the risks.. and oh, here’s one good article about reverse lense. [...]
Your diagrams of light paths/points of focus are so wrong it hurts
Isaac, the diagrams found here have been simplified for the purpose of illustrating the concept. I was not aiming for technical accuracy. However, I’d be happy to update my diagrams if you will direct me to some accurate ones.
i tried this with a 70-300 attached first and then a 50 reversed , with no luck. then tried a 50 against a 50 and had to get almost on the subject to get it to show up. also i had a larrge amount of vignette.I experimented with different’t apertures with not much difference , and i couldn’t manage to focus the lenses so just moved in and out while holding the two lenses against each other. Should I be doign something different? I kinda thought you would be able to be quite a distance away still if you had a zoom lens attached?Please help!
Alex, thanks for stopping by, however, based on your questions it sounds like you didn’t take the time to read the tutorial here. Scroll up and review points 2.) and 3.) Your best bet is to stick with a 50mm lens attached. Try reversing the 70-300 lens, but make sure it is set to 70. I doubt you will have any luck with it set to 300. Hope that helps!
As a newbie to photography and not being very technically minded I think I was getting confused with what lens is what and probably re reading too much and getting more confused!! Thanks for your reply to my problem in laymans terms, your tutorials are a great help!
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[...] first new movie of 2009. I wanted to see if I could make macro videos using a reversed wide angle lens from a still camera. The music was created with ZynAddSubFX and Ardour with extra [...]
[...] quality. Jim Some interesting info on the pro’s and con’s of the double lens technique here: – Reverse-Lens Macro Photography [tutorial] StephenElliot.com Regards Mike. __________________ Common sense is not so common. – Emotion is a blind dog to the [...]
[...] of the lens that’s attached to your camera. The result is an extreme macro. Here’s a tutorial: Reverse-Lens Macro Photography [tutorial] StephenElliot.com Bob S. __________________ Members don’t see this ad. Register your free account [...]
I read through this entire article. Wonderfully explained. Thanks a lot mate!
Thanks for dropping by, Prashant! Hope to see you around here again.
[...] Except for this ‘reverse lenses’ are also highly popular while clicking macro. The lenses are normally designed to produce an image of an object which is at a far greater distance from the lens (object distance) as compared to the distance between the lens and the film (image distance). Thus, if the lens is reversed the distance of focal plane of the object from the lens is reduced by exactly the same factor as it was increased when the lens was mounted in its original position. This helps to focus on objects which are very close to the lens. For this purpose adapters are available which help mount the lens in the reverse position. [Read more on reverse lenses at http://stephenelliot.com/2007/05/15/reverse-lens-macro-photography-tutorial. [...]
[...] 1, 2 [View with [...]
When I turn my lens around (handheld) it’s all black, I suppose I can’t cover the light. Is it working with an 18-105mm lens for Nikon D90? If so, what should I do? :)
To answer, press “.. kommenterer” at my blog (it’s swedish) and fill in name (namn) and website (bloggadress) and if you want your mail too.
Emma, I have not tried it with that lens on a D90, so I can only answer in general terms. My first question is: are you using two lenses, or just one? I have not tried reversing a single lens; only the double lens setup pictured above. Secondly, if you don’t open the aperture (see photo above) on the reversed lens, then it will probably look almost completely black. Lastly, keep in mind that you have to get VERY close to your subject, if you’re not bumping into it, you might not be close enough yet. Hope that helps!
[...] Reverse-Lens Macro Photography [tutorial] « StephenElliot.com (tags: photography) Post a Comment [...]
Hello,
I just wanted to thank you for the wonderfull tutorial. Even an old newbie like me can comprehend it. Thanks again!
Glad you liked it, Mike! I wrote it because I hoped it would help people, so thanks for taking the time to let me know it’s working! =)
I picked up a cannon lens today, it doesnt have the lever to open the aperture manually. Im wondering if I can take it out completely. I dont even own a cannon camera, ha !
[...] oh, here’s one good article about reverse lens. This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 11:38 pm and is [...]
this is really helpful for a newbie like me :D thanks a lot
Hey, nice tutorial, sounds fun. I have been using extension tubes for my macro. I was wondering if these would do fo the first lense, Im thinking probably not because it doesnt focus the image onto the desired area.
Not sure, Tim. I’ve never played with extension tubes before, so I couldn’t tell ya. Give it a whirl and let us know what you discover!
[...] Reverse Lens Macro Photography Tutorial – This is a more detailed tutorial that the lesson above and has some great example illustrations and an interesting discussion in the comments section. [...]
Very informative. I’ve never heard about such technique.
For small things that are movable, I like to use a tripod on just two of its legs, and put the object on the edge of a table. This makes it much easier to be flexible enough, while still steadying the camera. Also, a tripod with a arm that can go vertical, like a boom, and legs that can contort to strange angles can be helpful for outdoor stuff that is low to ground.
Great suggestions, Brian! I hadn’t thought of tilting the tripod so as to use only two of the three legs, but it sounds like a great idea.
For newbies, I would still recommend trying it without a tripod until you get the hang of it. Then take Brian’s suggestions to steady your camera.
[...] [...]
Hi Stephen,
I am a newcomer in macro. About this issue of reversing a lens over another lens on the camera. I want to understand if to optimize the depth of field, do we need to set both lens aperture to the minimum ? Or we just set the aperture of the lens on the camera ?
The DOF is pretty limited with the reverse-lens setup. Closing the aperture of the reversed lens will make it nearly impossible to see anything through it. Try closing down the aperture of the mounted lens, but keep in mind that this will require a lot of light to get a fast shutter. Consider using off-camera lighting/strobes as well. Let me know how it goes!
I’d love to give this technique a try, but I’m a little worried about damaging a lens. Either way, it’s something fun to talk to other photographers about. Maybe one day when I’m rich I’ll give this a try =)