Category: photography tips + tricks

If you follow my blog at all, you know how much I love using a third hand in my macro photography work. Using a third hand is useful in many ways, including, it gives you the freedom to pose your flowers the way you want. It allows you to have whatever background you want (more on that later!) and it also allows you to isolate your flowers. For these reasons alone, you should buy a third hand. They are so handy (pun intended) and I love mine! Also, it’s very affordable. This makes it the perfect gift for photographers. The holidays are coming up, so make sure you get one for yourself or a fellow photographer friend!

need help getting started in macro? check out my 3 Tips to Getting Started in Macro Photography post

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you in advance for supporting Aly Dawn Photography!

taken with: Nikon 105mm 2.8

my settings were: ISO 800 | f/5.0 | 1/400ss

the setup

First of all, what is a third hand? It’s this fancy little metal thing that allows you to clip things on it. It has two on each end. My third hand came with a magnifying glass that I just removed (it can get in the way, but it’s really easy to remove!). Once you have your third hand, and a bundle of flowers (I buy mine from Kroger, but I may one day upgrade to something else), you’re ready for the setup. The image below is nothing fancy, I just really wanted to show you how I set up my shots for macro. I have a nice white table (find one similar here) that I took the legs off of and then for added effect and color, I used a scarf I had laying around. That’s one nice trick to do. Use a scarf, a shirt, fabric, anything that can add color to your macro image. You can see my setup in the image below.

Based on this setup (I also want to point out the water bottle I used, that comes in very handy to add texture to your macro images. And the clothespin, those can help isolate your subject, like in this case where the flowers are on the same stem) I got the image below:

taken with: Nikon 105mm 2.8

my settings were: ISO 800 | f/5.0 | 1/400ss

get creative

So with a third hand, you don’t have to keep the flowers upright. You can get creative to get different type of shots. Turn your flower upside down. Have it far away from your background, or up close. The third hand is great because it can also be placed on ledges and wont fall off. I really really love the third hand, if you can’t tell. It allows you to get such amazing images at such a small price.

taken with: Nikon 105mm 2.8

my settings were: ISO 1250 | f/5.0 | 1/320ss

why you should use one

I feel like I’ve already pointed out why you should use a third hand. But in case you need another push to buy one, here it is. Photography accessories are usually expensive. The third hand is not. It’s under ten dollars. You really can’t beat that. Another reason is because it will take your macro photography to the next level. I definitely believe once I bought and started using the third hand, that my macro photography got about 10 times better. Once you start using the color wheel to your advantage and adding in backgrounds that will help make your flower shine, your images become more professional. At least in my opinion. 😉

Having a third hand will make your life easier. Who wouldn’t want that? So, do yourself a favor and go order one now. Your macro photography will thank you for it. Get creative and see what you can do with it.

What questions do you have about macro photography? Comment below!

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You might be questioning me on this. “What lenses to use?” Well, a macro lens, of course! But just because you have a macro lens or don’t have one, doesn’t mean that’s all you should use for your macro photography. I am a firm believer that you should use the equipment you have to it’s fullest advantage. Don’t have a macro lens? Use the lenses you have with a few modifications to achieve the effect you want. Don’t feel like you need to go out and buy an expensive lens (especially if you’re not sure you’ll even like macro photography). Let me show you the different lenses I use to achieve beautiful ‘macro’ (or flower) photography.

need help getting started in macro? check out my 3 Tips to Getting Started in Macro Photography post

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you in advance for supporting Aly Dawn Photography!

taken with: Nikon 105mm 2.8

my settings were: ISO 640 | f/4.8 | 1/250ss

the nifty fifty

The nifty fifty is great for taking nature images. I have the Nikon 50mm 1.8. I love using it with macro extensions to get some nice macro shots. The best thing about this whole combo is it’s the cheapest. The nifty fifty is one of the cheapest lenses out there and macro extensions are really cheap, too. If you don’t have the money to buy any great macro lenses, check out the macro extensions.

taken with: Nikon 50mm 1.8

my settings were: ISO 320 | f/2.5 | 1/4000ss

lensbaby velvet 56

I have my eye on this beautiful lens. I have heard great things about it, especially for macro photography. This lens creates such beautiful images with dreamy effects. And best part about this lens is it’s on the cheaper side. The lensbaby velvet 56 is great for macro, nature, any genre of photography, really. It’s a great investment and one that I am personally saving up for.

taken with: Sigma 24mm 1.4 ART

my settings were: ISO 500 | f/1.4 | 1/320ss

wide angle lens

One of my favorite lenses to use for my macro/nature photography is my wide angle lens, the Sigma ART 24mm 1.4. It creates such beautiful depth in the images. I love shooting wide open to create some beautiful dreamy images. The wide angle is a perfect lens to use when taking pictures of nature. Not only does it do well with flowers, it does well with landscapes. So you could get close to a flower and then step back and take a picture of the whole scene. This is probably my favorite flower lens other than my macro lens.

macro lens

And of course, the best type of lens to use for macro would be a macro lens. I personally use the Nikon 105mm 2.8. Although, I hope to upgrade to a better lens in the future. Taking images wide open on this lens is sometimes hard to get a lot of the flower in focus. I recommend closing down to at least a 5 if not higher. That allows for more of the flower to be in focus. Now, of course, I love shooting wide open and only getting a sliver of the flower in focus. It just depends on your vision and how you want the picture to turn on. Practice and have fun.

Just because you don’t have a macro lens, doesn’t mean you can’t take beautiful flower images. Use what you have. If you’re curious about whether you’d like macro photography or not, try renting a macro lens or using lens extensions. Macro photography is so soothing and relaxing. I often call it macro therapy. It helps me relax and it makes me happy. Go out there with what you have and experiment with different apertures, distance from the flower/plant, angles, etc. There’s so much to learn from macro photography.

What questions do you have about macro photography? Comment below!

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If you don’t see me on Facebook, it’s because I am more on Instagram. I love Instagram for so many reasons. I have met some really awesome ladies on there that help and support me. I really love the new ability to post multiple images if I wish, because I sometimes find it hard to narrow it down. Instagram is a growing, great social media site for photographers. But one of the main reasons I love Instagram is because it made me a better photographer.

check out my 5 Reasons to Convert an Image to Black and White post

it encouraged my style

My style has evolved and developed over the past year or two. I owe a lot of the growth to Instagram. I wanted my feed to look cohesive. Therefore, I would always make sure the image I post next looked similar to the last one. It helped me a great deal in editing all my images so that they looked like mine. Once I started using Instagram, my photography changed for the better. It started off with a matte look, then went on to a more clean edit with vibrant colors. I’m excited to see where my style goes next, but one thing is for sure, my Instagram feed will look cohesive.

great community of photographers

I have met so many photographers because of Instagram! There are great communities for each genre of photography. I love all the macro communities. The more you interact with other photographers, the more they will interact with you. Making photography friends is fun and very beneficial to your photography. Community is important.

encourages constant shooting

I am encouraged to shoot because I want to post to my Instagram daily. I like the idea of having new content to share each day. This helps me as a photographer because constant shooting is also considered practice. And practice is essential in order to improve. It takes 10,000 hours to become a professional in something. So shoot everyday and practice!

helped me learn how to critique

Often times people ask for critique on their work. Not only did Instagram help me critique others work, but it helped me critique my own work. Like I said above, I wanted my work to be cohesive. I wanted to share only my best work. Put my best face out there. Which lead me to critiquing my own work and making sure everything was cohesive.

Instagram is the perfect tool to making you a better photographer. Go out and follow photographers. Learn how to use hashtags and get your work seen. Have fun and learn and grow.

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Last week my husband decided to take me on a date. We went for a nice long 2 mile walk across the River. It was so nice to just talk, take pictures, and enjoy my son and husband. I love how patient my husband is while he waits for me to take pictures. The sunset was so beautiful, I kept stopping to take pictures! I needed to practice my landscape photography. I have a feeling my boys will wait for me a lot in the future. And I’m so blessed to have them support my photography.

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you in advance for supporting Aly Dawn Photography!

check out my Morning Rain Drops post

image taken by: Nikon D610 and my wide angle lens

my settings were: ISO 500 | f/1.4 | 1/4000ss

I was legit jumping up and down when I saw that a package came for me. I knew exactly what it was – a book I had made from Blurb! I LOVE using Blurb to create my photography books. Blurb makes it extremely easy to make and upload a book. I’ve made three different books so far and I love each of them. They’re so fun to look through and reminiscence. So far, the three books I have made consist of my wedding images, some personal images, and my sons newborn pictures. I plan to eventually make a book of more of my personal images and a year one book of my baby. Photography books are great for so many reasons. Keep reading to find out why you should create a photography book.

need a new book to read? check out my 10 Must Read Photography Books post.

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1. it’s easy to create

Lightroom and Blurb have made it extremely easy to create a photo book. All you have to do is import your images into Lightroom and click on the ‘book’ tab. It creates layouts automatically for you. You can even add text to your pages. I love that it’s extremely easy to make a book. Once you’re done and everything looks the way you want it, you just simply upload it to Blurb.

2. it’s a great way to display your images

I love printing my pictures. But let’s be honest, they can stack up fast! With photo books it’s great that they’re all in the same place. Have a ton of macro photos you need to print? Create a book, they’ll all be in the same place. There’s just something about your work being printed in a book that makes you smile. Having them in a book makes it easy for the viewer to view your images in the order you want them to. Plus they just look so beautiful laid out that way.

images of my son taken by Kelly Akers Photography

3. it’s a great conversation starter

I’ll start talking about my wedding and then remember that I actually have a book of ALL of my wedding images – yes, all of them. That makes for an even better conversation as we look through my wedding book. And just think, if you have a book of your own images (I only have one so far), then your friends can look through all of your favorite images all in one place and ask you about the memories you’ve captured.

4. it’ll help you grow as a photographer

This step is for if you are creating a photo book of your own images. As you go through and pick images for your book, you’ll check to make sure they’re consistent. You’ll really evaluate each image and determine if it’s worthy of being printed in your book. Going through your images will make you a better photographer. You’ll take note of what you could do better or even go out and try to take a better image so that your book can look professional. I know when I was making my Disney book, I went through and made sure all of my images were cohesive. It made me work at editing to get that cohesive look. It helped me get my editing the way it is today.

5. it’s just plain fun!

Seriously, it’s so fun to look through your images and decide which image to put in your book. Lightroom makes it so easy to pick a layout and put your images in your book. I could create books all day long.

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Lately our morning routine has included walks. I like going in the morning when the weather is nice and cool. And it’s been pretty cool lately, so those morning walks have been wonderful. I really like the cool air on my face as I walk, being able to spend this time with my son. I don’t take my camera every time because I really just want to enjoy the walk. But when I do take my camera, I feel inspired. The light is so different in the morning, I’m really not used to it! On this one particular morning, about a week ago, I happened to bring my camera. It had rained the night before and everything was covered in rain drops. Mix that with some pretty morning light and you get magic.

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you in advance for supporting Aly Dawn Photography!

need some inspiration? check out my 5 Easy Steps to Getting a Blurry Background.

Image taken by: Nikon D610 and my wide angle lens

my settings were: ISO 160 | f/2.0 | 1/400ss