Introduction to Macro Photography
A course by Sergi Gomez GarciaPhotographer and retoucher
A course by Sergi Gomez Garcia, Photographer and retoucher
Master the focus stacking technique and discover a universe behind the little things
Macro photography is an opportunity to discover hidden worlds and elements that can go unnoticed by the human eye. To achieve these photographs you need to master techniques such as focus stacking—which consists of combining several photographs with different focus distances to create a composite image— and a lot of imagination to create mini-scenarios, precisely what you'll learn in this course.
With the guidance of Sergi Gómez, a professional photographer with more than 15 years of experience and a specialist in scientific imaging, you'll learn the theoretical and practical bases of this discipline to conduct a studio session with a miniature stage. In addition, you'll see the equipment you'll need (both professional and self-made), lighting tricks, composition techniques, and the postproduction of your images.
What will you learn in this online course?
14 lessons & 20 downloads
What will we do in the course?
1 minute, 19 seconds
What is macro photography?
17 minutes, 27 seconds
The macro team
7 minutes, 18 seconds
The calculations we need
3 minutes, 30 seconds
Stage assembly and lighting
3 minutes, 46 seconds
Shooting without stacking
9 minutes, 43 seconds
What's included in this course?
You'll start by finding out how Sergi began in the world of macro photography, his most relevant works, and main influences. You'll see the different kinds of existing macro photography and understand why this type of photography can be very attractive.
Then you'll learn the most important theoretical concepts of this discipline, to better understand what the macro itself is, and what the main challenges are, to then be able to solve them or take advantage of them in the best way.
You'll know the basic equipment you need to start taking macro photographs, including professional material and elements that are available to everyone. Once you have the materials, you'll perform an exercise to measure the macro capacity of your equipment.
Next, you'll start the practical part of the course that consists of doing a macro session in a studio. You'll learn how to set up the scene, assemble the basic lighting set, and the focus stacking technique that will allow you to gain depth of field without losing quality.
Finally, you'll enter the postproduction phase, in which you'll learn to get the most out of your images. You'll use Adobe Photoshop, Bridge and Camera Raw to process the photos and, with the Helicon Focus program, you'll see the stacking options you have for a perfect focus.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
You'll do a macro photography session in the studio.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Beginner and professional photographers who want to get a start in the world of macro photography.
Requirements and materials
You'll need basic photography skills, and knowing how to use an SLR camera.
Regarding materials, you'll need a DSLR camera; a macro system, be it a macro lens, extension tubes, inverter ring, or approach lenses; and a computer with Adobe Photoshop, Bridge, Camera Raw, and Helicon Focus (if you don't have it, you can download the trial version).
Reviews
- 3 months ago
Excelente curso!! mucho aprendisaje
- 5 months ago
Accesorios complejos de obtener donde vivo, me hubiese gustado otro enfoque y no hacerle fotos a unas gotas en un petalo... Por el precio lo vale, algo he aprendido y la manera de explicar del profesor es muy buena
- 5 months ago
Puede mejorar se hace monotono y hay que ocupar algunos accesorios dificiles de obtener.
- 9 months ago
no me gusto nada, encontre mejores videos en you tube de 10 min y con una idea que pude entender. este profesor yo simplemente lo encontre demasiado bla bla bla. lo recomiendo para personas que no tienen nada que hacer.
- 9 months ago
1Perfeito
Sergi Gómez believes that continuous learning is the best tool for quality work at an artistic and aesthetic level. In addition to his work in extreme macro and macro photography, he also takes product, event, and art photography, as well as photo essays and retouching.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- I'm Sergi, nice to meet you!
- My influences
- What will we do in the course?
- U2
All you have to know
- What is macro photography?
- The macro team
- The calculations we need
- U3
The shot
- Stage assembly and lighting
- Shooting without stacking
- Shot with stacking
- U4
The magic of photoshop
- Raw Processing for Stacking
- Postproduction of stacking
- Retouching
- The retouching II
- File focus and export
- FP
Final project
- Introduction to macro photography
What to expect from a Domestika course
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FAQs
Macro photography is a technique that captures tiny objects in great detail, revealing textures and shapes you usually can’t see with the naked eye. Unlike traditional photography, it focuses on very small subjects and uses much higher magnification.
This is an intermediate-level course, perfect for those who already understand basic photography concepts and want to dive deeper into advanced macro photography techniques.
You’ll need a camera with manual mode, macro lenses or extension tubes, a sturdy tripod, lighting sources like flash or LED, and some basic accessories such as a focus rail and a syringe for water drops.
You’ll learn focus stacking, macro photography of insects and everyday objects, extreme macro, ultraviolet photography, advanced lighting, and specialized digital retouching.
Focus stacking involves taking multiple photos focused at different distances and combining them to achieve greater depth of field and sharpness in macro shots.
The course covers using natural and artificial light, LED and ring flash techniques, controlling reflections, creating backgrounds, and lighting setups tailored for macro scenes and water drops.
You’ll be able to create high-quality macro images, master focus and composition, excel at stacking, apply advanced retouching techniques, and export your photos for web or print.