Monthly Theme - Get Close (April 2019)

Before we kick of our fourth theme of the year, we’d like to take a second to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who took part in March’s Animal theme. You guys kept us busy for hours with so many amazing entries!

As usual, you can view the six finalists and vote for a winner below, but first we want to introduce April’s theme - "Get Close".

We’re talking about paying attention to the details and zooming in on a subject! Whether you’re a macro maverick or are just starting out with some close ups and clever cropping - this is a challenge everyone can enjoy!

For those of you who are new to this style of photography, you might be wondering what the difference is between zooming in and taking ‘macro’ or ‘micro’ shots? In a nutshell, they’re all techniques which achieve a similar effect - to make something tiny look really big! However, straight-forward zooming in doesn’t always capture the crispness of the super-fine details - think fly eyeballs and hairs on spiders! As for ‘Macro’ v.s. ‘Micro’ - I believe they’re just different terms for Canon and Nikon SLR lenses (respectively).

There will be hundreds of tutorials on YouTube for how to use different smartphones, DSLRs and lenses, but to get you all started, we’ve researched five top tips for perfect photos that get up close:

1. You don’t need to leave the house to find cool subjects!

Many photographers fall in love with macro photography in their backyard - flowers, insects and water droplets are all amazing subjects to play with. If you’d rather stay indoors, the kitchen is usually a macro paradise - try experimenting with fruit and veg, herbs and spices or knick knacks on shelves.

2. Get steady.

When getting up close to a subject, the tiniest of movements will be exaggerated in your shots. Where possible use a tripod, or rest your camera on something sturdy. We love how @lesip has used their tripod to shoot from a birds eye angle!

3. Experiment with depth of field.

Create drama and contrast by making your subject pop against fuzzy surroundings. This is most often achieved by adjusting your aperture settings - but be patient as you might need to tweak your shutter speeds to let more/less light in.

4. Try moving your subject, not the camera.

Of course, this depends on whether you’re shooting flying insects or a piece of broccoli. But, if you can create a set up, like @mona65, which allows you to move your subject, it’ll make all the fine tuning of your camera worthwhile - without having to adjust and change it every time you move.

5. Play with composition and focal points.

While it’s important to make sure you have lots of space around the focal point, try playing with your Rule of Thirds composition, or even the angle and location of the focal point on the object. You’ll most likely achieve more abstract shots and surprise yourself with the outcomes.

Whatever you decide to get close to - have fun and play! Experimentation and pushing comfort zones makes for some of the most rewarding photography projects.
We can’t wait to check out your entries!

How to enter this month’s theme

When uploading your photos use the tag section (on the edit/organise screen) and insert this week's theme tag: theme-getclose. (Remember, 'getclose' is all one word!)

Entry Guidelines: Photos must be your own and must have been taken and uploaded between Monday April 1st andTuesday April 30th. 6 finalists will be chosen in the first couple days of May, then you get to vote for the winner in the following month!

Vote for a Winner of March’s Animal Theme

Themes with anything to do with animals are one of my favourite things, ever! Your photos for the Animals theme did not disappoint!

After hours of grinning ear to ear at all the amazing critters and creatures, we eventually narrowed down our shortlist to just six finalists, so now it’s over to you.

To cast your vote, just reply to this blog post with the number (in digit form) of the photo you would like to see win, before April 14th. We’ll announce the winner in a separate post shortly after!