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Detail shots can be the most impactful images in a gallery, capturing the curl of the eyelashes, or those little creases in their lips.
But they’re also some of the hardest shots to get right.
These are my ultimate top 5 tips for capturing amazing detail shots every time.
- Angle, angle, angle
The key thing that differentiates an ok detail shot from an amazing one is the angle you capture it from.
You want the light to just capture the edge of babies fingers, of the creases of their lips.
To get this natural contrast that shows off the details the key I find is to angle my camera to the shadows.
- Keep it still
It’s not always possible to capture detail shots, if you have a fast & excited 1 year old then it’s much more of a challenge versus capturing the details of a sleepy newborn.
But there are tricks you can use to get the moment of calm you need.
Sometimes simply distracting the baby with a small toy will work.
Or at the end of a session we sometimes get out a phone & play nursery rhymes. While the baby is mesmerised I’m able to sneak in & capture the closer details.
- Lens matters
Yes unfortunately for detail shots equipment does matter.
I often capture close eyelash shots with my 50mm lens, but it’s been calibrated so that it’s super, super sharp.
Otherwise for detail shots you really do need a 105mm macro lens to be able to focus close enough.
I have the Sigma Art 105mm & the Nikon 105mm Macro lenses. both are great but I find that the Nikon is more reliable.
- Diffused light
Natural light on cloudy days is my absolute favourite for detail shots.
But any light can work as long as it’s diffused well enough & you can visibly see the angle it’s coming from.
Light that is too harsh will blow all of the details in an image. The shadows are needed to bring out those details (the creases, dimples & wrinkles).
- Camera settings
I like to keep my aperture at around f.4/5 for detail shots. That way a good portion of the image is in tac sharp focus & the rest falls into a soft bokeh.
But you’ll need to push your ISO a bit higher on some days to achieve an f.4/5 aperture (if you’re shooting natural light of course).
However I find that on detail shots grain isn’t often an issue & in many cases I like that little hint of grain in detail images.
If you’re shooting with studio/artificial lights then I’d recommend going a little lower with your aperture.
I find flash tends to create a wider field of focus, so to get that nice creamy bokeh around the edges then using a lower aperture will help.
