Here’s Why You Don’t Need a Macro Lens

Macro photography has such a draw for beginner photographers because it opens up a world we can’t see with the naked eye. Most camera stores will tell you that you need a macro lens to do this kind of work, but don’t believe the hype. There are plenty of ways to do macro with the kit you already have.

Personally, I’ve never owned a macro lens, although I’ve shot on them for plenty of fashion brands and big-name magazines. I don’t find them useful enough to pay out the big bucks for something I’ll only use occasionally, although they can double as a good portrait lens if they focus to infinity. Don't get me wrong, macro lenses are truly useful and usually super sharp. I particularly like the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 because it can magnify up to 5:1. A true macro lens has a reproduction ratio of 1:1, which means the physical space your subject takes up in real life is how much space it’ll take up on your image sensor, giving you lots of detail. I just can't justify the $600-$1,000+ for a macro lens. But we can achieve that 1:1 ratio and greater with some of the techniques below, likely with kit you already have.

Cropping in Works Pretty Well

Most lenses, such as a 50mm f/1.8 prime, will actually focus relatively closely, which means you can get quite a nice close-up photo of your macro subjects. Sure, it won’t be the true 1:1 magnification ratio that a genuine macro photograph should adhere to, but if it’s a nice image, who cares? If you still want to get a little closer to the subject, simply crop in in your favorite editing software. Modern DSLRs and mirrorless cameras have such high resolutions that you can still crop in close and retain extraordinary detail, something I first learned from speaking with Richard Peters when shooting wildlife on the Nikon D850.

Reverse the Lens You Already Have

Yes, that’s right, you can literally just turn the lens around. Now, to start with, you might want to simply hold the lens, reversed, in front of the lens mount, but you’ll soon realize your wobbly hand will encourage light leaks and out-of-focus areas. Reversing rings are a cheap (around ten dollars) and easy way to hold your lens onto the body securely via the front filter thread.

Okay sure, the electronic connections won’t work anymore for aperture control, and that makes things dark when looking through the viewfinder, but there are two solutions to that. The first is to use Live View. Or if you’re a viewfinder fan, there’s usually a little pin on the back of the lens that you can use to open up the aperture wide enough to make things bright for composition.
Autofocus won’t work either, but you won’t need it with this technique, as the difference between the minimum focusing distance and infinity is typically only a few millimeters at best when the lens is reversed. That short working distance also means shooting live subjects that move around is going to be more difficult. You might want to concentrate your work on static subjects like plants and flowers. Interestingly, when reversed, the wider the lens is, the higher the magnification. Above, you can see I'm using my Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 lens reversed on a Nikon D750 which gets so close to the cactus you can see each individual spine on the plant.

Close-Up Filters Are Cheap and Easy

These close-up filters are not the clearest or sharpest glass in the world, but macro is forgiving, because we never normally see these tiny subjects so big, so our eyes aren’t trained to expect a certain look. As a beginner, it’s a brilliant way to get into macro photography.

They work well on a longer, telephoto lenses such as a 70-300mm, because it retains a good working distance, perfect for live subjects like insects and spiders. That is, the subject will appear big in the frame, but you’ll be far enough away so as not to disturb them. I use the Raynox DCR-250, which has an expandable filter thread to fit a range of lens sizes.

Use Extension Tubes

Another option is to simply place the lens farther away from the camera body to force a close focus. Macro lenses do this anyway, but enhance the image with a series of specialized optical elements, but you can do this cheaply with extension tubes.

They’re hollow tubes that connect the lens to the camera body. You’ll retain optical clarity, because there’s no inferior glass in them, but the working distance is minimal, and it can be tricky to shoot tiny subjects handheld. However, good brands such as Kenko still allow electronic connection of lenses, meaning autofocus and aperture control are retained.

As you can see, there are plenty of options to try before dipping into your savings for a specialized macro lens; in fact, I’ve won a couple of macro photography competitions with these very techniques. Have you tried any of these techniques yourself? Perhaps you have another way of taking macro shots I didn’t list here? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below.