In macro photography your exposure is controlled by the flash. Even though you set your shutter speed, you flash is what freezes your subject because the duration of the flash is very fast, much faster than your shutter speed. So let's start with the flash. The good news is that you don't need an expensive flash. A manual flash is all you need. It does not even need to be that strong since your subjects will be close to the flash. Perhaps the only thing that really matters is how fast the flash recycles its power. The flash should be able to keep up shooting at 1/16th or 1/32nd power at 10 frames per second. When we talk about settings I will explain why this is important. A general consensus is that Godox flashes are cheap and they do the job. Personally, I got the Godox V1. It has a modeling light which can be handy. It also has a function to fire a shot to take the light reading and it then tells you what strength to set the flash's power on. So far, I am very happy with the flash.

          Shooting a subject close to the flash is a recipe for harsh light and perhaps for blown highlights. So you will need a diffuser. If your budget is tight, you can make one. If you want pro result spending a bit more may be worth it. I decided on the AK diffuser but there are a few reputable brands with good products to choose from. Don't skimp on the diffuser, this to a large extent will impact the quality of your imagery. Remember, in photography it is all about the light, and macro photography is no exception here. Your diffuser is what is going to control to quality of the light you work with.

          You have a number of choices regarding lenses. The cheap option is to get a Raynox lens element that connects to the front of the lens you already have, thus increasing its magnification and enabling you to focus at closer distances. The more expensive option is to get a dedicated macro lens. All you need is a manual focus lens. You will be focusing with distance anyway, as I will explain in an upcoming part of this series. I got the excellent Venus Optics Laowa 90mm lens. It is not that expensive, as far as lenses go. It also overs up to 2X life size magnification rather than the 1X offered by most autofocus alternatives (usually at more than double the price of the Laowa lens).

          You do not need an expensive camera since you will not be using the camera's autofocus system. However, for reasons which I will explain later, you may prefer a camera that can shoot at 10 frames per second.

          You may also want to consider a few cheap accessories. Firstly, some background cards work fantastically. I got the series offered by AK diffusers. I also use a cheap self standing monopod and a clamp to hold the background card in place for me. For macro studio setups I also use a camera remote trigger (which you can also do via an app on your phone).

          Speaking about apps, I am using a free app that displays the color wheel (harmony of color). I move it to match the predominant color of my subject and then look at what the complimentary color to that color is to help me to choose the best background color card to use. That is it. Next week we will talk about the technique necessary for successful macro photography.