Close-up Image (Page 2): Did you take over from someone else, or is this a new group? As I and others have said, with close-up (as opposed to true macro) there are interpretations and...

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

rs2543 wrote:

I'm in charge of an close-up group. A lady sent a picture to be posted of a swan with several inches of background around the swan. I don't think this is a close-up but I'm not sure.

Did you take over from someone else, or is this a new group? As I and others have said, with close-up (as opposed to true macro) there are interpretations and no firm rules.

When UHH's Close-Up Forum was created, the original managers were very strict about how much of the frame the subject had to fill. When they left, and new managers took over, they were more lenient, especially if several photos were included in a thread.

What is the purpose and make-up of your group? Is it educational with discussion, or is it simply share with thumbs-up emojis? Can you ask the photographer her intent for including the background? btw, your description sounds just like what I posted here

becky55

The term “close up” is used by a lot of stock photography sites as a keyword phrase. So if you go to one or two and type in “close up” you should get a pretty good visual representation, although a little on the broad side. One commonality you’ll see is that many of the images are part of something else. Also, frequently the distance of the viewer from the subject is intentionally closer to it than where it would normally be, and the focus is on the details rather than the general. Hope this helps.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

Linda From Maine wrote:

One viewpoint: Close-up Photography tightly frames a subject rather than including a broader scene. The background is often out of focus and not distracting. Unlike Macro Photography, which is usually 1:1 magnification and often requires special equipment, close-ups are less restrictive and can be accomplished with any camera and lens.

And: The idea of a close-up is to make the viewer ‘feel’ the subject is right up close.
(from https://www.photokonnexion.com/3935-2/)

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Love your photo, Linda!

Ourspolair

As far as I am aware, macro starts when the image on the sensor is the same size as the subject, 1:1. This infers that a close-up would end at a 1:1.01 ratio of subject to image. The distance-to-subject would be irrelevant in any definition, since a close-up of a flower could be shot at 3cm and not qualify as strictly macro, and the photo of an elephant in "close-up" could be shot from 200 metres. Close-up also infers that the photo does not include much background or the totality of the subject for large subjects, so with reference to the elephant, might just include a portion of the head or the head itself, and with architecture, just a small element of the whole building.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

imagemeister wrote:

After many, many years of fooling around with this subject, I have personally settled on a close up being from 1:10 to 1:2 reproduction ratio .

That's precisely how I learned it when I had a used 55mm f/3.5 Micro Nikkor handed to me in 1974. The guy found it on a beach in NJ!!! I paid $55 to have it reconditioned by EPOI, and it has worked ever since. It gets down to 1:2 without the extension ring required to make it just barely true Macro (1:1 on the film/sensor).

The reasoning behind this range is that there is reciprocity failure at higher magnifications. In other words, once you reach 1:10, the closer you get to your subject, the more exposure it needs. My lens has an automatic diaphragm compensator built into it. It was made for the old "Meter coupled" pre-AI Nikon bodies. As you focus closer than 1:10, the aperture opens up (limited by maximum aperture, of course).

True macro is 1:1 to 10:1, and photomicrography starts at 10:1, or 10X, usually the lowest power objective (lens) on an optical microscope. So all those "Micro Nikkor" lenses are just branded. There's nothing "micro" about them. Still, I own two... left over from my film days.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Longshadow wrote:

My one camera can focus down to 2cm. Would that be close-up or macro?

Do not confuse minimum focusing distance with magnification. Depending on optical design, that could be either. Your camera manual might offer a specification...

Macro makes the subject (or part of a subject) the same size on the sensor or film that it is in real life, up to ten times larger on sensor or film than it is in real life.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

burkphoto wrote:

Do not confuse minimum focusing distance with magnification. Depending on optical design, that could be either. Your camera manual might offer a specification...

Macro makes the subject (or part of a subject) the same size on the sensor or film that it is in real life, up to ten times larger on sensor or film than it is in real life.

Yea, camera has a sensor, no idea how big.
I just get as close as I desire and take a picture.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Longshadow wrote:

Yea, camera has a sensor, no idea how big.
I just get as close as I desire and take a picture.

Of course, a mind warp is that the size of the sensor matters. 1:1 on Micro 4/3 is going to cover about a 17.3x13mm area, but that is about 4:1 on full frame 36x24mm... I take advantage of that when cropping portions of old slides and negatives I want to print.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

burkphoto wrote:

Of course, a mind warp is that the size of the sensor matters. 1:1 on Micro 4/3 is going to cover about a 17.3x13mm area, but that is about 4:1 on full frame 36x24mm... I take advantage of that when cropping portions of old slides and negatives I want to print.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

rs2543 wrote:

What are the guide lines that make an image a close-up? When would it not be a close-up?

From a Google search:

"You can use virtually any lens to achieve close-up photos. Macro means you're taking super close-ups of objects at 1:1. Meaning, the size of the image on your sensor is equal to the size of the item you're photographing in real life. Micro means the magnification is at a microscopic level."

Stan

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Longshadow wrote:

My one camera can focus down to 2cm. Would that be close-up or macro?

Usually if the image is 1/2X lifesize to 2X lifesize it is usually considered in the macro range. About 1/2 lifesize to 1/5X is more or less considered closeup. It is not usually based off the actual distance to the front of the lens. True macro actually starts at 1X lifesize or greater. But sites like Image Resource, in their lens reviews, realize most enthusiast and amateur photographers don't actually require true macro photography and are more than satisfied with the 1/2X to 1/5X closeup range.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

rs2543 wrote:

So what is the max size of the subject. A tight shot of a complete horse would not be a close-up would it?

It would be if the horse was 1/2X to 1/5X lifesize on the sensor. That would be a very miniature horse!

Dr J Loc: NE Florida

Love that image!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

wdross wrote:

Usually if the image is 1/2X lifesize to 2X lifesi... (show quote)

And what does making a large print where the subject turns out to be larger than life size in that print?
How does that work into things?

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Longshadow wrote:

And what does making a large print where the subject turns out to be larger than life size in that print?
How does that work into things?

Blowup or print size deals with the post process. The terms of "closeup", "macro", and "micro" deals with how the image was captured. In other words, if the image of a dime on my sensor is the same size as the actual dime, that image is a lifesize macro image (1X, 1:1, etc.). One can then blow that image up to whatever print size they want; two times larger, 2' diameter, 20' diameter. But only the original capture is macro. One other way to state lifesize macro is: If one is taking a photo of 1 inch of a scale or ruler, that 1 inch appears on the sensor as exactly 1 inch also. In other words, lifesize.