r/macro

A tiny blue jewel resting on a fading plantain seed head. 🦋✨

The delicate details of the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) make macro photography endlessly fascinating.

#CommonBlue #PolyommatusIcarus #MacroPhotography #ButterflyPhotography #InsectPhotography

Macro predator

Not just another fly… 🪰🔴

Meet Macquartia grisea, a striking tachinid fly with brilliant red eyes and a body covered in tiny bristles. Nature hides incredible details in the smallest creatures. 🔬📸

#MacquartiaGrisea #TachinidFly #MacroPhotography #InsectPhotography #MacroNature

Taken with the Z5ii + Z MC 105mm

Image Name: Heart of the Lotus

Description:

A top-down macro shot of a blooming lotus. The vibrant pink-to-yellow gradient and central green seed pod are intensely highlighted against a dark, moody background, giving the flower a dramatic, glowing effect.

​Camera Settings:

​Lens: 90mm Macro

​Aperture: f/4.0

​Shutter Speed: 1/200s

​ISO: 100

​Post-Processing (Lightroom):

​Tone & Contrast: Crushed the blacks and lowered the shadows to create the dark green background and isolate the flower.

​Color/HSL: Lifted the luminance and saturation on the pinks and yellows to accentuate the gradient.

​Masking: Applied a radial gradient over the center (seed pod and stamens) with a slight boost to exposure and clarity for an inner glow.

​Detail: Added a touch of sharpening to highlight the delicate edge textures.

Master of camouflage. The Mugwort Plant Bug (Lygus gemellatus) is a subtle but fascinating member of the plant bug family. Its earthy tones allow it to blend seamlessly into flowers and grasses, making it a true challenge to spot in the wild. Captured as a single-shot macro. Hashtags ＃MacroPhotography ＃Macro ＃LygusGemellatus ＃PlantBug ＃Miridae ＃InsectPhotography ＃SingleShotMacro ＃NaturePhotography ＃WildlifePhotography ＃NatureLovers

Small damselfly, bold beauty

I’ve been shooting macro for roughly a year, and this was actually my first time entering a photography competition.

I entered three of my macro photos into the 35AWARDS “Yellow Color” contest, and to my surprise, one of them made it into the Top 1% of the competition. There were 22,943 photos submitted by 5,374 photographers from 111 countries, so I’m honestly pretty happy with the result!

I’m posting the certificate and the three photos I submitted.

What I found most valuable, though, wasn’t the ranking.

Looking through the other entries was a huge learning experience. There are so many different ways people approach macro — lighting, composition, backgrounds, colors, focus stacking, and even how they choose and present their subjects.

It really made me realize how much there is still to learn.

So if you’re new to macro and you’re thinking about entering a competition but feel like your photos aren't “good enough” yet, just give it a try.

Don’t worry about winning. Use it as a chance to see what other photographers are doing, learn from their work, and figure out where you can improve.

I’m only one year into this hobby, and I still have a lot to learn. But entering this competition has definitely motivated me to keep going.

To all the beginners out there: enter, learn, shoot again, and have fun! 🐜📷

Not my most beautiful photo today, but a special encounter for me nonetheless. This lady – the wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi) – was hanging and posing so beautifully at the edge of the leaf. What colors. Glad I came across her.

#waspspider #argiopebruennichi #macrophotography #spiderlove #naturephotography

A tiny armored masterpiece 🛡️✨

The Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes) reveals an incredible world of texture, color and detail when seen up close. Nature truly hides beauty in the smallest places.

#MacroPhotography #ShieldBug #InsectPhotography #WildlifeMacro #NaturePhotography

Mike Gong and Sleeek it’s from a 5 way collaboration but I think this component was just them.

Just posing on her twig. ✨

Golden grasshopper ( Euthystira brachyptera ) ♀

Single shot macro. #macrophotography #grasshopper #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #singleshot