Macro Photography Workshops with Oliver Wright

A few weeks ago I took part in a Macro Photography Workshop run by Oliver Wright. This was somewhat different from my usual photography as it involved purely macro, and artificial light. Whilst I've done a fair bit of macro over the years, I've always used natural light. Here it would be diffused flash, angled appropriately to provide effective lighting. The day started over a coffee with Oliver going over some key details of macro photography. There was plenty of time for questions from clients and some healthy discussion. This was an important part of the day as everyone knew what to expect, rather than being thrown in at the deep end. Then it was on to our first subject...

This was the first tarantula of the day and one which I used to 'get my eye in'. The biggest challenge I felt, would be in achieving a good enough depth of field. I tried to focus on the eyes or the body most of the time, but when a tarantula brought up its legs so you couldn't see the body, I focused on the legs themselves.

The lighting was kept care of, with Oliver making any necessary adjustments of strength and direction. We worked in a couple of groups giving plenty of opportunities and time to review images before carrying on shooting. The handler for all these critters was Sean - a very knowledgeable chap which made the day even more interesting. The variety of subjects was incredible - a number of tarantulas, two snakes, mantids, a scorpion and a beautiful leopard gecko.

The reflection shots are a master stroke. Using a black ceramic tile you can achieve perfect reflections to create some really unusual images of equally unusual creatures. We were also able to vary settings and backdrops, some of which Oliver has expanded on to create completely natural looking images for future workshops.

It was a great day, with unique images created - and an enjoyable experience too. It's clear that Oliver has put a lot of time and thought into these days, not just in the set-ups but also in his introduction to the session. If you want to give these Macro Photography Courses a go visit www.oliverwrightphotography.com  I'm sure I will be back again.!

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