I like this tip, thank you for sharing! Since ATP is so heavy on photos, we should publish more articles that teach the members how to improve their photo skills.

Great tip! I have a loop I had forgotten about.

I do not know what a loop is! Can I use a magnifying glass?

Great idea and one I'll try. When I use my zoom feature on my camera it doesn't always give a nice clear shot (then again it could be my shaky hands!) I'll try my magnifying glass next, and will let you know, virginiarose/Susan.

Shoe

I need to try this tip along with my Macro lens! Can't wait to see what I'll get! Thanks for the great tip!

Virginiarose, it's actually spelled "loupe." Jewelers use them to look closely at gems. They're used in several other professions as well. Here's a link to an article in Wikipedia, if you're interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...

Thanks, they look expensive though.

Wow, this is fun! I actually took a close up of Ruby Glow with my magnifying glass. This is wonderful for viewing small flowers because you see a lot of detail you would not other wise notice. Thanks for the idea,. I think I will check into the Loupe.

Another little trick I use with my inexpensive point-and-shoot camera is to take the photo at high resolution from a little farther away (even with a macro setting, it seems to focus better from a bit more distance), then enlarge the heck out of it.

That is what I usually do, I have a point and shoot also and I just do everything on computer. But I have not been able to get a picture of this flower before, even with. This was cropped does it look better?

I've been using my Loupe for a couple years now. Got the suggestion a while back from another photographer buff. Works great!!! Thanks for sharing that idea with everyone here!

Susan - Looks terrific! Cool, huh?!!!

Becky, very cool... Thanks!!

That cropped image looks sharper. Did you do something else as well?

Thanks everyone for the praise, but it was my son-in-law who supplied the idea. I just took the photos.
The last image I just cropped it to eliminate the edges of the magnifying lens. Here is a photo only partially cropped.

Looks good Green!


Woofie,
I took about 15 pictures because it was windy, only a few came out good enough to crop or enlarge. I like the soft glow that the magnifying-glass gives it, but other than that I did nothing except turn down the brightness on some that had a glare.

I'm hoping someone will look in on this thread since it's been dead for awhile...

I've used a jeweler's loupe with my sempervivum seedlings -- that was the only way I could tell some of them had sprouted -- and truly, it shows some of these that are really teeny to be perfect jewels.

My questions come from perhaps not understanding some of the previous posts here: Do you focus the camera on the loupe itself, or just use the loupe to guide you? (My eyesight is fine -- these are just really tiny!)

And secondly, is there a way of focusing when the camera shows a blurry image? Sometimes even when I use the camera with the tulip and circular dial to zoom in, the image stays fuzzy. Maybe I need an even fancier camera to do the kinds of closeups I'm looking for? (I hope not! I have a hunch that's something that won't get through the budget discussions... ) MR

My son-in-law came up with the idea to use the loop/lens in conjunction with the camera, but he never said how he did it.
I just used the 'trial and error' method, focusing in different ways (thank goodness for digital),

I found that if I had three hands it would have been easier, but after a few dozen tries I learned that focusing on the magnifying lens worked the best.
Look through the loop, moving it forward or backward until the image looks large and clear enough, then bring the camera to about 5 -6 inches focusing on the loop.

If I had...something like a goose neck illuminated magnifier or one of the tools called 'third hand', catching the images would have been a bit easier. I think the illuminated magnifier would be good because my trial and error method had a ton of shots that were not lighted all that well.

Of course, this whole hack is not needed if one buys a really, really good camera but I make to with what I have on hand.

greene said: Of course, this whole hack is not needed if one buys a really, really good camera but I make to with what I have on hand.

And for the input. I might be able to get one of those clothespins attached to a flexible gooseneck -- and I'm going to set up ./////////m (that's my cat settling on my lap with paws on keyboard) one place in my room as a sort of mini photography studio where it stays warm. I've used it that way from time to time already, but I'm going to move the light cord etc. that I have to erase from the background for the larger photos...

Again, MR