5D Mk IV – EF 100mm Macro – Einstein 640W Strobes – 3 Extension Tubes – 1/125, f/22, ISO 100

Decided to do some macro today. Found a suitable subject and got things set up. Took out the trusty 100mm Macro lens and put it on the camera with 3 extension tubes coupled together (12mm, 20mm, and 36mm). This allowed me to get much closer to the subject – it almost looks like we’re inside the tube. In an upcoming shoot, I will try using the12mm and 36mm extension tube with my 50mm lens. That combination should make the photo 1:1 or life size. Exciting times!

I also used two of the Einstein lights to add depth. To help offset the very shallow depth of field, I used an aperture of f/22. Normally, with these tubes, they tend to make the picture darker, but I just jacked up the Einsteins to compensate. Another thing I did was to focus stack 11 images. In full transparency, I could have taken many more photos to stack, it would have helped dramatically.

EDIT: Upon closer inspection, I noticed some anomalies in the photo that I hadn’t seen prior to posting. I’m guessing that has to do with the focus stacking process. I will learn from this!