Macro Photography

Know the 90mm's controls

• Focus-range limiter — Full / 0.5m–∞ / 0.28–0.5m. Limit it to stop the lens hunting on insects and flowers.
• Sliding focus ring — pull back for instant manual focus.
• Focus-hold button — assign Eye AF, Focus Magnifier, or focus hold.

The "rock forward / back" focus method handheld

At macro distances the focus plane is a paper-thin sheet, and turning the focus ring overshoots. Instead: set magnification, switch to MF, set the ring roughly right, then lean your body slightly forward and back and watch the focus plane sweep across the subject. Fire when the critical detail snaps sharp (use Peaking on the edges — barnacles, droplets, rope fibres, shell ridges). Shooting a short burst while rocking gives 3–5 frames with slightly different planes to pick from or stack.

Typical apertures (90mm)

Subject	Aperture
Barnacles / shells	f/8–f/11
Seaweed textures	f/5.6–f/8
Rope fibres	f/8
Tiny insects	f/11–f/16

f/8 is the general sweet spot for sharpness vs diffraction.

Tripod macro setup (A7R III)

• SteadyShot: Off — this turns off both the in-body system and the lens's Optical SteadyShot (OSS).
• Vibration: Self-timer or remote; Electronic Front Curtain Shutter (Sony: e-Front Curtain Shut.) on; Silent Shooting optional (not under artificial light).
• Focus: Manual Focus (MF), Focus Magnifier on (custom button), Peaking on (low/mid).
• Exposure: f/5.6–f/11, ISO 100, shutter as needed.
• Quality: RAW; Long Exposure NR off (for stacking consistency); High ISO NR low/off; White Balance fixed.
• Shield from wind — even slight movement matters at 90mm.

Focus stacking (a7R III has no built-in mode)

Lock everything manual (SteadyShot off, White Balance fixed). Focus on the nearest point, then advance focus in small even steps (the + button on the camera or the RMT-P1BT remote, 1–3 presses per step) until the distance scale reads infinity. Blend later in Photoshop (Auto-Align + Auto-Blend), Helicon Focus, or Zerene Stacker.

Minimalist macro kit

A7R III + 90mm macro (hood on for spray/flare), microfibre cloth, rocket blower, spare battery, optional compact tripod (enables stacking and reflections) or brace on rails and rocks with a 2-sec Self-timer — the lens's Optical SteadyShot (OSS) plus the body's SteadyShot let you handhold to ~1/30 s. Optional: small LED for raking light, circular polariser to cut water glare. Total ~1.5 kg. Change perspective rather than gear: macro texture → step back for compressed scene → foreground macro with distant subject behind.

Working outdoors — wind

• Wind is the enemy at macro distances. Shoot on a calm day, and there is usually less wind early in the morning.
• Build a windbreak — a bounce card, a jacket, your own body — which doubles as a fill reflector.
• A field support clamp holding the stem is the single most useful accessory for flowers and grasses.
• Backlight translucent subjects (petals, leaves, wings) and fill from the front with a card or a low-power flash.

See also Flower & Botanical Photography.

Consolidated from notes: Macro Photography Sony FE 90mm; Tripod Macro Setup (A7R III); Sony FE 90mm Macro on a tripod; Factors that effect DOF (rock method); The Rock Forward/Back Focus Method; Minimalist kit for macro; # focus stacking