First of all thanks for clicking to read this post.

I am a (very) amateur photographer, my only equipment is my smartphone and my love for nature and whatever surrounds me. I do not know if my photographs are good enough for me to be able to post tips, but I enjoy taking photographs for the last 8+ years. I have published my work in blog posts and also on instagram.
^{Some samples of what I do you can see at my instagram - personal and for my city}

Who should be reading this?

a. If you are interested in starting photographing objects or flowers, then take a look :)
b. If you have tried to shoot macro with a phone but failed
c. If you have experience and would like to add your point of view for us amateurs
d. You don't have to read - take a look at the photos and tell me what you think below :))

What is considered as "macro photography"?

Macro photography is called the act of photographing close-up photos of small subject such as flowers, insects, products, which are sharp and very detailed.

What do I need for macro photography?

You usually need a good camera, a macro lense and a good editing software. I have none of these, so I will just tell you some of my tips for using your smartphone :)

Do I need a special smartphone?

Not necessarily. I have taken nice shots with both an i-phone (6) and also with a Samsung (edge). Both of them are old, so I am sure that newest phones have many more options and better definition at photos!

What can I shoot?

The subject is entirely up to you. My suggestion is that it is something you like and something that can easily stay still for starters. I have found flowers to be a lovely subject and some insects that I find relaxing or that do not move so quickly :)

Let's get to the point already! What is the first tip?

(a) Have a steady camera grip.

Make sure that you find a way to hold the camera safely, so that it does not fall down. Before trying to shoot macro, practice a little bit in the house (maybe having a pillow under the phone?)

I once had my phone (almost) thrown in the sea!

(b) Find a good angle & pay attention to the background

Make sure that the angle is right and pay attention to the background. If you cannot manipulate/edit the image's background, make sure you have it right from the start.

Image 1	Image 2

Here, I tried to be both attentive to the background, but due to the color of the lady bug - I tried to make her pose fore me on the white blossom as well. This is the one that I prefer and the one I used for my yesterday post. What do you think?

(c) Have the camera + zoom on

If you are photographing nature subjects like me, and you often walk to discover your next one - make sure you have the smartphone camera on. I have often lost a perfect chance of photographing birds, a butterfly etc - the moment was just gone during the moment I would unlock the phone and click on the camera.

Image 1	Image 2

I love butterflies but the moment I go to a place they are gone. These two shots I managed to shoot so quickly, I deleted a whole bunch of failed attempts that time

(c) Attention to focus & clarity

I usually have full zoom and try to see if the subject is well focused. If it is not well focused, I reduce zoom and go a bit further away. Then, when the image is clear again and not blurred, I will go as close as possible to the subject and increase the zoom again.
(This is how I got over my insect/arachnophobia) check here how

So this is it, for now at least! Simple and easy for being able to make beautiful photographs!

Second step? Try to find information about your subjects, people love to see photos but photos+info is a great combination. Plus you get to learn something during the process!!!

You can check out some of my recent posts where I used solely my material for my hive posts!

Spider-crabs-going-straight-to-plan-bee [link on image]	Is-there-anything-we-could-do-for-helping-bees[link on image]

These are some of my favorite images and posts.

I hope that you enjoyed this post, please let me know your thoughts and comments!

Original Content and images

My personal discoveries and every day experiences: https://www.instagram.com/katycrete/
My city's account and lovely community: https://www.instagram.com/aboutheraklion/

(also on tiktok as katycrete & aboutheraklion)

And let's not forget my giphy channels

For my city: https://giphy.com/channel/aboutheraklion
My personal account: https://giphy.com/channel/katyramm

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