MACRO: lighting for macro pics

i'm VERY VERY new to macro photography, and been looking at the rigs you guys have (from the stickied thread). On top of being very macro newb, i'm also bad at flash photography.

the combination has me at a lose to exactly what the flash does. Is the flash used as basically a powerful flashlight held close to the subject? or is it actually a strobe fired off through EFFL metering?

the reason why i ask, is if it's to act as a light source close to the subject, then, has anyone tried something like the "angel eye" car light for macro?

example of DIY angel-eye.

i figured something like this can be adapted to a brighter LED, different cuts, etc?

just curious to see if anyone's looked into this before.

There are both ring flashes (strobes) as well as continuous light rings for photography. The light rings I've seen use LED's as a light source. For a quick look, do a search on eBay for "ring flash" and you'll get both types. Most I see there are rather inexpensively made. There are better, more professional ring lights available.

I have a Canon ring flash (MR-14EX) that works TTL with my 40D. Additionally, it has many other settings that allow me to alter how it illuminates the subject. It even has a modeling light that will "dimly" light the subject for focus before taking the shot. It's expensive though, a little under $500 new...

Haven't tried an LED type thing, but would imagine that it's not powerful enough since that demo you posted appears to only use one LED. Most here use a strobe and E-TTL metering, probably with FEC adjusted down a touch. Have seen some use LEDs, but more as modelling lights to provide some light while composing the shot. Have also seen some LED ringflashes, but they seem to use multiple and plentiful LEDs.

Don't know what gear you have, but I'd suggest just getting a strobe. Always useful for non-macro stuff as well. You can get cheap Sunpak E-TTL speedlight for around $150 IIRC.

I have an XTi and getting a 430ex in the mail today (yay).

i didn't get the camera for macro, but came across a great deal on a sharp Tamron 90mm macro, so i've been looking more into what and how you guys set up the awesome photos posted in here.

I like to try to build things myself, so i was looking at alternatives to the Delta Flip Flash (and saw that some people have already done the loc-line DIY route). It just got me thinking about alternatives.. multi-LED angel-eye, or maybe fiberoptic hood over the flash that connect to the end of the lens, etc.

it seems like the loc-line / delta grip is the best bet though.. most tried n trued?..

oredith wrote in post #6095515
came across a great deal on a sharp Tamron 90mm macro

I have one, love it. Great portrait lens too... And pretty fast at 2.8

It is very common to use flash in macro shots especially at highish magnifications. most other lighting solutions just do not put out enough light to fulfill this role. The other thing about using flash is that the flash pulse time effectively becomes the shutter speed, so you can freeze movement with it.
Brian V.

For more years than I care to count, I've been hand holding a flash connected to the camera with a cable for macro. I use a 580 EX now, but I've used a 380 EX and a Vivitar 283 (manual on this one) through the years. Just set the flash to ETTL and point the light where you want it. Some things will jump at the preflash, but most of the time, they simply sit there. I've tried many brackets, but they just seem to get in my way. Since I do a lot of mine at night, an assistant is nice. They can hold the flashlight while you focus. An LED focusing light would be nice. Maybe I'll tape a small flashlight to my flash. It would help me aim the flash, too.