The famous war photographer, Robert Capa, once said: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” These words turned out to be fatal when, in an attempt to get close to the action, he stepped on a landmine in Vietnam in 1954. Nonetheless, his advice remains valid for both professional and amateur photographers.
Macro photographers take Capa’s advice quite literally when they use their special lenses to get up close to even small subjects, such as insect eyes. They open doors to a world that we cannot see with the naked eye, which can be quite fascinating.
When I’m in the field, and Capa’s advice flows through my mind, it is more about being mindful of what I include and exclude in my pictures. Uninteresting pictures often contain irrelevant and distracting elements, which can be excluded by getting a bit closer. Conversely, if you are too close and important elements of the “story” are excluded, you might need to step back a little.
Thus, Capa’s advice is not about always getting extremely close but rather close enough to include only relevant information in the composition.
