A great way to achieve an uncluttered background and to control the lighting with macro photography is to create a ‘black box’. I made mine with a cardboard delivery box which I lined with black card, on all inner sides. Another option is to line it with short pile black velvet. I place the subject on a stand in the box and, depending upon the light, I position it either to the front or to the rear of the box. If the light is strong I use a diffuser to tone down the light and to create interesting shadows on the subject. In terms of the box’ position, I always use natural light and will either have the light source alongside the box, or to the the rear. The beauty of this method is that light is never constant so it is a fun challenge to become super sensitive to the effects of the light and to experiment as to how best to position the box. And be aware that every minute the light is changing, particularly on cloudy days. It is a great idea to tether your camera to an IPad or a computer enabling you to see the images on a larger screen and to study the effect of the light, making adjustments as necessary.
An image I took recently using the above method is the red rose shown below.
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