Macro Shots + Renting Lenses

A few weeks back, I had a friend ask if I would photograph a quilt her sister had made for her daughter. She said the quilt was really elaborate with a lot of intricate details. I knew I didn't have the right lens on hand for this job, so I decided to rent a macro lens. This wasn't the first time I had rented a lens; previously I had rented a 24-70mm for party I was shooting. I used the company LensGiant, and was really happy with their services. There are a lot of different companies out there; shop around and find the best price!

How it works: You go to their site, pick the lens you want to rent, and put in your credit card information along with the date you need the lens delivered by and how long you want to rent it for. They ship the lens to you, very carefully packaged, and with a return shipping label and tape. Then you go about your merry little way, testing out a new lens for a few days! It is a really great option before investing a lot of money into a lens you might not end up liking! That is exactly what happened when I rented the 24-70mm; it made me realize I much prefer prime lenses for those focal lengths, and if I am going to ever invest money in a zoom lens, it will be the 70-200mm, so I can be a bit farther away from people to get those candid shots without them feeling uncomfortable.

This time I rented the 105mm macro lens for shooting the tiny stitches on a quilt. It worked beautifully, and I really loved having a different lens to experiment with for a few days. Even if you aren't thinking about buying a new lens anytime soon, it is still a great exercise to try something new and get the creative juices flowing again! I had never shot with a macro lens and it was really good for me to get outside of my comfort zone and shoot a totally different type of subject. Plus, I got some photos I now really love. Here are my favorites!