Macro Wildlife Photography: Finding and Photographing the Tiniest Creatures

Macro wildlife photography involves three skillsets: 1) identification skills for finding tiny insects, spiders, slime molds, mushrooms, etc. that will make a unique and compelling macro photo, 2) technical skills for managing limited depth of field, proper exposure from the sun or a flash/diffuser, etc., and 3) editing skills to make the most of your RAW capture and bring out all the amazing color and texture in your image.

In the field portion of this workshop, we will spend three hours at the lovely Howard County Conservancy, which offers both a pollinator garden and wooded trails where we’ll look for all types of macro wildlife to photograph. Before entering the field, you’ll receive a handout that will provide tips for locating subjects safely and effectively, along with suggestions for best capturing your discoveries.

Location for this event:

Howard County Conservancy

10520 Old Frederick Rd

Woodstock, MD 21163

After a lunch break, we’ll head indoors for 3-4 hours (approx. 2pm-6pm) and talk about editing RAW images in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop. We’ll discuss cropping, exposure, textures, macro presets, focus stacking, and other topics to help you make the most of your macro capture.

Location for the afternoon:

TBD

After class wraps up, you are invited to share a meal with fellow MDPPA members. The restaurant for this will be announced closer to 10/3/26. 

What You’ll Learn

Field Techniques for Finding and Approaching Skittish Subjects

One of the hardest parts of macro wildlife photography is finding your subjects and then getting them to stay still while you photograph them. We’ll discuss what to look for when searching a nature trail or garden for interesting creatures, along with the best methods for photographing wary subjects.

Skills for Capturing the Smallest Details

Among the greatest challenges of macro wildlife photography are achieving sufficient depth of field and focusing on tiny subjects. You’ll learn how to optimize your camera settings to maximize depth of field, as well as how to make the most of your camera’s autofocus features (yes, you can use autofocus for macro photography!). We’ll also discuss accessories that provide additional magnification, such as Raynox adapters.

Editing Techniques for Creating Stunning Macro Photographs

Editing macro photographs is different from editing standard wildlife photographs. You’ll learn how to crop effectively to strengthen the composition of your tiny subject, optimize texture and achieve accurate colors, and use advanced techniques such as focus stacking—from small sequences to large stacks.

Lisa Mayo

Lisa Mayo is an award-winning macro photographer based in Germantown, Maryland. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Maryland and a graduate certificate in Communications for Conservation from Colorado State University’s Warner College of Natural Resources.

For the past 26 years, Lisa has volunteered in communications at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Friends of Blackwater have used her wildlife and macro photography to support outreach and inspire appreciation for the refuge and its mission. She also manages the Friends of Blackwater website and social media accounts and serves on the refuge’s wildlife streaming video team.

Inspired by her love of Blackwater and commitment to wildlife conservation, Lisa uses macro photography to help others discover the remarkable lives of small, often-overlooked creatures. Jumping spiders are her greatest passion, though she photographs a wide variety of wild spiders and insects, as well as fungi, slime molds, and other small wonders of the natural world, highlighting their beauty and often-overlooked complexity.

Lisa’s macro photography has earned recognition in numerous competitions at home and abroad, including first place in this year’s Howard County Conservancy photo contest - the location of this workshop. Her macro images have also received multiple Top 100 and Top 250 honors in the North American Nature Photography Association’s annual Showcase competition.

You can see her macro work on her Flickr and Facebook pages:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lisamayo

https://www.facebook.com/lisa.mayo.photography/