Creative Ways to use your iPad as a Light Source and Background for your Macro Photography

An iPad (or other tablet) makes a great light source for macro photography. Why use an iPad as a light source or background for macro photography? 

Reasons to Use an iPad as a Light Source for Macro Photography

• Backgrounds can be easily added to your Photos app for a variety of backgrounds that are readily available
• It’s easy to switch backgrounds to get different looks to your photographs
• It’s easy to adjust the brightness of the background
• It’s great for macro photographs where you want a bright background (water drop refractions photos)
• There are apps available to where you can use gestures to adjust the lighting, hue, and saturation

Here are some ideas for using your iPad or other tablet as a light source for your macro photography.

Water Drop Refraction Photos

The iPad is perfect for Water Drop Refraction Photos where you want the background to be bright to refract in the water drops.  Use can use images with bright patterns, flowers or other objects.  Once you get your water drops set up, you can easily get different background looks by just swiping.

Tip:  Set up your background images in albums in the Photos app to easily access them so you can swipe on the iPad to quickly go through different backgrounds.  For example:  colorful patterns, flower backgrounds, etc.

Check out my blog on how to take water drop refraction photos with your iPad.

Use Your iPad as a Lightbox

A light box can be used to photograph various thin subjects where the light will show through the object: leaves, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.  The ideas are limitless.  The iPad works well as there are free or cheap lightbox apps available where you can change the brightness, hue, and saturation.

Here’s how to use your iPad as a Lightbox

Oil & Water Bubble Macro Photographs

Oil and Water photographs are fun to take.  The key is having a bright colored backlit pattern that will refract into the bubbles.  The iPad once again can be used as both a light source and the background pattern for this type of photography.

Here’s my blog on how to do Oil and Water Macro photographs with your iPad.

Use your iPad as a Background for your Studio Macro Photographs

I often take out of focus shots with my macro lens just to use as backgrounds.  There’s no need to print these backgrounds to use in the studio.  Just load them on your iPad to use them in your studio macro photographs.

The iPad is a very versatile lighting device for use in macro photography.  If you come up with any additional ideas to use the iPad for macro photographs, let me know and I’ll add them to this blog.  Try it out and have fun.

Written by Martin Belan

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