Course Description
Macro & Super Macro: Capture & Create is a focused, two-part live experience designed to help you create stronger macro and super macro images from camera setup through final edit.
This experience is built around how macro photography is actually learned: understanding your gear and settings, applying them through practice, and then returning to review and refine real images. To support this process, you’ll receive a curated gear list with links ahead of the first session. This list is meant to provide clarity and options, and will help you better understand what tools can support your macro and super macro work at different levels. Rather than rushing through content, you’ll have time between sessions to shoot, experiment, and develop a deeper understanding of what works and why.
In the first live session, we’ll focus on capture. You’ll learn how to approach macro and super macro photography with intention, including camera bodies, lenses, magnification, flash/light, best focus settings, focus stacking and the settings that matter most. Emphasis will be placed on making decisions in-camera that support cleaner, more effective edits later.
Four weeks later, we’ll reconvene for a live image review and editing session. Using student images, we’ll walk through how to evaluate a macro photo, identify what needs adjustment, and make editing choices that enhance detail and realism without over-processing. Questions will be addressed naturally throughout the session, grounded in the images being reviewed.
This experience is designed for photographers who want clarity, confidence, and a more intentional approach to both shooting and editing macro and super macro images.
Gear requirements for this course:
✔A camera with manual or semi-manual controls (DSLR or mirrorless)
✔ A lens capable of close-up photography
✔A way to add light. Flash is highly recommended, and a macro diffuser will be needed when using flash.
✔ A computer or tablet capable of basic photo editing
Gear suggestion list sent upon registration
Dates: January 24th – 10:00 AM CST
February 21st – 10:00 AM CST
Sessions are recorded for playback.
Students limited to 40 - secure your spot now!
What's Included
✔ Two live sessions focused on macro and super macro photography
✔ A curated gear list with links (cameras, lenses, lighting, and accessories)
✔ Software recommendations for editing and workflow
✔ Tips for working with insects, water drops, flowers, and snowflakes
✔ Guidance on gear choices and how they impact magnification and working distance
✔ Camera settings and techniques that affect sharpness, depth of field, and detail
✔ Lighting considerations for macro and super macro subjects
✔ How to shoot with the editing process in mind
✔ Time built in between sessions to practice and apply techniques
✔ Live image review using student-submitted images
✔ Editing approaches that enhance detail while maintaining a natural look
✔ A clearer framework for evaluating your own macro images
✔ Focus and focus stacking tips
✔ Macro shot list - by season
✔ Session recordings
About the Instructor
Beth Mancuso is a Minnesota-based photographer and educator and the founder of Into the Wild We Go and Women’s Photography Circle, a global community of over 20,000 women photographers.
She ran a successful portrait photography business for more than a decade before shifting her focus to teaching and mentoring photographers full-time.
Beth’s work has been featured by National Geographic, ABC News, Sony, Tokina, Outdoor Photographer, Tamron, Midwest Living, and Minnesota Monthly, among others. In 2020, she appeared on the National Geographic Channel on Assignment Inspiration, and in 2025 she was named Sony Alpha Female Creator of the Year.
Known for her thoughtful, approachable teaching style, Beth helps photographers gain confidence and clarity by focusing on intention, technique, and the creative process.
You can find her on IG at: @intothewild.wego