Macro Photography

Bill Cullina is teaching a macro photography course at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens on Saturday, October 24, from 1 PM to 4 PM. The session starts at the Welcome Center in Chestnut Hill, and the whole afternoon is spent out in the gardens, focusing on the small things that usually go unnoticed during a casual walk—the intricate details of flowers, the textures of plants, and the pollinators that visit them.

Cullina is the Executive Director of the Arboretum, and he's leading this as part of the gardens' fall 2026 continuing-education catalog. The class is open to visitors of all experience levels, so you don't need to be a pro to join in. While the focus is primarily on digital DSLR cameras, he notes that many of the techniques also apply to smartphones with a macro mode, so you can get something out of it even if you're just shooting on your phone.

It's a relaxed, non-technical format. Cullina covers the basics of focus, lighting, and composition in outdoor settings, and spends time on working with natural light and depth of field. He also goes over accessories like flashes, reflectors, and tripods, and touches on basic photo-editing processes to help you clean up your shots afterward. The idea is to slow down and look closer at the garden, rather than just passing through it.

The course runs from 1 PM to 4 PM on Saturday, October 24, at the Welcome Center of the Morris Arboretum & Gardens in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia.