Macro or Close - Up images make for excellent canvas prints and with modern lenses and compact digital cameras capable of very high image quality, close-up shots should not daunt you as a photographer, indeed the zoom lens is designed to focus very close up, and many lenses actually give their best quality in macro mode.

An image such as this dew-drop precariously clinging to the tip of a flower leaf used to call for considerable technical resources to capture the photograph however modern digital cameras bring together a number of powerful features to make a shot of this quality much more attainable.

Central to close - up photography is the ability of the optics to produce sharp results at close subject distances. Due to the use of elements that adjust their relative spacing for different working distances, the so-called 'floating elements' - this long focal - length shot is sharp with smooth tones.

Technological improvements in noise free performance has also made macro photography more accessible. Modern digital cameras can compete or indeed beat film performance for fineness of detail, smoothness of tonal transition and fidelity of colour. If your camera offers image stabilization this should also be used, you may be able to set a lower ISO setting for higher quality and still hand-hold with sharp results.

The image below exploits what is often described as a problem with close up photography: extremely limited depth of field. By using a relatively long focal length stopped down, depth of field is limited to just a few millimetres, which is just sufficient to get the droplet and a few filaments sharply focused. The rest of the image is thoroughly blurred. For this to be effective, it is important to make sure that no strong highlights or line of deep shadow crosses the background: this ensures that the droplet is not upstaged by distractions elsewhere in the image.

This image is available in our Floral Photography Gallery

>