One of the best tips for macro photography is to get on the same plane as the subject. What I mean is – try not to shoot from above or below the subject. This makes for some interesting angles for the handheld shooter, I’m sure some of them are bonafide yoga poses 😀
The other tip is to use Manual or Aperture mode on your camera. When in Auto, the camera generally tries to get everything in focus so it opens the aperture up wide (which decreases the amount of the image that’s in focus – great for that beautiful blurred background, but can interfere with macro shots) or it slows the shutter speed down (which emphasizes the effects of any camera shake or breezes).
This is a simple flower, but gorgeous in its simplicity.
Shot at Wilson Botanic Park with my Olympus OMD EM5 with my 60mm (120mm equivalent) macro lens.
x desleyjane
musingsofafrequentflyingscientist.com 
Good advice here. But why oh why does the breeze start up just a split second before I click the shutter? 😊
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LOL exactly!!!!!
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Thank you for the tips x
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My pleasure! I hope they were useful. I have a whole post on macro tips, I should have linked it.
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I am going to have to try manual mode. I tend to stick to Auto, which teaches me nothing about my camera! Beautiful, delicate shot, Desley.
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Thanks so much Lois. I started by switching to Aperture mode for a few months which taught me a huge amount about how the light behaves in my camera. I would switch to shutter mode only if I wanted to do fast or long exposures. Then I took the deep breath and went manual almost two years ago before my trip to New Zealand.
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Pretty Plumbago? Tried Aperture mode today, but my camera was misbehaving badly – kept freezing after almost every shot! I was so frustrated by it. Think I shall have to send it back as I can’t keep using it like this. I wonder if the weather had anything to do with it as it was a warm day, not excessively hot like you guys get though. And it started doing it after only a couple of shots so no time to overheat 😦
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Oh no! Did you try a different memory card? I’ve heard of that happening sometimes.
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I bought a faster card when this started happening soon after I bought the camera. And I used the same card and lens the other evening without any problem at all! Most mystifying and annoying.
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That really is weird. I had issues when it was 0 Celsius with my camera freezing. And long exposures take ages to write to the card but it all seems to be working fine these days. Not that I’ve had time to get out and about with my camera in a while!
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Well it has gone back to Olympus now for repairs(!) so I shall have to go back to the Fuji bridge or the Panasonic compact for a while 😦
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Oh no! But good that they’re able to repair it. So sad without your Oly 😟
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I’m not sure they can – unless there is an obvious fault. It has been so intermittent that I wonder if it will even show up on testing! I’m really hoping that they will replace it.
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Ah yes, that would be the ideal solution. Intermittent problems are the worst.
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And thanks from me too. I’m with Helen about wind woggle – anything on a slender stem suffers badly.
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My pleasure. Wind woggle is the worst! 😋 Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply. Hope you’re well! I saw you met Jo, how cool! Will read about it soon.
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Oh yes that dreaded wind, it can be perfectly calm until I zone in on a close up shot. Thanks for the tip.
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My pleasure PP.
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btw I agree with Jude it is Plumbago (sounds like a pudding!!!)
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Great, thanks! Yes it does sound like a pudding.
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The details on the stems themselves is amazing!
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Thanks. Very steady hand was required!!
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Our iPhriday post. Thank you so much for introducing us to this challenge.
http://faradayscandle.com/iphriday-to-beautiful-animals/
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What beautiful horses and a wonderful quote from Charles Darwin!
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It was the Galapagos thing.
Horses are just such magnificent animals.
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Thanks for the advice. Will experiment with that and try to emulate your lovely macro shots.
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My pleasure! I’m glad if it helps. There’s an entire post somewhere of my 5 tips for macro, I should have linked it!
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