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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clovishound" data-source="post: 821668" data-attributes="member: 50197">DOF is the 800 lb gorilla in the room when it comes to macro. Often focus stacking is the only way to get exactly what you want. With insects, often stacking is not an option because of subject movement. I've had situations where I thought the insect was rock steady, only to have extra legs, or antennae show up in the stacking process. One single shot solution is to shoot the insect so that the body lies parallel to the sensor plane. The issue with this is that it is often not the best esthetic choice. When I have the option, I try to shoot a variety of different angles and pick the best when I get home. On the other hand shallow DOF is your friend, in that it blurs out what would often be too busy a background and can often help separate your subject from the background.Like welding and woodturning, macro looks easy from the outside. Just find a field with lots of insects and go shoot. In practice, there are lots of variables, obstacles and things to trip you up. And, like welding and woodturning, once you get some of the basics under your belt and start making acceptable products, it can become quite fun and even addictive. I turned out to be a reasonable woodturner. I can join two pieces of steel together, but do not consider myself a welder. I'll let you decide whether I can claim to be a macro photographer or not. In the end, if you are growing and having fun with it, external opinions of your work should be irrelevant. For better or worse, most of us crave external validation of our images.</blockquote>

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