Are your latest close-up (macro) shots taken with your kit lens and hand-held? By kit lens I am referring to the lens that came with your camera body. For Canon Ti-series that would likely be an 18mm – 55mm. Check the minimum focus distance for your lens and then make yourself a prop-stick that you carry with you until you have effectively “memorized” that distance and no longer need a prop.
As previously mentioned, you can shorten the minimum focus distance with either a screw-on close-up filter, or by fitting an extension tube between the lens and the body of the camera. When you try either technique you will become extremely aware of the limited (shallow) depth of field that you have to work with. If you invest in a costly Macro lens the DOF remains an issue requiring strict attention.
You may also shoot at a greater distance with your lens and then simply crop in post-production. In order to pull-off that approach you will need to set the ISO quite low and hope that your lens’s “IS” will steady you. A low ISO will give you more pixel detail and allow heavier cropping.
If you are using a tripod then you will likely get away with a fairly slow shutter speed, offering both low ISO and the ability to close your iris to enhance DOF. If you are adept at PS you can even take a series of shots of the same subject at slightly different focus points and then stack them in PS. Obviously, the subject must remain motionless and the tripod takes care of the camera stability.
Also, when using a tripod, and sometimes even when hand-held, you can use live-view instead of the camera’s viewfinder, engage magnification, say 5x, and use that for critical focusing after disengaging the auto-focus and switching over to manual focus. Don’t forget to re-set AF when you’re done or you
will curse yourself afterwards.
