Nicely focused flower

IMG_7090, originally uploaded by Ian Champ Photography.

My "secret" to getting nice hand-held macro photos is to use the Live View screen of my Canon DSLR rather than try to focus using the view finder. I compose the shot and then press the little magnifying glass button which zooms into the center of the screen.

If I hit the zoom button twice I will zoom into the middle 10% of the screen. I make sure that is focussed then click the shutter.

To further improve the chances of getting a great shot I also set the camera to continuous shooting mode and click of 5 or 6 shots. That way, even if the breeze is moving your subject around you still have a good chance of getting at least one nice, crisply focussed shot.