PHOTO ANSWERS

Sketchy about shutter speeds? Disoriented by dynamic range?

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You can get great results with a macro lens, but to achieve optimum sharpness, you will probably have to be more patient with the process of taking the shot than you might expect.

Sharpen up

I struggle to get my macro images sharp. Where am I going wrong? Sue Cook

There are lots of things that could be causing problems, Sue. There’s no doubt that macro photography is a tricky genre to get right, but the rewards are there when you do. I suspect the biggest issue is a combination of the facts that depth of field is greatly limited with a macro lens and that subject or camera movement is very unforgiving, because that depth of field is so limited.

When I shoot macro, I’ll fix the camera to a tripod whenever possible. You’d think this would instantly eradicate the problem, but you still need to be careful to avoid camera movement, even if your subject is static. If you switch your camera to Live View, you will notice just how much shake there is on a fixed camera if you are still firing the shutter using the shutter button.

The answer to this is simply to use a cable or