I brought my Olympus TG-5 with me during our recent trip to Ireland, as a bit of an insurance policy against rainy weather. While it did come in handy a number of times in this regard, I also used it for some hand-held macro flower images. This article shares a selection of hand-held macro flower images captured at the Irish National Stud & Gardens.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

The Japanese Gardens situated adjacent to the Irish National Stud provided a wealth of hand-held macro flower image opportunities.

I specifically looked for blossoms, or groups of blossoms, that were in good light, but preferably not in harsh, direct sunlight. You can see how quickly some blossoms in a tight grouping can go out of focus.

When photographing blossoms with long stamen I usually try to capture my image at an angle. This increases the chances of getting the centre elements of the blossom in focus.

Finding water droplets on blossoms, leaves or needles, always adds some detail interest to a photograph.

When photographing a group of blossoms it is important to carefully select which blossom to use as a focusing point.

Single blossoms or groups of three often make the best subjects.

Sometimes some interesting angles will catch my eye.

The lighting, as well as the nature and distance of the background, help me determine whether to photograph a blossom in centre frame…

Or off to one side of the composition.

Using a longer focal length can help blur out backgrounds. This can be especially important when using fixed lens small sensor cameras that incorporate wider angle zoom lenses like the Olympus TG-5.

Positioning a blossom against a reasonably smooth and clear background is always my preference.

When choosing a blossom with a busy background, it can be important to place my auto focus point on an area of higher contrast. This helps draw a viewer’s eye into the composition.

There are many gear options when creating hand-held macro flower images. Using a small, easy-to-handle camera like the Olympus TG-5 with its microscopic mode can be a lot of fun! Given its sensor size, it also produces quite good quality hand-held macro flower images.

Technical Note:
All photographs were captured hand-held using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. All images were produced from RAW files using my standard process.

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