Macro and close-up photography

Macro photography is extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects, in which the size of the subject in the photograph is greater than life size (though macrophotography technically refers to the art of making very large photographs). By some definitions, a macro photograph is one in which the size of the subject on the negative or image sensor is life size or greater. However in other uses it refers to a finished photograph of a subject at greater than life size.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macro_photography

Macro photography (and close-up photography) can be made difficult because of the small depth of field (DOF) inherent in high magnification techniques. Whist blurred out of focus areas can enhance a picture designed for creative effect, many close-up and macro photography techniques are used to show the greatest detail, and this calls for as high a degree of sharpness as possible.

Flower photography is a typical example of exacting close-up and macro range imaging, in which depth of field has great importance in showing different parts of flower anatomy in optimum resolution.

In practice nearly all photographic lenses will work best in the middle range of their aperture rating, f8 or at the most f11 will give optimum results.

http://www.better-photographs.com/macro-photography.html

http://www.macro-photography.eu/macro-photography-gallery/index3.html

http://www.macro-photography.eu/

http://photo.net/learn/macro/

A photographer Ondrej Pakan of Miyavi, Slovakia, makes a stunning macro photographs of insects in the drops of dew. ”He was waiting in the rain for when it will end, but it’s worth it when I see pictures of insects in the drops of water.”

http://oddstuffmagazine.com/amazing-macro-photography-of-insects-in-the-drops-of-dew.html