How to Win the Battle of Close-up Photography

Shooting macro or close-up nature photography can be a challenge to find balance between keeping the tiny subject sharp and in focus and also seperate it from the background. You might have to stop down your lens in order to keep the subject in focus but that also increases the focal plane to include the background.
An out-of-focus background is essential to a good close-up photo, because it helps draw attention to your main subject.
But, it’s not always easy to get that nice background. Sometimes the background is just too close, or your subject has a lot of depth (forcing you to try a smaller aperture, which then puts more of the background in focus).
So, how do you deal with this constant battle? Well, here are a few ways:

#1 – Determine the most important part of the image

The first thing you should think about is the most important part of the image. You might think this would always be your main subject, but sometimes the background plays a larger role. Ask yourself what grabbed your attention about this particular flower or insect: did you see the background first? Or, perhaps your subject is extremely rare, so just getting any kind of photo of it is the most important thing.

#2 – Use the depth of field preview button

Read your camera's manual to find the DOF Preview Button. Generally it is located on the right side of the lens mount. When looking through your viewfinder the aperture stays as wide open as your lens can go ie f3.5, f2, f1.8. Even if you dial in an aperture of f13 the aperture blades themselves wont change until you press the shutter button to take an image. By pressing down the DOF Preview Button you can see what your depth of field will be without taking an image.
One issue with determening the depth of field and in focus areas after you stop down your aperture is the lack of ambient light coming though the lens. You might need to add another light source so you can see the subject in the viewfinder.
Modern DSLR have LCD screens which have Live Preview. This makes things a bit easier to judge focus rather than looking through the viewfinder.

#3 – Don’t obsess over sharpness

A good quality composition will offset some sharpness issues. Photography is in the eye of the beholder and the your viewer will be more interested in a well composed image rather than a tack sharp image with mediocre background. Do not fret over loosing a little bit of sharpness by stopping down your lens. There are many options for software that can adjust the focus are in post production as well.

#4 – Don’t be afraid to keep searching for a better subject

Good Nature photographs take a lot of time and patients. There are many outside influences you can not control while out shooting. The insects might get startled and run, fly off. The lighting might be poor and even a tiny gust of wind will make taking an image very difficult.
If you’ve tried photographing your subject from a bunch of different angles and apertures settings but still have not made that one fantastic image, you might just have to continue looking for another subject.