Macrophotography is a photographic specialty that takes practice.  To capture a subject with great sharpness usually required a technique called focus bracketing – capturing the subject in a series of photos with varying distance to record select depths of field, and then using software like Photoshop or Helicon Focus to assemble the sharpest parts of each image to produce the final photo composite.

The photo above was created internally by the Canon R5 Mark II.  That’s pretty impressive.  I used the Canon RF 100mm F/2.8 Macro lens set to F/8 along with the Focus Bracketing built into the Canon R5 Mark II.

Different subjects will take experimentation.  I have found that 20 shots is sufficient to capture a subject like the dahlia above.  More complex subjects like an insect could require 50 or even 100 shots.

Once you have the Focus Bracketing enabled and the number of shots defined, you are ready to start shooting.  Focus on the closest point to you and make sure the entire subject is in frame.  Try to use an F/8 and don’t worry about the ISO as long as you have Noise Reduction enabled in the camera. 

With Image Stabilization enabled, you can actually hand-hold the camera.  However, if the subject moves to much or if your hands are not steady, you will see a message the the R5 Mark II failed to assemble the image.  But, when it works, it is amazing!  The R5 Mark II will take about 30 seconds to assemble the image and display the final JPG composite.  Even if you are shooting Raw, the composite will be stored as a JPG.

The following photos were created through Focus Bracketing with the Canon R5 Mark II and the Canon RF 100mm F/2.8 Macro lens.