Originally Posted by
Geoff F
F8 is already quite wide for a macro shot, Izzie, unless you are going to stack several focus points. Otherwise you end up with a nice background but very little of the flower in focus.
When attempting this sort of scene I usually spend a bit of time cleaning up the background before shooting. Remove any light coloured bits of plant debris and anything with a definite hard shape. Also think carefully about the camera angle and is there an alternative which will give a cleaner looking background.