In macro photography, achieving substantial depth of field is an inherent challenge. In fact, there is often no other way of getting the entire subject in focus, but to assemble the final image in post-processing as a composite of photos, each focussed on a different part of the subject. Thus, a background in a typical (non-composite) macro photo is often completely blurred. Nevertheless, the choice of the background is very important for the overall impact of the photo. Generally, I try to select the background so that its tone would contrast with the subject’s (i.e. the subject would be light on dark or vice versa). The colour of the background depends on whether I want to achieve more contrast or complement the subject. Often, the tonal contrast with the subject is sufficient, and I would use a complementary to the subject or neutral (such as black or white) background. If I do need colour contrast, I usually try to avoid using basic colours (red-green, orange-violet, etc.) and instead use a warm-cool hue of the same colour, which produces a more subtle result.
The surface on which the subject is placed is also important. Typically, I like when its texture contrasts with the subject. For example, rough, textured surfaces, such as wood or stone, work well with highly-polished objects, such as jewellery or glassware. A notable exception to this is using reflecting surfaces underneath highly-polished or metallic objects, which is also very effective.
Also, I find that adding props often greatly enhances a macro photo. In order for the props not to compete with the subject, I try to place them so that they would be slightly out-of-focus, which is easy to achieve because of the shallow depth of field feature of macro photography mentioned at the beginning of this post. To me, the interesting aspect of macro photos is that they reveal the details that are not normally visible to the human eye but also hint on the story of the object, how it might be used, its history or cultural references.
As far as the equipment, I use a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens
