Hi Heather,
Chances are, if I gave you a rope and asked you to thread it through a tyre you would find it rather easy. The reason for this is simple; the large scale of the objects makes the task easy to manage.
Now, how quickly can you thread a piece of cotton through a small needle? At a reasonable guess I would say you would not be as quick, and part of that reason is the fine detail involved.
Herein lies the trick with macro photography; the smaller the details we are trying to photograph, the more difficult it is to control the fine movements needed to capture all the detail in such a tiny space.
A small gust of wind moving the fern frond just one millimeter is going to make the photo look blurred… and if you are moving about with the camera then nailing the focus is also a struggle.
If you can, I recommend using a tripod for macro photography. There are dozens of different brands and models on the market, but the one I would recommend is a Manfrotto. Aside from being well made, most of the models have good adjustment options so you can get the tripod to where you need it to be. I's also recommend you buy a tripod case to go with it.
The next thing you should do, particularly if you are into photographing plants on a regular basis, is to find yourself a couple of fiberglass rods, the sort of thing used to support tomato plants in your garden to keep in your tripod bag. Why? To stop a flower or a fern frond from moving about to much you can push one of these fiberglass rods into the soil next to the plant and then use a small amount of dental floss or cotton to hold the plant steady against the rod. It’s a simple solution but it will help you control the movement in the plant.
Macro photography is technically one of the more demanding areas of photography that you can get into, and the only way to get good at it is to use good techniques!
Cheers,
Anthony