Capturing an image is like telling someone a story, imagine this : "Hey, I put a bird nest on my pot plants yesterday and I saw a dragonfly near it". What would you expect people to react to that? Maybe they'll say "Mmmm ... so? What's so special about pot plants and dragonfly?" In order not to feel really stupid, you should rephrase yourself, for example "Hey I got myself some new pot plants" or "Hey, I saw a really nice dragonfly yesterday at my house". Expect answers like "Really, what plants are those?" and "Dragonfly, what kind is it? Is it colourful?"

Images that creates curiosity are good images, even simple ones. Even when someone sees the dragonfly and go "Chey ... normal what ..." at least you drew attention, unless he/she is not interested at dragonflies at all. Going nearer to your subjects do just that, even if you have to zoom closer, just do it ... it won't hurt the camera or you unless you're telling me the plant or the dragonfly will bite you. Going closer tells your viewer that you're emphasizing on the subject on hand, like WRITING CAPITAL LETTERS THAT TELLS SOMEONE YOU MEAN SOMETHING BECAUSE THEY'RE BIGGER. You dun have to have expensive macro lenses or close-up filter for the job, just start buy going closer. The most simple lens can bring you up to slightly more than 1 feet away from your subject, so try it.

Happy Shooting!