Tips for Taking Great Photos of Flowers
By Patty Hankins & Bill Lawrence
One of the great photo opportunities of spring and summer is flowers.
They're everywhere, they're colorful and boy can they be a challenge
to photograph well. Here are a few tips that might help you take successful
flower photos.
1 Use a Macro Lens. If your camera has a macro setting
or you have a lens with macro capability - use it. Depending on your
camera and lens set-up - you may be able to get as close as few inches
away from the flower and still have everything in focus. If you don't
have a macro setting, use whatever one lets you get the closest to your
subject. Photos where the flower fills the frame can be very dramatic.
2 Use a shallow depth of field or large aperture (low
f-stop number).
By selecting a low aperture, and getting a shallow depth of field, you
will be able to select exactly what parts of your image are in tight
focus, and which are in a softer focus. This shallow depth of field
throws all the clutter in the background out of focus, making it less
distracting and drawing the eye to the part of the photo in sharp focus.
Some of our best flower photos have only one flower in sharp focus -
and the rest are image just hints at what is in the background. If the
background is in sharp focus, it can really distract from the beauty
of the flower.
3 Use a tripod. A tripod will allow you to keep you camera
still. If you are using a shallow depth of field, any camera shake can
really mess up your image.
4 Start early in the day. If possible, try to take your
flower photos as early in the day as possible. The light is softer,
and you can sometimes catch them with the morning dew still on the flowers.
5 Go to a public garden. Public gardens are a wonderful
place to take photos. The beds are weeded. The plants are well cared
for. And they're often labeled. If you are at a garden that labels the
plants - be sure to take a photo of the sign so you know the name of
the flower you just took that stunning photo of. We've been spending
a lot of time at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland, getting some
wonderful photos.
6 Have fun. Relax and enjoy yourself. Don't get so wrapped
up in your photography that you forget to stop and smell the flowers
and enjoy their beauty.
We've put some of our favorite flower photos on the page with the online
version of this article. Please stop by and take a look.
Patty Hankins & Bill Lawrence
are the co-owners of Hankins-Lawrence
Images, LLC, a digital photography company based in Maryland.
HLI Photonotes, their monthly ezine, provides information and tips
for photographers. To subscribe email hl_images@earthlink.net
with subscribe in the subject or visit www.hankinslawrenceimages.com |
