Flowers are Beautiful. Flowers are probably natures greatest creation, they are nearly all brightly colored as they are competing with each other for the pollinators to come by and spread the pollen around. They are also difficult to photograph due to light problems. The colors are very easily washed out by bright light or given harsh shadows by bright light.
Flowers are beautiful but not easy to photograph correctly
The Big Secret Of Shooting Flowers. If there is such a thing as a big secret it is this. Shoot flowers from a position they are not normally seen at. Like getting down on the ground and shoot upwards. Or lie down and shoot the flower into the rising or setting sun.
Many time when you see a flower photo in a magazine and you say to yourself wow that looks good it is because you have not seen it from that position before and so it looks different to you.
Best photography tip. Lie down to shoot the flowers
Shoot Flowers on Overcast Days. Taking photographs on very cloudy overcast days is best as the light is naturally diffused by the clouds and so is softer and the colors of the flowers will be natural. Also shooting at dawn and at sunset are good times, not the best times as some flowers don’t open up until the sun has climbed into the sky and some close up as the light falls. Water Lilies do this.
Flowers Photographed as Macro Photography
Macro Flower Photography. Photographing flowers can be done with any camera or any lens but for the finest details a macro lens will be needed. But I prefer to use my 300-70mm and them crop the photos afterwards. if you are going to shoot a real close up of a flower and get the tiniest details you will need a tripod. Also the DOF. Depth of Field is critical so a larger f# like f16.
I need to explain here that larger f-stops are only needed if you are shooting macro as the depth of field is very narrow. If you are shooting with a zoom like a 200 or 300mm then the smaller f#’s would be best, like f5.6 or less this ensures that the background is faded out or has a good bokeh as it is called.
Photographing interesting flowers
Look for Interesting Angles. Light and Shadows. Study your flower very carefully before clicking away, look what is behind it. Try to get interesting light spots and shadows as in the photo above. You can use your exposure compensation to darken the shot and help bring out the richer colors try at -1 and -2. Experiment with different camera settings and take a number of shots.
The biggest problem when shooting flowers is usually the wind, as the slightest breeze will have the flower moving about. If you shooting handheld you will need a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion. As a rule of thumb if you are shooting with a 200mm you will need a shutter speed of at least 1/200 th sec. and 1/300 th sec. for a 300mm. get the picture?
Flowers are fragile and can move a lot in a light breeze
Photographing Flowers. There are many website offering technical details on macro photography and or shooting flowers. They will all tell you in all kinds of technical jargon what you should do and not do. So remember one thing. If you are new to photography with a DSLR shoot a picture in “Auto Mode” first and study the settings the camera chose.
If the flower is moving the camera will not lock focus and may well refuse to fire. So either wait until the wind drops or come back another day. Or set to a higher shutter speed. This you do by increasing the ISO. I almost shoot all my photos on ISO 400. Most cameras can handle this with a minimum of noise, but be warned as the ISO increases so does the digital noise in your pictures.
Experiment with different photography techniques.
Photography Techniques or Tips. Try and get some black material with a mat finish like velvet, not real velvet as that costs as much as your camera did. Use it as a backdrop like above. I have it tied between two short canes, or get a friend to hold it. Also you can go to a local florist and buy fresh flowers quite cheaply and you can pick the ones you want to photograph you can set up a soft box at home and shoot as many as you like and they will stay still.
So I hope you found this little article to be of some help if so please consider sharing it.
