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Photographing
Flowers
One of the most abundant, beautiful and colorful subjects for your spring
and summertime camera is flowers. So plentiful are they that the choices
of presenting them photographically are numerous indeed.
You might, for example, select the close-up shot revealing the innermost
heart of the flower, the delicate texture of the stamen, minute drops
of moisture, or a single petal that becomes a picture in itself. Or you
might prefer to show the character of a single whole flower, or a grouping,
or even an entire field of flowers.
The best time to photograph flowers is in the morning when they are freshest.
Hot, afternoon sun may cause flowers to look limp and wilted. Diffused
sunlight either from behind or the side is best. It will give your flower
intimate texture ande full color saturation. Fill-in flash can also add
extra sparkle.
To fill the viewfinder with a single flower or part of a blossom, you'll
need close-up equipment such as close-up filters, extension tubes, or
a macro lens. All work well and will give you pleasing results.
Because you'll often need a small aperture to maximize depth-of-field,
a tripod and cable release are a must to keep your camera steady during
the long shutter speeds you'll require.
As always, watch your backgrounds. A distracting or "busy" background
can ruin a picture. So be sure to check yours after composing your shot.
Look over the entire viewfinder and use your camera's depth-of-field preview
to check out the background. You'll often want it as a soft nondistracting
blur in your picture.
Better still, carry a small piece of black poster board or cloth in your
camera bag and place it behind the flowers. The background will go totally
black, resulting in greater impact in your finished shot. The poster board
can also act as a windbreaker to stop swaying flowers on a brisk day.
Try some innovating techniques too. Shoot a group of flowers, focusing
on only one so that the rest become completely blurs of color. Or move
in close and focus on only the stamen, allowing the petals to be out-of-focus
blurs. Also, try sprinkling the flowers with droplets of water to give
them a fresh, natural look.
In addition to flowers around your home or in the "wild," a local greenhouse
will provide excellent possibilities.
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