Flower Photography Tips - How To Take Great Photos

Author: Autumn LockwoodIn order to take great flower pictures, you don't need any fancy camera gear but you do need to have an eye for detail. If you want to take beautiful flower pictures, like the ones in magazines, this article will help show you how you can do that with a digital compact camera.


Many of us have taken a picture of a flower and thought it was perfect - that is until we saw it enlarged or on a computer screen.


Another problem many new flower photographers encounter is getting pictures that are out of focus or downright blurry.


These are all things that are easy to avoid.


The first thing to do is plan to take your flower pictures when the lighting is good and the wind is still. Even the most gentle breeze can cause enough of a quiver in the stem to create blur in a close up. Usually the calmest time of day is around dawn. Dawn is also the time when you can usually find the best lighting.


But if you don't want to get up early, you can still get great flower pictures. Other good times for lighting are the hour before sunset and anytime there is high overcast (bright overcast). These times offer soft light without the dark, harsh shadows. The time right before sunset and just after dawn are perfect for adding a warm glow to your picture. And if it's always breezy, set up a blind or makeshift windbreak.


The other big reason for out of focus flower pictures is from using improper camera settings. Depending upon how close you want to get to the flower, set your camera to either Portrait or Macro. The latter allows you to shoot from within one inch to a foot (check the camera's manual). If you're using a camera with manual settings, choose a wide aperture (a small F Stop number). All of the above settings sharpen the subject and put the background out of focus, even blur it.


Let's look now at turning that pretty flower into the perfect subject for your photo.
- Look for a flower with undamaged petals. Or if you find a flower that's almost perfect, except for a ragged petal or two, simply remove them. If removing the petals will leave a gap then leave it alone and move on to another flower.
- Look for anything on the flower than could distract from the picture like tiny bugs or pieces of dirt and gently remove them with a soft paintbrush or makeup brush.
- For a dewy look, gently sprinkle or spay the petals with a few drops of water.

Next it's time to compose your picture.
- Look at the flower from various angles in your viewfinder or preview LCD. You might see a shadow that is pleasing – or not so pleasing. Look at how the light looks from different angles. You should also look at taking your picture from different angles or vantage points.
- Try lying on the ground for a bug's eye view or holding the camera high above the flower for a bird's eye view.
- Don't cast a shadow over the flower. If the flower is backlit, you can avoid lens flare by wearing a broad brim hat or by using a lens shade to block light from entering the lens.
- You also want to look at the background tones. Contrasting tones will add depth and make your flower stand out.

Whenever you see an image you want to capture, fill the frame with the flower or use a classic composition method such as the "rule of thirds" where maybe the flower is two thirds of the image and the sky is one third.


Once you have your picture composed how you want, focus on the part of the flower that you want to be the most focused. Then keeping super steady, press the shutter down.


As you can see, flower photography is all about detail. And how you display your beautiful flower images also matters so make sure to display it in a picture frame that nicely offsets the flower.

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