Learn Flower Photography
The candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long
I really have no idea why I enjoy taking photos
of
flowers. Flowers are one of the most intricate parts of the plant
kingdom and their short lifetime ensures both quality and
surprise.
In
the Studio:
Black
and White Photography
I like high key photography - solid white
backgrounds and brightly lit
subjects. My first photo course had a open project at the end so
I
took a series of photos in a standard setup. I place a stem vase
on my white table white a white paper background behind it and strong
diffuse side lighting (daylight). For some of the photos (top
right three) I introduced back lighting.
I think part of the reason these photos are
strong is the lack of
background. With color it is easy to separate a flower from it's
background - bright colored plants on muted backgrounds. Black
and
white doesn't generally have that luxury.
Don't
be Afraid to get Close
Most times people will figure out what you are
referring too.
Flowers can survive suprisingly shallow depth of field but motion blur
seems to be hard to use well.
In
Cultivation:
Flowers occur both in "Gardens" and on farms growing flowers for
harvest or bulbs and seeds.
Class
1: Macro
Tulips in detail are beautiful flowers.
Get close. Use a
longer lens (90-105 macro's are perfect but many longer lenses have a
macro mode). The trick is to watch the background.
Class
2: Exceptions
The Tulips are planted in rows for
cultivation. Generally these
bulbs are dug up each year, separated (so you can sell some of them)
and then replanted for the next years cycle. Sometimes they miss
a few (left in the ground) or they otherwise get mixed. Generally
farms will weed these plants out, but not always.
Class
3: Diagonals in Medium Shots
The combinations of rows and the lumps in the
fields allow you to stage
rows behind rows or otherwise setup a stage. This isn't to the
point of including background elements - this is mostly a 2D
interpretation.
Class
4: Barns in the Background
There are classic shots of old barns with the
burst of new life in
front. There aren't a lot of nice old barns any more so finding a
good background can be a pain. Depending on the angle of the
rows, you can emphasis the cultivation or the variety or the flowers.
Class
5: An Ocean of Flowers
Some of these farms are huge - they seem to go
on forever. Using
a wide angle or a telephoto, you can capture the immense scale of these
operations.
In
The Wild:
Watch
those backgrounds
Being "natural" there is a huge variety of
backgrounds you can find. Using the colour of the flower you can
seperate the flower from the background:
Near
and Far
One of my favorite composition choices
(when it happens) is a sharp example in the foreground and another
example blurry in the background. This can give the viewer
another
perspective on the flower and it's geometry.
Wide
Angle Near and Far
On very wide angles (wider than
24mm, 35mm equivalent size), you can take a near far picture with a
patch of
flowers, showing both an example of a flower and how they grow in a
wider sense.
Tripod
is pretty much required - you set your lens to it's closest macro
setting, in aperture mode set it to a narrow aperture (like f16) and
then move in so the closest plant is out of focus in the frame, but
sharp if you use depth of field preview. I haven't mastered it -
my lavender shot is blurry from the long exposure and wind, and my
daisies don't have enough depth of field to render the closest plant
sharp.
My widest lens is currently a 28mm which
doesn't seem wide enough to do this well.
Multiple
Exposures
Another tool in the toolbox is multiple
exposure
trick to give a soft, dream like feeling to the image. Using a
tripod (the camera position has to be 100% locked down), first a photo
is taken with sharp focus, and a reasonable aperture (like f8), metered
down (under exposed by) a stop or two. Then (without advancing
the
film) a few more shots are taken with meter down a stop further, the
aperture wide open (f2.8 for instance) and the focus either ahead or
behind the initial shot.
The next two shots show a normal photograph (f8, normal metering, only
one exposure), and a blurred version (multiple apertures, stepped
metering, 4 exposures on one frame)
It doesn't make the image better - just
different.
John Harvey Photo > Learn Photography > Learn Flower Photography
Great work!!This is a great website and ive learned so many new things..Photography is great
!!!!
Nida
Thursday, July 19th, 2007 at 10:17:40
Thank you for the really helpful tips! I have a great challenge to come up with good shots for my website, but have no knowledge. I am enjoying learning enormously, and your site is a gem!
Carla
Monday, August 20th, 2007 at 00:45:01
hi people,
this website's wonderful!
i lofe flowers and specially tulips!^^
i love your pictures!
congratulations for this work!
have a beautifu day!
take care
bye :D
maria
Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 15:50:49
I am just a pupil in comparison with your work. Great work. Congratulation
Dan Roman
Sunday, February 24th, 2008 at 14:29:15
Last Modified Tuesday, January 1st, 2008 at 22:15:56 Edit
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