One of the best ways to get good garden photos is to become familiar with the tools at hand, in this case, your camera and film. Once you feel confident using a camera, your sense of creativity can emerge.
Vibrant colors and interesting shapes abound in your garden, so its often easy to capture the images you want. Such photos, however, require attention to composition, lighting and background. The right camera can make these details easier to control.
Because of the garden photographer's attention to detail--the delicate patterns of a rose, for example--slow or moderate speed films often work well for color prints.
You will have a better idea about how to plan the images you want to take after taking a few photos of your garden. Capturing both drama and the subtleties of colors in a balanced, attractive picture, presenting the images in a harmonious composition, is every photographer's goal. It is not nearly as difficult as it sounds.
Lighting, composition and background are often the factors that make the difference between good photographs and exceptional ones. You can capture garden scenes that really showcase your horticultural expertise by becoming familiar with each of these concepts and putting them to work for you.
Composition simply means balancing the subject of each scene with attractive but uncluttered surroundings. A vivid close up of a rose, for example, can be weakened by a busy background of of garden tools or other out-of-place items. Spend a few moments looking over the image in your viewfinder and focus on one subject at a time. Sometimes, a step to the right or left is all that is needed to eliminate a distracting background.
In fact, to make the most of your photo opportunities, you may want a view of your plants and flowers as they appear through a close-up lens.
Many other factors also affect close-up photography. For instance, when you are extremely close to your subject, beware of even the slightest breeze which can sway a flower enough to cause a blurred image. Photographers must be careful not to shake the camera. Get as close to the subject as necessary. Be certain you have a steady distance. Tripods are useful in preventing unwanted camera shake.
If you want to show the detail of a tulip's pistil and stamen, aim straight down on the flower to see past its petals. If you're undecided as to the best angle to use, try several positions and then select the best one from the finished prints.
The angle and amount of light in your garden photos is a matter of taste and experimentation. When photographing plants and flowers, their natural colors, textures and shapes lend themselves to filling a frame with captivating images. You can capture these challenging images best if you take your photos when there's plenty of daylight to fully illuminate your flowers.
You need not restrict your garden photography efforts to sunny days. Whether you get up early or late in the day, the sun is low in the sky and provides interesting highlights and shadows which allow for more artistic scenes. Again, experiment with placing yourself at different angles to vary the angle of light on your subject.
With the sun at your back, avoid having your shadow or those nearby structures become part of your photos. Step to the left or right may prevent shadows from inadvertently darkening your pictures.
Because many cameras are now equipped with a built-in flash, you have the convenience of adding more light to accentuate garden images. When shade has partly hidden a flower, a flash can bring out details that would otherwise be missing.
