Focusing on Floral Photography

by Caroline Ulbrich

2010-04-19 12:40:05

Spring is in full bloom around the country, and what better time to get some beautiful flower photos to use for your own decoration? Flower photography is very popular and there are a few quick and easy tips that will help you get beautiful and unique shots that are worthy of showing off.

Before even getting started, you need to review your camera and see what options you have. Important factors are focal length and focusing distance. What does that mean? They mean how close your camera can get and still focus on the subject. When it comes to little flowers, having telephoto or optical zoom options will help you get close enough to capture detail and avoid unwanted and distracting background objects. Macro focus will also allow you to focus much closer than normally and is beneficial in these shooting situations.

If you have a digital point-and-shoot you will be looking for a macro option, which typically has a tulip icon. Some even specify that it is “digital macro” and that may have a letter D over the icon. When you turn that setting on, see how close you can get to the object you are photographing while it is still in focus. You may find you can get right up on it!

Digital SLRs have a lot more options because you can put different lenses on them. If you have a lens with a macro option, flip that switch and start shooting! As with the point-and-shoots, some experimentation is needed to see just how close or how far you need to be to get the best shot.

Now that you have your camera options figured out, it’s time to start shooting. To get the best shots you may have to sacrifice a little dignity and move your body in funny angles and get down in the dirt. The goal is to focus on the flower and show it in a unique way.

Focus right on the center of the flower and be as close as you can. This will cause the outstretched petals to be out of focus the further they get and make beautiful lines and colors in the finished photo. Alternatively, try focusing on the tip of a petal, being sure to catch a hint of the center colors as a blurry background.

Fill the photo with the flower. Eliminate excess background by making sure the flower takes center stage in the photo. Whatever background does show through should be out of focus (if you are shooting in macro) and will just be very soft shades and colors.

Find a new angle. Don’t always look down on flowers, get right down on the ground next to them. Try holding the camera level with the flower, or even tilted up so you get the bright blue sky in the background. If there is whole field of flowers, try lining up an angle that while still focusing on one main flower, shows a variety of additional flowers in the background making a very colorful pattern.

The best time of day to shoot flowers is morning or afternoon. In the middle of the day the light is too bright and harsh, casting hard shadows and it may show the sky too bright if you are trying to work that into your photos. Around sunset you’ll find a beautiful warmth to the photos, and you may even be able to catch some of those warm colors in the sky to contrast or complement your flower.

Want to learn more about exactly what macro photography is? Check out our article “Getting Up Close and Personal” linked below and read more.