By : Nikon School Blog | 27 Mar, 2020 |
Flowers are among the most beautiful gifts of nature. Not just to mankind, but to all creatures living on land. To the poet, a flower is a source of inspiration. To a photographer, a flower is a subject to preserved forever as a memory. Here’s a few tips on photographing flowers.
Going close :
Most flowers will look more attractive when framed up close. This makes each aspect of the flower magnified and more appealing. There may be exceptions where you may decide to photograph a bunch of flowers, or a whole field of them. On the other hand, sometimes you may want to go too close, even use a macro lens to show tiny details of the flower.
Colour or Black & White ?
Whenever we think of flowers, we generally think of vibrant colours. To capture them accurately, make sure correct white balance is selected. If unsure, opt for the Auto white balance option. You can select the Vivid picture control to get saturated colours. Sometimes though, flowers can also look attractive in black and white, specially for white flowers. Do judge the potential of such frames too.
Insects
Very often, insects are seen hovering over flowers for the nectar. Capturing flowers with insects can make your flower image more attractive.
Rule of 3rds
Even while shooting flowers, following the rule-of-thirds can give you balanced and meaningful frames. This is more important if there are other elements in the frame, which demand frame space.
Exposure
With white or light coloured flowers, be careful not to over-expose them as this will cause blown out highlights. To be safe, under-expose or use negative compensation. Shoot RAW to recover shadow details more effectively.
Focusing and depth-of-field
While photographing flowers, you need to be careful about the focusing and aperture to get most of the key elements of the flower in focus. For single flowers, do not use an aperture lower than f/4 unless you want a selective focus effect. For a bunch of flowers, it’s better to go for f/8 or higher, if possible.
Arrangement
You can also consider flower arrangements during flower photography. This can be done by yourself, or by a professional expert, if you’re serious about the shoot, or if it is a professional assignment. Make sure the decorative and ambient elements are in sync with the colour of the flowers you are shooting. Use depth of field creatively.
