How to photograph spring flowers
Spring flowers are so joyful. Don’t risk coming home with disappointing shots: make sure you understand how to make the most of your day out.
Using your phone
get close
tap the screen to force a particular focus point
pay attention to what’s going on in the background
try a very low viewpoint
These four images were all shot on my iPhone:
Shooting pale flowers
your camera’s auto exposure will turn your photos darker than you want so either shoot on manual mode or use exposure compensation to dial in +1 or +2 stops of exposure
What to do when it’s windy
your shutter speed is your friend: use shutter priority mode (or manual mode) and make sure your shutter speed is at least 1/500th
work with wider apertures if you can, otherwise let the ISO creep up to whatever it needs to
This shot needed 1/1000th second to stop any motion blur. ISO100, f2.8:
Bring the flowers indoors
you can set up a basic table top studio very simply by working close to a north facing window (or one that is out of direct sunlight to avoid hard shadows)
position a white board, sheet or piece of paper on the opposite side to the window to act as a fill light
if you are in the UK consider buying British grown cut flowers from a local grower rather than stems that have been cut in Ecuador, flown to the Netherlands and distributed to your florist or supermarket: Flowers From The Farm has a list of growers who sell
Using a macro lens
you need to be incredibly precise with your focus especially if you are using a wide aperture
you will also need a higher shutter speed than you are used to (if you are hand-holding) to avoid camera shake
don’t forget to compose the image thoughtfully - you still need to guide the viewer through the frame
Free basic photography lessons
Do you need help understanding things like “wide aperture” and “high shutter speed”? Sign up for my free beginner’s course and this whole blog post will make perfect sense after just 4 weeks. Join now and get started today:
