Flower and Plant Photography
Flower and Plant
Photography
One of the great things about photographing
plants and flowers, as opposed to other
living things, is that you have almost unlimited
control with them. If they are potted or
cut, you can place them wherever you want,
trim off any excess foliage, sit them under a
hot lighting setup, and you never hear them
complain.
Poppy. Shot with a Nikkor 18-55mm VR lens zoomed to 55mm, ISO 100 at f/6.5 for 1/1000 second. Close-up DVP mode.
Some other great things about photographing
plants and flowers are the almost unlimited
variety of colors and textures you can
find them in. From reds and blues to purples
and yellows, the color combinations are
almost infinite. Plants and flowers are abundant,
whether purchased or wild, so there is
no shortage of subjects. Even in the dead of
winter, you can find plants to take photos of.
They don’t have to be in bloom to have an
interesting texture or tone. Sometimes the
best images of trees are taken after they
have shed all of their foliage.
Flower and plant photography also offers a
great way to show off your macro skills.
Flowers especially seem to look great when
photographed close up.
You don’t have to limit flower and plant
photography to the outdoors. You can easily
go to the local florist and pick up a bouquet
of flowers, set them up, and take photos of
them. After you’re done, you can give them
to someone special as an added bonus!
I was having breakfast at a local coffee shop one morning and decided that this vase full of flowers would make a nice shot. I positioned the vase and myself to eliminate distracting background features. The shot was lit by the ambient light in the room. Shot with a Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 lens set to 30mm, ISO 800 at f/4 for 1/15 second.
Inspiration
Walk around and look at the interesting colors
of the local flora. Pay close attention to
the way the light interacts with different
plants. A lot of the time, it is undesirable to
have a backlit subject, but the light coming
through a transparent flower petal can add
a different quality of beauty to an already
beautiful flower.
It can also be fun to make your own floral
arrangements, experimenting with different
color combinations and compositions.
Taking a trip and talking to a florist can give
you some ideas of which plants and flowers
work best together.
Succulent with complementary colors
Taking Flower and Plant Pictures
Setup Practice Picture: While having my morning tea I noticed the colors of
this succulent that I bought at a local roadside stand. I thought
complementary colors of the plant would work out well, but it wasn’t
until I previewed the image on the LCD that I noticed the additional
complementary colors of blue and orange in the background.
On Your Own: Using complementary colors such as green/purple and
blue/orange can add interest to your images.
Lighting Practice Picture: This picture was taken on the shady side of my
house in the morning. The shade provided a nice diffuse light to allow
the colors to come through without a lot of contrast.
On Your Own: Oftentimes, natural light is the best thing for lighting
plants and flowers. Even if it’s a house plant, you can take it outside
and set it in the sun.
Lens Practice Picture: Macro-Takumar 50mm f/4 with a Nikon F-mount
adaptor.
On Your Own: Macro lenses often work well with smaller plants.
Additionally a lens with a wide zoom range can offer you quite a bit of
compositional leeway, allowing you a wide-angle view or zoomed in to
isolate a specific detail.
Camera Settings Practice Picture: I set the camera to Manual because the lens I was
using was a manual focus lens. I had to estimate the exposure using
the Sunny 16 rule because this was a non-CPU lens and the camera’s
meter does not work with these types of lenses.
On Your Own: Be sure to pay attention to the differences between the
shadows and the highlights and expose the image so that everything
retains detail. You may want Aperture Priority to be able to control your
depth of field or use the Close-up DVP mode.
Exposure Practice Picture: ISO 200 at f/5.6 for 1/60 second. The lighting here
wasn’t very bright so I raised the ISO to 200 to get a fast-enough
shutter speed to eliminate any blur from camera shake.
On Your Own: Keep an eye on your camera exposure settings when
shooting and adjust your ISO accordingly if the shutter speed isn’t fast
enough to get the right exposure.
Accessories You may not always be shooting in bright sunlight so a tripod can come
in handy if the lighting is dim and your shutter speed drops below an
acceptable limit for handheld shooting.
Photography
One of the great things about photographing
plants and flowers, as opposed to other
living things, is that you have almost unlimited
control with them. If they are potted or
cut, you can place them wherever you want,
trim off any excess foliage, sit them under a
hot lighting setup, and you never hear them
complain.
Poppy. Shot with a Nikkor 18-55mm VR lens zoomed to 55mm, ISO 100 at f/6.5 for 1/1000 second. Close-up DVP mode.
Some other great things about photographing
plants and flowers are the almost unlimited
variety of colors and textures you can
find them in. From reds and blues to purples
and yellows, the color combinations are
almost infinite. Plants and flowers are abundant,
whether purchased or wild, so there is
no shortage of subjects. Even in the dead of
winter, you can find plants to take photos of.
They don’t have to be in bloom to have an
interesting texture or tone. Sometimes the
best images of trees are taken after they
have shed all of their foliage.
Flower and plant photography also offers a
great way to show off your macro skills.
Flowers especially seem to look great when
photographed close up.
You don’t have to limit flower and plant
photography to the outdoors. You can easily
go to the local florist and pick up a bouquet
of flowers, set them up, and take photos of
them. After you’re done, you can give them
to someone special as an added bonus!
I was having breakfast at a local coffee shop one morning and decided that this vase full of flowers would make a nice shot. I positioned the vase and myself to eliminate distracting background features. The shot was lit by the ambient light in the room. Shot with a Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 lens set to 30mm, ISO 800 at f/4 for 1/15 second.
Inspiration
Walk around and look at the interesting colors
of the local flora. Pay close attention to
the way the light interacts with different
plants. A lot of the time, it is undesirable to
have a backlit subject, but the light coming
through a transparent flower petal can add
a different quality of beauty to an already
beautiful flower.
It can also be fun to make your own floral
arrangements, experimenting with different
color combinations and compositions.
Taking a trip and talking to a florist can give
you some ideas of which plants and flowers
work best together.
Succulent with complementary colors
Taking Flower and Plant Pictures
Setup Practice Picture: While having my morning tea I noticed the colors of
this succulent that I bought at a local roadside stand. I thought
complementary colors of the plant would work out well, but it wasn’t
until I previewed the image on the LCD that I noticed the additional
complementary colors of blue and orange in the background.
On Your Own: Using complementary colors such as green/purple and
blue/orange can add interest to your images.
Lighting Practice Picture: This picture was taken on the shady side of my
house in the morning. The shade provided a nice diffuse light to allow
the colors to come through without a lot of contrast.
On Your Own: Oftentimes, natural light is the best thing for lighting
plants and flowers. Even if it’s a house plant, you can take it outside
and set it in the sun.
Lens Practice Picture: Macro-Takumar 50mm f/4 with a Nikon F-mount
adaptor.
On Your Own: Macro lenses often work well with smaller plants.
Additionally a lens with a wide zoom range can offer you quite a bit of
compositional leeway, allowing you a wide-angle view or zoomed in to
isolate a specific detail.
Camera Settings Practice Picture: I set the camera to Manual because the lens I was
using was a manual focus lens. I had to estimate the exposure using
the Sunny 16 rule because this was a non-CPU lens and the camera’s
meter does not work with these types of lenses.
On Your Own: Be sure to pay attention to the differences between the
shadows and the highlights and expose the image so that everything
retains detail. You may want Aperture Priority to be able to control your
depth of field or use the Close-up DVP mode.
Exposure Practice Picture: ISO 200 at f/5.6 for 1/60 second. The lighting here
wasn’t very bright so I raised the ISO to 200 to get a fast-enough
shutter speed to eliminate any blur from camera shake.
On Your Own: Keep an eye on your camera exposure settings when
shooting and adjust your ISO accordingly if the shutter speed isn’t fast
enough to get the right exposure.
Accessories You may not always be shooting in bright sunlight so a tripod can come
in handy if the lighting is dim and your shutter speed drops below an
acceptable limit for handheld shooting.
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