Flower Power!!!

The following are some tips on getting shots of flora, I dont claim to know shitloads about photography, just looking to offer some advice and problems I've come across while shooting.

One thing you shouldnt do when shooting flowers is shoot down on them, never ever look down on your subjects. Photography is all about imposing your own unique perspective on your subjects. If you shoot down on flowers, from a standing position, it'll end up looking really AVO, because thats what the everyday view of flowers is like. Instead, try getting down low and shooting them at their level. Getting up close or shooting from fascinating angles and getting the details, something that people everyday overlook. This usually means getting your knees dirty (yes its time to pull those britches up ladies!!), but trust me, its well worth it.

SMEXY blurred background

Play around with lighting a wee bit. Try to capture how the light catches leaves or petals and how it lights up the subject. Then chuck a diffuse glow on it on Photoshop and it'll look SMEXY!!




For ECU (extreme close up) shots like that, using macro mode is a must to get your subject to fill the screen. Macro mode, depending on your lenses have a very shallow depth of field. Petals in the foreground can be tack sharp while the next petal will be blurred, so you might want to watch out for that depending on how you want your subject to come out.


Another thing you might want to watch out for is wind. Yes its given us relief from the hot sun, given us grief when we try to light up a ciggy, and now its gonna give us more grief in the form of fluttering flowers!! Try to wait for the wind to die down when taking an ECU shot of flowers, if you cant wait, get your best mate to block the wind out, if you dont have a shooting buddy, well its time to turn up your shutter speed to eliminate blur caused by movement.