Here are some things that I learned for taking photos of flowers i.e. flower photography

1. Avoid direct sunlight on flower, use shade.

Bright lights cause harsh shadows and ugly looking photos.
Compare these two photos, one in bright sunlight and another shot in shade. I used my jacket to block the sunlight

2. Blur the background… use large aperture (small f number)

You get beautiful flowers photos if the main subject of your photo is a flower.
An effective way to achieve this is Use large aperture (small f number) to blur the background.

To do this, switch to Aperture priority mode (usually denoted by A) and set the smallest f number.

You can also use tricks like plucking the flower and moving it to a cleaner place or putting a sheet of paper etc behind the flower to get a cleaner look.

3. Get sharp photos, use fast shutter speed and high ISO

If the weather is windy, you will find that most of your flower photos are blurred.

To fix it, switch to Shutter Priority mode and use the fastest shutter speed that you can achieve. Anything above 1/250 etc will be perfect.

If the photos appear dark, then increase the ISO of your camera.

4. Get accurate colors and textures… Prevent blown out colors…

A very common problem that I faced when shooting bright colored flowers was that the colors, mostly reds, appeared blurred. The flower simply lost all texture and details and all I got was a blob of red colors.

The solution to getting details in reds like in the flower above is to:

a. Always check the RGB histogram of your camera (i.e. most modern camera has this feature) and ensure that there are no bars in the extreme right edge of the histogram.

b. If you do not get good details in your photos, then under-expose your photo and reduce contrast.
Change the EV setting to -1 or lower and see if you get better photos.

5. Shoot some insects/butterflies etc.

Insects and butterflies make your photo attractive. They also keep you busy for quite sometime It helps to break the monotony of taking photos of still flowers.

6. Fill the frame

When you are shooting flowers, make it a point to get as close as possible and fill your entire screen (frame) with the flower and the leaves behind it. This is basically an extension of Point #2 above i.e. do not have distracting backgrounds.

7. Highlight interesting patterns, textures and colors

Find out what makes a flower beautiful. Is it the color or does it have an interesting pattern/texture in it and then try to highlight that feature in your photo.

8. Change your point of view

Get down on your knees or lie down on the ground when you are taking photos of the flower. Shoot them from above, below, at eye level etc.

The idea is to show the flower from a unique point of view.

I hope you find it useful. Did I miss something, do you have something more to share, just put it in the comments.

Happy clicking.

PS: If you are from Indore, do not forget to signup for the photowalk at Indore on July 18, 2009 by clicking here.