photo tips on flowers

[barny2]

i would like some tips on taking photos of flowers. I am running a small competition with my mum to see who can take the best photos. The chosen topic is flowers. I would aprreciate any type of tips, suggestions or help.

Thanks

barny2

[PhotoJunkieJen]

Not sure what kinds of tips you're looking for... but I always like shots where the lens zooms in tight on the center of the flower so that the flower takes up most or all of the frame. Set your aperture kind of high so you can get the entire flower in focus... maybe even drizzle some water on the petals.

This isn't my shot but I'm talking about something like this...

From Valley Of Flowers.. on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

or this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smb_flickr/2611161839/

If you need ideas, you can always go to www.flickr.com and run a search for flowers. Sometimes seeing others work will get your own juices flowing.

And Welcome to the forum! This place is full of helpful people whose knowledge has helped me to grow a lot as a photographer. Stick around! You're bound to learn lots!

[RexK_Cozumel]

A spray bottle with water and a towel........

How to shoot flowers really depends on the style you want. You can fill the frame like Jen said, or you can go wide angle to show a massive field of flowers, or you can go telephoto on a single off colored flower in a field to emphasize the difference. You can get down under the flower and shoot the backside of it since that is a rarely seen view you can shoot from the ground into the sky and make the flower look huge and yearning for the sky.

I could go on forever.......... Anyways use your imagination. Always walk around the subject and look at it from different angles. It is very very very unlikely that the first angle you see of the subject is the best one.

[cdgaskin]

if you use photoshop for your editing: filters - sharpen - unsharp mask (its your best friend!!) also saturation and or vibrance sliders to bring the colours out (dont go to much though or theyll look neon...lol)

f8 or above to get as much of the flower as you can in focus but still give you dof for the background (unless its a flatish flower use as high as f4.5 to give you more dof for the background)

I prefer manual focus as auto seems to get the wrong part 6 out of 10 times,

composition is the key, rule of thirds is a gospel !!

spray bottle if you like the "fresh rain/dew" look

dont be afraid to take dozens of the same shot, gives you more to pick from...

look here to see my flowers set to get some ideas (if their any help)

[cdgaskin]

oh i forgot.... good luck !!

[PhotoJunkieJen]

Originally Posted by RexK_Cozumel

A spray bottle with water and a towel........
You can get down under the flower and shoot the backside of it since that is a rarely seen view you can shoot from the ground into the sky and make the flower look huge and yearning for the sky.

So I know this isn't my thread... but I've always wondered to to do that without blowing out the sky or underexposing the flower? Fill in flash or??

[Sodaman420]

Originally Posted by PhotoJunkieJen

...without blowing out the sky or underexposing the flower? Fill in flash or??

yes- but it'd be tough to get a flash...(strobe or else) under there.
maybe a reflector if it is small enough or you have a partner to hold it for yah!
the idea is to make the underside of the flower the same brightness as the sky above-then you can do it in one photo.
or in photoshop-with 2 photos stitched together.