| Greetings Fellow Photographers!With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to discuss a few strategies you can use to grab some great close-up shots of flowers. Flower shots are great to use on personalized Valentine’s Day cards, which you can create using your online photo account. They can also make lovely Valentine’s Day gifts for your special someone as enlargements or canvas prints. Love is in the air, so grab your camera and get romantic with some unique flower close-ups! |
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Lighting and Background:Use available natural light instead of a flash whenever possible. Natural light will give the picture a softer feel and contrast range compared to a flash. Also, try to use a neutral tone in your background to make the flower pop more in the picture and really bring out its vibrancy. When shooting a group of flowers, try to focus in on just a few; don’t zoom out for a larger group. You can symbolize your romance with a gorgeous shot of two flowers growing beautifully together. |
| Set the Scene:Use as much shelter or protection around the flower as possible without getting in the way of the photo. If you are shooting outdoors, try to block the wind or anything else that can cause the flower to move without sacrificing any of the natural light. This will help to avoid a blurry picture. Also, be sure to examine all angles of the flower, and try shooting from a few different perspectives. You may want to try shooting from below the flower, using a deep blue sky as your background, or shooting from the side. You can also rotate to eliminate a dry petal or flaw in the flower. |  |
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Camera Settings:Many cameras have a setting called Macro mode, often represented by a flower icon on your camera. Macro mode allows for focusing very close shots. Another thing you can try is to use an aperture opening of f8 or f11 in Manual mode. This gives you a very deep depth of field, allowing the focus to continue further into the picture rather than just focusing the foreground. You may also want to use the self timer feature on your camera, as pressing the button often moves the camera slightly and could result in a slightly off-target picture. |
| To get an even softer glow in your flower close-up, use a light diffusing dome to distribute natural light more evenly in the photo. Direct sunlight can cast hard shadows and can be an abrasive light source. A light diffusing dome will spread that light more evenly in the photo and create a softer glow around the flower. If you do not have access to a light diffusing dome, grab an assistant and a piece of thin white fabric. Have your assistant hold the fabric over the flower, making sure the fabric is not in the shot or too thick to block the light. This makeshift light diffusing device can give a feel to your shot that even the pros would be jealous of! |  |
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