Gardens and flowers may be beautiful subjects but they are not without their difficulties, especially when you move in close. Photography at this end of the spectrum normally produces more failures than successes so here are some tips to improve your nature photography.
At some you should also consider pursuing a photography course online that would guide you step by step through the technical aspects of close-up photography. There many ways to approach this fascinating area of photography and many choices to make with camera equipment.
The useful thing about choosing a garden as subject material is that your photograph is always very close by. You can start in your own backyard. Particularly with close-up photography, as you can spend hours in a square yard and not exhaust the possibilities. When photographing flowers or groups of flowers keep the background simple, this helps to emphasize the subject. Isolate the subject against a single color or place a colored card behind the flower. This works well with close-ups as a deck of colored cards can be very small and not a burden to carry.
Hazy sunshine is well suited for photographing gardens in color; this provides a generous, soft shadowless light. However, break the rule and photograph under any condition, they will all yield different and exciting results.
Use a tripod and a fast shutter speed when taking close-ups, even the slightest breeze or movement can ruin the photograph. This is the single most difficult problem to manage with close-up photography. Again however, put the tripod aside and use movement /soft focus and blur to your advantage. This can provide a more emotional photograph as opposed to clinical. A respectable photography course online would provide the necessary camera function aspects of introducing freeze and blur into your images.
To exaggerate color, use a shallow depth-of-field to separate the subject from the background. This should be quite simple to achieve as depth is very limited in close-up by the very nature of this area in photography.
Spray your subject with water to give a fresh rain or dew drop appearance. Carry a spray bottle with a fine mist nozzle at all times. This can be very effective at setting a mood and water adds a sparkle to the photograph.
If the weather outside is too horrible to venture into, bring flowers into the studio for still life subjects and gain total control. A single bloom can make a wonderful color or black and white graphic photograph.
In addition to flowers, there is an infinite range of subject material in the garden. Grasses, weeds, wild flowers, leaves, seeds, insects, spider webs, and the list goes on and on. Next time you are looking for something to photograph, look more closely in your own back yard.
By choosing a dependable photography course online you can learn these techniques and gain valuable insight for best possible results with close-up photography and nature.
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