Spring is the time when everyone thinks of flowers.  They are blooming and popping up everywhere, adding dashes of color after a winter of white. So let’s talk about some dos and don’ts of flower photography.  Some people don’t know how to make a close up of a flower they love not blurry, while others have trouble visually editing their picture before it is taken.  With floral photography it is not always about finding the perfect flower, but instead it is also about the focus, lighting, and capturing a still shot.

Focus

First off, with focus you don’t have to strictly follow the unspoken rule that every picture you take has to be “pin-sharp”.  A little blurring, or bokeh, can enhance the beautiful soft effect of the petals or add lustre to the dawn glow behind your flower.  Explore the breadth of the power of focus so that you know whether you want a blurred background, a super sharp image or somewhere in between.

When finding the right focus, one way to find that perfect edge between in focus and too close is to move in until you can’t focus, then move back slightly and you will have a well focused shot. This will also require a tripod so that your movement of even pressing the button to take the picture can jostle your camera into blurriness and ruin the shot.

Lighting

The variants of lighting with each flower is like different perspectives on one piece of scenery.  Light can change a shot entirely.  When you first approach the flower you know you want to take a picture of, take time to really look at all the angles this particular flower has to offer through your lens.  This also includes trying out angles that can involve backlighting, highlighting, or silhouettes.

If you want more light, use an external flash or some reflectors.  If you want to catch your “perfect shot” of that flower, be willing to come back at different times of the day and see if the natural lighting is better.  At different times of the day the lighting can make slight but sometimes remarkable changes in the colors of the pictures taken.

Keep in mind that the typical bright summery day, full of harsh sunlight and shadows, may not be the best time to take your floral pictures.  Look instead for a slightly overcast day to act as a natural diffuser or find a piece of material, such as a plain white sheet, to diffuse the sunlight.

Motion

Since you can’t really transplant a garden into a photo studio where you can control every detail you want, you need to take into consideration the movement of everything around this flower.  This includes the wind and your hands holding the camera.  A few pieces of equipment that will help keep the unwanted motion are a tripod and floral clamps. With floral clamps you can still the motion of the flower without harming it.

Another way to minimize the amount of movement going on around you and around your flower is to do your floral photography in the morning.  Everything is still slow and in the process of waking up, even the insects are slower.

Lastly it is probably best to set your shutter speed higher to limit the amount of time for movement to make an impression on your pictures.

With all it takes to  remember that it takes more than walking outside, pointing your camera at the first flower and taking the perfect picture.  Take your time and be prepared and you will be rewarded with some magnificent pictures.

The basic definition of a fish eye lens is a wide angle lens that takes in a wider than normal image that is hemispherical in shape. If you look at a photo taken with a fish eye lens there are varying degrees of distortion apparent in the picture but you will notice that they take on the illusion of being spherical instead of straight.

When dealing with this different type of lens you can choose to make your shot look like you used a fish eye lens with noticeable distortion or you can subtly let the lens work for you in a way that enhances your images without letting the effect take over the shot.  There are good things to be said for both ways, depending on what you are wanting from your shot.

If you are going for the rounded, more distorted shape the fish eye lens can provide, look for a subject that would captivate a viewer, hold attention, and really benefit from the unique qualities a fish eye lens can generate.  For example, don’t overcrowd your shot with too many details if you want your star to be one main subject.  Know what it is you want from your shot.

Don’t be afraid to take several shots to make sure you get your picture just right.  It is easier to delete a few extra pictures and it is to go back later and get the same shot.

However, if you are wanting to utilize the fish eye lens without making it obvious you are using it there is a little trick to use that will help you find the perfect medium for your lens: finding the horizon line. Point your camera at the ground and slowly bring it upward. If you look closely in your viewfinder as you move your camera up the edges of your image distorts.  When you hit your picture’s “horizon line” the distortion caused by the fish eye lens is at its least obvious, making it look like an incredibly wide shot.

 Whether you choose a strong distortion or not, experiment with your fish eye lens to discover how you can use it effectively in different situations.

While sometimes, or most of the time, cleaning your camera feels like a big hassle it is important and necessary.  Tiny little specks of dust, grime, basically the environment can get stuck in cracks of your camera or onto your lens.  It’s good to routinely clean your camera for your pictures to come out as sharp, crisp, and clean as you are wanting.

The biggest DON’T you will want to remember is the easiest, most available is not always the right choice.  In this case, do not use the end of your t-shirt as a way to solve the problem of a speck on your lens.  Your t-shirt most likely has grime and dirt embedded in it from your daily activities that would cause worse damage to your screen then simply leaving the speck there until you have the appropriate cleaning supplies, such as a microfiber cloth.

The easiest way to make sure the items you are using are appropriate for cleaning your camera is to buy a camera cleaning kit that would come with a variety of useful tools that would be more than sufficient in maintaining a pristine camera and lens.  However if you would like to only buy the bare minimum a microfiber cloth and a cleaning solution.  Also recommended would a brush with soft bristles such as camel hair, methyl alcohol, and an air blower.  Please note that an air blower is not the same as the compressed air you use on your computer keyboard.

While you should clean your lens, as well as your camera often, it does not need to happen daily.  Be aware of how long its been since you last cleaned it and plan accordingly.  If it looks dirty, then by all means feel free to clean away.  Some photo shoots are in places that have a less than ideal atmosphere for the cleanliness of your camera and would mean the a thorough cleaning would be in order.

Take care of your camera by cleaning it regularly and with caution.

Last weekend I did some head shots for a friend of mine and her band.  I don’t have a lot of lighting equipment, I generally rent it when I need it, but this particular time renting was out of the question because the budget was very small.  I knew we were going to be shooting indoors due to a massive snowstorm that was raging outside.  Because of the storm I knew I probably wouldn’t have any great window light at the hotel we were shooting at.  If I am being completely honest with you, readers, I didn’t have any high hopes for this shoot, but I grabbed what I had and wished for inspiration.

I left the house with a speedlight, a Rogue Flash Bender from Expo Imaging, a tripod, Pocket Wizards, my camera and my 50 mm 1.2 canon lens.   Panic ensued.  But then I arrived at the hotel and discovered the best thing I could have hoped for.  In the dark interior of the ballroom where we were meeting, they were setting up for a party that night, and someone, some wonderful person, had already set the beautiful orange colored uplighting.  I set my speedlight on a tripod and wrapped the Rogue Flash Bender around the head.  I used the ttl setting on the flash and then I set it at about a 45 degree angle from my subject, who I had sitting on a stool about four feet in front of the wall that had the lighting on it.   I then exposed for the orange back light and let the flash act as a fill on the subject.

I did have to mess with the direction of the flash a little bit to make sure it was landing where I wanted it to land on the subjects face, but eventually I got it figured out.  I was very pleased with the result and even more pleased that it was all with equipment that I already had and lights that were already in place.  The whole thing took me five minutes or less to set up.  Readers, I am sure there are better ways to get these shots.

I am sure there are things I would have done differently if I had an unlimited supply of equipment, but let’s be real for a second.  Not all of us can afford all of the gear it would require.  I am not saying for a second that these are award winning photos or anything, but for those of you who are like me and sometimes lack the funds for real portable studio equipment, I feel like this is a pretty good poor mans substitute.

I grew up taking lots and lots of pictures that didn’t have people in them. I thought I was better catching the scenery that I liked instead of cluttering it with people.  Well, I was wrong.  When out taking photographs in exotic and foreign locations you want to be able to showcase and share all of what you have seen and not always limit it to the scenery, gorgeous as it may be. There is a right way to use people in photography that breathes a new life that would otherwise be missing in the photo.

By tastefully incorporating people into your shot you are able to show off more of the culture of the country you are in.  You don’t have to find a model and place her in the setting you like. Use the locals.  Have the people in your picture match the atmosphere. You don’t have to look far to find someone who will fit in because if they live there they will fit. When adding people, the tendency may be to pose the person or people to be just where and how you want.  This can be good and artful but if there are only posed shots it may become artificial. Don’t be afraid to take candid shots also.

One good way of enticing someone to be in your photography is to be kind and respectful of their lives.  If they don’t speak your language simply show them your camera as if you are ready to take a picture of them to show your desire to take a picture of them and are asking permission. Smile, nod, be confident that they will say yes so they feel your positive attitude but wait for some sign of approval before proceeding.  Once they says yes be sure to quickly show them the picture you took. This will spark their interest further and you may get even more shots from them, both candid and posed.  In most cases if you can get them to agree to the first shot they will be willing to take more.

If this doesn’t work remember that they are probably trying to make a living too. Be open to the idea of buying something they are selling. Once you buy something you change from a nosy, annoying tourist shoving a camera in their face into a customer supporting their livelihood who wants to remember where they’ve been through pictures. Make friends and let them see you, not just your camera.

Now, with this all said I want to emphasize, I am not saying that landscape photography doesn’t have a place in the photography world. Instead I am pointing out an alternative style of photography that can show a different emphasis and can boost “tourist” type pictures and transform them into something more.

Let yourself become more than just a tourist snapping shots of any and everything and bring some characters into the mix.