How to Photograph Flowers

Flower Photography Tips

Throughout history there have been thousands (perhaps millions) of images of flowers created or recorded by artists, scientists and others who find them beautiful. They are also a beloved subject of many photographers who like capturing their vivid colors, remarkable shape and even the way light interacts with their petals and leaves. Though motionless subjects, they are nonetheless among some of the trickiest to record accurately.

This is due to a number of issues including lighting, automatic camera settings, and the remarkable range of colors that appear in the world of flowers. One good example is the problem of color saturation. Many cameras are unable to distinguish between the enormous range of hues and shadings that appear in most flowers. Additionally, neighboring blooms may cast an inaccurate color back towards other flowers or plants, and this too can be improperly recorded by a camera.

Consider that a pale apricot colored begonia will have varying shades of peach, pink, cream, yellow, green and even red that must all be detected, captured and presented in the photograph. Some cameras have difficulty in this amount of color variation and might display such a bloom or plant in only a limited range of color variants instead.
Many ask if there is anything that can be done about this – apart from tinkering with the photographic file in a program such as Photoshop. The answer is “yes”, because color saturation issues can actually be controlled, or at least adjusted, through the use of lighting and camera settings.

There are no subjects that photograph well under the brilliant and somewhat harsh lighting of the midday sun, and flowers are no exception. Their tiny details, including veins of color and soft shading can often be lost to the brightness of sunlight. Most avid flower photographers tend to use a polarizing filter to eliminate reflections of color that may allow a bloom to appear nearly colorless. Other photographers might wait for an overcast or cloudy day to photograph brilliantly colored blooms because such limited light can actually give a great deal more control over the end results.

Black & White Flower Photography

Take the many red, orange, pink and yellow colors of a flower and turn them into classy black and white photos. You’ll find when doing black and white flower photography; you’ll have the richness of the flower disappear into a tone of grayscale that demands a higher contrast and definition. You may have to alter your contrast or brightness in Photoshop to add some depth to your black and white flower photography.



Here are two examples of flower photographs in black and white. The one on the left was created simply by using a grayscale. The photo on the right was enhanced using brightness and contrast.
Alternately many a clever photographer employs something known as “backlighting” in their flower photography. This requires the photographer to either stand with the sun directly behind them, or directly in front of them. This allows the sun to illuminate the flowers in a far more photographically friendly way, but without any concerns about fading or blurring their colors.

These flower photography tips were contributed by Amy Renfrey author of my favorite Photography Books. If you are looking to become the best digital photographer you can be I highly recommend Amy's books. They are available individually or as a package. I've written a book review about Digital Photography Success if you are interested in knowing more.