Macro Photography Photo Workshop

Chapter 5. FLOWERS

Challenges when Photographing Outdoors

Selecting Flowers to Photograph

Working with Depth of Field

Lighting Techniques

Flowers — you give them to people you love because you love them, or maybe because you need to apologize, or perhaps a bit of both. Either way, in the natural world, they're only around for a few months at a time, leaving the rest of the year to be a rather drab affair. Or, in more temperate climates, they can change from season to season.

For those of you in areas where the seasons change to bring cold and even snow, you might be hard pressed to find anything that cheers up those months like having a beautiful framed print of a gorgeous flower hanging on the wall (such as the bright-colored example in 5-1). It's like a game, and you get extra points if you've taken the photo yourself. There's nothing quite like responding to a guest's compliment of your wall art with "Oh, yeah, I took that in Madagascar last year." (Never mind that you took it in your local botanical garden!)

This chapter shows you how to overcome the different challenges that arise when photographing flowers. It also contains more fantastic photos than you can shake a vase at. With a bit of luck, you will be filled with so much inspiration that you gather up the camera and the book and head to the nearest plant!

Figure 5.1. ABOUT THIS PHOTO This flower was found and photographed at Bristol ...