It happens to the best of us. We are walking, running, on vacation, or even running errands and we see some beautiful flowers. “Those are so beautiful, I must take a picture!” we think. (You don’t do that? It’s just me? Well darn.) Even if you don’t do that at all, these tips will help you take some breathtaking photos when you do come across a random enchanting flower.
Many articles will tell you to get a fancy camera, lenses, and lighting to get the best photographs of flowers. Admittedly, most of the photos on my blog are shot with a Canon DSLR. While a DSLR or mirrorless camera certainly helps capture beautiful images, it’s definitely not required. All you need to up your flower photography game is to implement a few tips, like those I have outlined below!
Also, remember to do the complete opposite of these tips/ “rules” because that’s part of the creative process! Everyone has their own artistic preferences, and yours might not fit with these tips.
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Get Close
All to often, we stand above the flowers, looking at their sweeping expanse. We don’t want to take the time necessary to look for wildlife or play with filling a shot with a flower because the whole field is just so darn breathtaking.
But why not try it? Try focusing on one flower, one petal, even a small cluster is the flowers are small enough? Some of the most intriguing pictures are those which we rarely see, and most people rarely see a flower so up close. Rather, they see the field that you just took a picture of.
Get Back
Seemingly paradoxical to my last point (remember I said totally break these rules?), another way to garner an interesting shot is by getting back and seeing what may be around the flowers. Maybe there is a fountain (see some images below), a creek, an interesting shape, whatever. The flower doesn’t have to be the focal point; it can be the compliment!
Some interesting shots can be made when you shoot through a flower too. It gives a little bokeh (the aesthetic blur), can frame a subject, and can also lend some color pop. The photo above doesn’t quite shoot through the foreground flowers, but you get a sense of space with the yellow one in the front. Getting back for this photo also showed the intelligence of the gardener, who planted a rainbow of blooms at just the right times.
Get Creative
Creativity in photography can mean many things, from angles to subject to post-processing. Really, any of these how to photograph flowers tips can be considered a form of creativity, but here I am going to focus on seeing what’s beyond the lens. This plant started out completely green, and it was breathtaking. But I saw an opportunity to further my creativity and decided to change the color in editing.
Utilizing your flower photos in new and unexpected ways can be eye-catching and a statement! For example, this photo was used for Transgender Day on Remembrance on my Instagram. Flower photography doesn’t just have to be what’s provided by mother natch, it can be whatever you need.
Get Low
Whether you are getting back or getting close to photograph flowers, getting low is also an incredible way to take better flower photos. In the picture above, I am actually lying on the ground looking up at these blooms. Like I mentioned previously, some of the best photography comes from new views. Things we don’t typically see, new angles, new colors, new shapes. And most of us navigate the world looking down at flowers.
That means we rarely see them at eye level, or even from underneath. By not being afraid to get your legs/pants a little dirty, you can immediately take better flower photos by just changing your angle.
Shoot into the light
But don’t be blinded by it! Or go into it… too much? Okay, anyway. Shooting into the light goes against pretty much all general photography tips. However, shooting into the sun can provide an incredible backlight and rim (see the highlight along the edge above?) for interesting photos. Even better, sunlight shining into flower petals can make them almost see-through, which is exceptional. You can even see the shadow of the two stems through the main sunflower!
When you shoot towards the sun, make sure to expose for your subject, not the background. Some cameras/phones may try to latch on to the wrong area of an image, but either stay on manual or be very precise about where you are focusing the camera.
Shoot on cloudy days
Overcast days (along with the hours around sunrise and sunset) are photographer’s holy grail. Except those days come more often than a holy grail! The appeal of overcast, cloudy days absolutely applies with flower photography because the smooth, even lighting provided by the diffused light softens shadows and helps retain the vibrant colors. It also reduces the harsh highlights that often creates harsh white spots.
Perhaps the only better time to photograph flowers is after a rain (see the photo under “Get Creative”). The raindrops create a magical, lovely feeling in an image.
Hack: Don’t wait for the rain. Bring a cheap spray bottle and spritz the flowers before photos!
Shoot on a tripod
Flowers move. A lot. Especially when it’s windy – using a fast shutter speed helps (below), but to get the crispest shots, make sure to bring your tripod along too. Hand shake + natural nature movement = blur, which can be an artist choice! But I like crispness most of the time, and it’s stunning to see a flower photo with sharp lines.
On that note, you can absolutely try some photos with a slow shutter speed – you might get some interesting visual trails that work. This experiment would be especially useful on days you just can’t be the movement. As the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them. (Slow shutter speeds are also best on a tripod. Many phone cameras also have settings where you can have a slow shutter speed!)
Use photo stacking techniques
This tip is really next level, meaning you need to have some post-processing software, like Photoshop. A lot of people like having just one thin super in focus and beautiful, but if you have several things you are interested in, but just can’t get them all sharp in one picture, take the same photo focused in on different areas. Then, stack the photos together and blend them into one tack sharp visual.
I won’t get into the nitty gritty of how to do that, but don’t be afraid to take multiple photos and figure it out! Maybe you’ll even decide you like one of the photos without everything in focus.
Use a fast shutter speed
Similar to using a tripod, part of getting an eye-catching flower photo is sharpness in an image. In tandem with using a tripod, a fast shutter speed is essential to get that petal definition. Usually. Since here are not fast and hard rules, I feel uncomfortable using the word essential, but let’s go with it.
If you don’t want to shoot on full manual, you can move your camera into the shutter priority setting – that way, you control how fast the shutter is and the camera figures everything else out! Typically a shutter speed of 1/125 or 1/200 is sufficient – there is no need to go up in the thousands!
Smart phone cameras are usually very good about figuring out what’s in the photo, so you *probably* don’t to worry about this tip.
Use basic backgrounds
If you look at the image above on the right, it’s not a bad photo. But the uncurled petals certainly don’t stand out like the yellow rose on the left. That’s partly dur to the basic background behind the yellow rose, helping it stand out. So, if you want something eye-catching instead of something the viewer might have to purposely pause to look at, consider using a basic background!
There is nothing inherently wrong with a background with more in it; some might even prefer the photo on the right. The different petals do provide some cool visual interest, for me. But it does help to keep the background in mind and figure out exactly what you want to focus on.
Play with light
Whether it’s sunny, cloudy, or dark, and whether you shoot into the light or in front of it, make sure to check around you and see if the shot my be better placed elsewhere. A shot that may seem way overexposed, not have enough light, have too many dark vs. light spots, whatever, might just be the spot that will create the most striking flower photo.
The photo above was taken with a filter to block out the worst of the harsh light, but what you can’t see is how many times I moved around trying to get a nice light on the bird house. Some may disagree, but I am of the opinion it’s better to have more photos and options than not enough and fail to capture your subject just the way you want. So, don’t be afraid to spend a little extra time moving around to play with the light. You can even bring a reflector to lighten the flowers more in a different way.
Play with filters
There are tons of filters to use on a camera lens – various colors, cooling, warming, neural density, etc. I just recently found my grandfather’s circular polarizer, which basically reduces reflected light. If you are taking flower photos on bright sunny days, this can instantly up your photo game because there are no harsh highlights.
Color filters, while usually used to modify color, hue, saturation, or white balance, can also be utilized for flower photography too! You can also try using a see-through sheet of colored cellophane or other transparent substance to start experimenting.
For smart phone users, you have filters too, and I highly recommend playing with them! I remember the first time my mom used her new iPhone to take photos; there were so many new filters that she took a picture of me using every one. The coolest (and most moody) was one where the phone blacked out the background and “spotlighted” me, so there are still great settings experiments to be had with phones.
Play with settings
Okay, with this one I am talking about settings in your camera (namely shutter speed, aperture, and ISO), but you can also play with settings in post-processing (everything seems to go back to the creative aspect)! Especially if you don’t have those settings to play with (in that case, play with the filters because those are fun!)
Shooting flowers can require a lot of fiddling with settings, depending on the conditions, and you shouldn’t be afraid to play with any of them – you might end up with a dark and moody photo instead of a bright and sunny one, but it’s fun, unique, different, and eye-catching all the same!
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For some reason, it didn’t occur to me to increase shutter speed for sharper photos! For the longest time I’ve been lamenting and simply attributed it to my entry level equipment – can’t wait to try this the next time I get out ! ❤️
Shutter speed is a game changer – just as long as you still let enough light in!