Taking Pictures of Gardens and Flowers

I doubt very much whether there are two other hobbies so closely associated as gardening and photography, for these fit together as perfectly as a hand and glove.

The garden offers scores of opportunities for picture-taking and the camera not only makes it possible to relive your best experiences of the year, but enables you to keep a perfect pictorial record of both your successes and failures so that next season adjustments may be made for new plantings.

As your photographic hobby develops your interest in growing new plants will be increased, for you will always want to enlarge your collection of pictures.

Your interest will also lean toward other aspects of gardening. You'll want to try your hand at creating floral arrangements so that you can take pictures of them. You will gather together many new and unusual plants, particularly the photogenic kinds like irises, dayJilies and peonies. Because roses make such beautiful pictorial subjects your collection of these plants will be greatly enlarged.

Your garden will also improve because you will inadvertently find yourself re-arranging the plantings to present good pictures at many different angles. Such a garden is bound to show good composition and be interesting at all times of the year.

Whether you own a five-dollar box camera or a five-hundred-dollar masterpiece the same basic rules must be followed for flower photography. It is not so much the kind of equipment you have but how you use it. The more money you spend on a camera and equipment the more versatile your picture taking will become and the number of picture possibilities will increase, but their quality still lies in your ability to see and take good ones.

For beginners I would suggest buying a fairly inexpensive and easy-to-use camera, with special close-up lens attachments. These auxiliary lenses will slip over your camera lens and let you get moderate or extreme close-ups.

One of the most important factors for making good pictures is to keep the camera steady. It doesn't matter how much you pay for a lens to get sharp well-defined shots, the picture won't be clear and sharp unless the camera is held perfectly rigid. When taking pictures with the camera held in the hands, first take a deep breath, hold it, snap the picture and then breathe. Whenever you can, use a good steady tripod. This will not only ensure sharp pictures if everything else has been looked after, but will help you to compose your pictures better. By using a camera stand you can use a slower speed and consequently a smaller aperture which will enable you to secure greater depth of field.

Practise using your view-finder and learn how to center the picture properly. Learn to see everything within the framework of the viewfinder, for what you see will also be seen by the camera except for 'parallax' in the rangefinder kinds.

Watch how the light affects your picture. The flower image is made up of form, color and lighting. It is easy to look for form and color but watch for light and dark areas. Dark areas will appear much darker than is indicated Shadows can be useful in pictures but by looking through the viewfinder. Beware of deep shadows that might be too dark in the final picture. Move your camera several times until you are sure you have the lighting you require.

Keep an eye on the background at all times. When concentrating on a close picture it is easy to overlook unsightly objects in the rear, but they will be there. When taking close-ups of flowers with an adjustable camera, use a wider lens opening so as to place the background entirely out of focus. Some experts use a telephoto lens for close-ups so as to more easily eliminate unsightly or unwanted backgrounds.

Try taking pictures from different positions and camera angles. Point the camera upwards from ground level or downwards from a higher position. Move it to the left or right. Every time you change you get a different picture.

Pictures of your whole garden are usually difficult to take and are often dull for the viewer. Get out in the early morning when the shadows are long and the lighting more interesting and take pictures of various sections of the garden and of pleasing combinations of flowers.

Keep on practising. Take pictures whether or not you feel there is a picture in the subject you are taking. Then eventually with practice you will know at a glance whether to take one or not; the position of the sun, the way the shadows fall and the originality of the composition will assist you in your selection.

Finally keep your camera with you wherever you go. Let it be your pictorial notebook. Sometimes it is easier to take pictures of new flowers, garden subjects or new ways of gardening than it is to take notes.

Please contact the OHS or the author if you wish to republish these articles. © Ottawa Horticultural Society

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