Spring is here, we know because the weather forecast is for snow! Along with spring come the wildflowers and with nicer weather this is a great time to get out and do some photography. I made a trip to Devils Den State Park today to shoot some Trout Lilies and created some example shots to show how to improve your wildflower photos.
Use a diffuser when shooting in direct sunlight
The photo above was taken in direct sunlight late in the day, not during midday when the contrast would be even greater.
For the photo below I added a translucent diffuser between the sun and the flower. You can see how much softer the light is and how the harsh shadows disappear.
Another shot with and without a diffuser between the sun and the flower
Control Depth of Field
Another strategy is to use the correct aperture to obtain the desired depth of field for the photo. You want to have the background thrown out of focus, but keep the important parts of the flower in sharp focus. The following series of shots were taken with changing aperture settings from wide open to stopped all the way down.
1/640 sec. at f/2.5, iso 200, 50 mm macro
1/125 sec. at f/5.6, iso 200, 50 mm macro
1/30 sec. at f/11, iso 200, 50 mm macro
1/4 sec. at f/32, iso 200, 50 mm macro
My preference on this sequence of photos is the second one, which I feel achieves a good balance between an out of focus background and an in focus flower.
Take a flower portrait
To me one of the most important factors in making a good flower portrait is to compose the shot much as you would a portrait of a person. In the photo below the flower was shot as we would see it walking thru the woods and looking down on it.
For good flower photos you need to get down to the level of the flower to shoot, as in the photo below.
Get in close
And of course a great closeup, where the flower does not even fit into the frame is a great eye catcher.
Great Places for Great Photos
Let me help you to find a great location for your next photography adventure. I will list many lesser-known destinations, as well as the famous "Icon Locations" for photography. I will provide photos (Lots of Photos), location information, consisting of what there is to photograph as well as other information about the destination. I will give costs, maps, directions, contact information, and other essential information for a successful photo trip. I will only post for locations that I have personally photographed to ensure a quality guide to great locations for photography. If you know of great places that are not posted, please send me the details, I may just decide that is a place I need to go!
Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country. Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.
Greg offers both classroom instruction and in the field hands on photographic workshops. Classroom sessions are normally held in Fort Smith Arkansas, but arrangements can be made to bring a class to your group.
All classes and workshops have small class sizes designed to provide an optimum student to instructor ratio, where you can get the personal attention, you need. Most classes and workshops are limited to a maximum of six participants and will be held with a minimum of only two.
If you are looking for a wonderful opportunity to get personal individual instruction, I do private workshops and classes at a location of your choice, whether doing a location photo shoot, coming to your home or business, traveling across the country on a road trip, or at my classroom. This is a fantastic way to learn digital workflow and be sure that your computer equipment is properly configured for optimum performance.
