- BE SELECTIVE. At
a flower show , there is an enormous number of beautiful
flowers. Don’t rush to photograph the first
blossom you see. Find a plant with the best combination
of form, color, lighting and background.
- ISOLATION. For
impact, isolate your subject. Find a camera angle
that minimizes distracting elements, such as other
flowers or spectators. Take the time to try low angles,
high angles, or moving to the right or left. A wide
lens aperture ( a lower-numbered f-stop on and SLR
camera) will enhance this effect by softening the
background.
- COMPOSITION. Pay
attention to the position of your subject in the
viewfinder. Putting the subject in the dead-center
of the picture is often the first instinct, but is
not always the most aesthetic composition. Concentrate
on what you see in the viewfinder, and recompose
the picture until it looks the best to you. And don’t
forget to try vertical framing, as well as horizontal.
- TRIPOD. Because
the light in parts of the Conventions Center (or
building) is varied, you may be forced to use slow
shutter speeds. In this situation, hand-holding your
camera might result in vibrations and unsharp pictures.
Use a tripod to steady your camera if it has a tripod
screw-socket. If you don’t ( or can’t)
use a tripod, try to steady your camera in other
ways- nestle it on a bean bag or your coat; brace
the camera against a wall; or at the very least,
take a firm stance while shooting, with your legs
slightly apart and your elbows braced. When using
and SLR camera on a tripod, cable a release can significantly
reduce unwanted vibrations.
-
5.PATIENCE. When
photographing flowers outdoors, be aware of small breezes that might set
the flowers in motion. Likewise, breezes can be caused indoors by the opening
of a door or the brisk movement of people. For sharp picture, you must be
prepared to wait for all movement to cease before releasing the shutter.
- ENVIRONMENT. Wonderful
photographs can be created by showing the relationship
of you subject to its environment. A simple way to
achieve this is with a wide- angle lens on a SLR
camera, or the wide mode on a dual-lens or zoom lens
point-&-shoot camera. Position your subject as
close as possible in the foreground.
- EXTREME CLOSE-UPS. Flowers
take on an entirely different look when viewed in
extreme close-up. Use your viewfinder indicators
to move in as close as possible, while still maintaining
sharp focus. If you are using a 35mm SLR camera,
your macro (close-up) capabilities can be extended
with accessories such as a macro lens, a macro teleconverter,
or even screw-on supplementary close-up lenses or
extension tubes for your present lenses.
- THE WHOLE
PICTURE. Consider the whole plant
when you photograph, and not just the colorful
bloom. Examine the fascinating textures and geometries
of leaves, seed pods and fallen petals.
- EXPERIMENT! Don’t
be afraid to shoot a few extra pictures. Try different
angles and different lighting. Also depict your subject
from several different viewpoints.
- LEARN FROM
YOUR MISTAKES. If your picture don’t
convey what you saw in your mind’s eye,
ask yourself: “What went wrong?” If
you study your mistakes, you will be rewarded
wit a greater number successful photographs on
your next outing.
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