Flower Photography

Flower and plant photography is another interesting area that totally worth photographer’s effort. There are a few reasons why beginners should explore this type of photography. Firstly, your model is static, which makes the trial and error process easy. You can spend as much time circling around one flower trying your exposures, DOF and focal points, as you may wish. You don’t need a whole lot of other equipment unless you’re after some very special images (like time-lapse). Plants can be shot with your camera handheld. And last but not least – flower photographs sell good on stock sites and in a form of prints. There are millions already available and it’s never enough.

So, what do you need to try yourself in flower photography? Sure, first of all you need flowers. And my advice here would be – don’t buy a few roses to try catch a few of shots before they wilted. Go to the nearest botanic garden. You will get in for free or pay a very small fee, but the number of unique, live plants that you are getting access to is mind-blowing. It’s absolutely legal to photograph in botanic gardens, so you can wander around until your camera battery goes low.

Some things to consider:

1. Pay attention to the season, make sure that the flowers you want to shoot are actually blooming now. You can give botanic gardens a call asking if they are – it’s a smart move.
2. If you plan to go inside the tropic plants room, don’t stay there for too long – shoot and walk out. You don’t want water to condensate inside your lens or camera body, and these rooms are highly humid.
3. Don’t bother taking a tripod unless you are shooting time-lapse.
4. When shooting a flower, make sure that you take a photo of its full name (badges are next to them). So you don’t have to google them all when back home if you plan to sell your photos. Shoot the badge first and the flower right after – it will be easier to pair the two afterwards.
5. Have an umbrella with you. Not only to hide from rain – to be able to shoot flowers being hit by water droplets. Some of these images come out so great, that they make people stop and stare at them for a while.

Flower photography is an awesome way to get more confident with your camera settings and master your composition skills. And it will pay back with your images selling here and there, as well as will definitely bring you some extra Instagram followers.

As always, feel free to leave your thoughts and questions in comments below, and happy shooting!