Photo Tips
Flower Photo Tips
You couldn’t ask for better photo subjects than the Munsinger and Clemens Gardens. There are many opinions and techniques for taking great photos, but here are a few that may help you capture the beauty of the Gardens.
- Use a tripod if you can.
- Using a tripod will steady your camera and help you achieve a much sharper image. It will also force you to think about your composition. It will force you to frame the flowers more deliberately instead of just pointing and shooting.
- Beautiful photos often take a harder look. Don’t just take a snapshot and head down the path. Concentrate on the details of the flower and its relationship to the background. Look at it from different angles. And take a lot of pictures.
- Control your depth of field. If you are photographing a flower with a busy background use a wide aperture to focus on the subject and blur out the background. Or if you are shooting a wider shot like a whole bed of flowers or a fountain, use a smaller aperture setting to bring most of the shot into focus. Your camera may even have depth of field preview so you can see the shot before you take it.
- Cloudy days can make the brightest pictures! Colors really pop at this time and you can get some amazing photographs in these conditions. You’ll see a few dramitic photos on our website taken on not-so-sunny days.
- On a very sunny day, soften the contrasty light by using a diffusion to minimize the harsh shadows. Then redirect some light back on the flower with a reflector like a white T-shirt or a piece of white card. Or, use fill flash. Your camera may have an automatic fill flash function.
- Change perspectives. Photograph your flowers from different angles – straight down, from the side, from underneath. A different angle can really make a dramatic image.
- Have fun! Experiment and try different things. Once you think you have the photograph in the bag, take one more!