Tips for photographing wildflowers:
There are a myriad of spectacularly coloured and diversely occurring flowers of all shapes and sizes found on every continent on earth. This evolution of wildflowers (used to attract visiting bees and insects), gives us a wonderful potential for creating memorable compositions for our wall or portfolio.
For people with physical disabilities or the elderly, the sedate more composed nature of wildflower photography is more achievable, as oppose to the more intense shooting associated with sports or motion photography.
The great thing about wildflowers is that they grow on road sides, along railway verges, along river banks, in alpine meadows, in gardens and window boxes so even people in apartments several storeys high can compose shots of them.
1. Choosing your flowers
One mans weed is another mans flower and vice versa. What many people call 'weeds' are actually wildflowers that occur naturally among our prize- winning rose bushes; so a weed is really a persistent plant that gardeners don't like. Effectively it's down to personal choice which flowers you wish to start taking pictures of.
1.1. Sourcing your wildflowers
If you like a particular flower but don't have it in your garden you could sow it and wait until next year, but where's the fun in that, you want pictures now right?
One option might be to ask a friendly neighbour if you could kindly spend a morning photographing their flowerbeds or go to a local park of garden centre.
If you are feeling particularly energetic and adventurous you might like to venture a bit further and find the more rare species off the beaten track. Wild orchids often grow in natural meadows that have had no man-made fertiliser application and their vibrant colours make striking compositions set against the greens of their natural habitat.
Once you've decided upon your chosen flower, you might want to catalogue it on your computer or label it beneath the picture in the frame, like a natural history specimen.
To do this you will need a good wildflower key, which will take you step-by- step through the process of identifying your flower by means of a process of elimination; ruling out features of plants with similar characteristics until you find the one you have.
An excellent wildflower key I can recommend is "The Wild Flower Key" (2006 rev. ed.) by Francis Rose, which is available for around 13 in the UK or $40 is the US.
2.Packing your kit
Depending on whether you want a jaunt out into the garden or trek into the Appalachians, you will need the right tools for the job.
2.1. Type of Camera
The type, amount and complexity of kit depends on the type of camera you have. Most modern compact digital cameras are perfectly adequate for macro photography (taking close up pictures), which is the category portrait wildflower photography falls into.
Many have excellent large LCD viewing panels (2-3 inches in diameter), which allow the user to compose a shot in all manner of awkward positions.
2.1.1.Mid-range cameras
The so-called compact SLR family are digital cameras, which look like Digital SLR's but have a fixed lens, with a focal range of between 28mm-300mm in most models. Good examples in this category are the Fujifilm S9600 and the Pansonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K 8.1MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle Mega Optical Image Stabilized Zoom.
Both cameras have high-resolution capabilities giving you a crisp, large reproduction and have wide-angle lenses allowing you to capture interesting vistas; a low-angle shot of daffodils against a church backdrop for example.
The most important feature however is the user-friendly macro facility of these cameras that optimises the focal length, aperture and shutter speed for you at close range. Most cameras also have a 'super-macro' button which focuses at distances of 1cm! This is perfect for close detail work of a flowers stamen where the pollen collects, giving an interesting combination of colour, detail and texture.
2.1.2. Digital SLRs
A major drawback of compact SLR style cameras is the delayed shutter release (how fast the 'click' or aperture records the image), meaning that a swaying flower head in the breeze may take you several (frustrating) attempts to shoot.
The main advantage of 'true' SLR cameras such as the excellent Nikon D60 or Canon EOS 450D is their faster shutter release giving an instant image capture. This allows the user to predict where the flower will move to in a breeze, and know the camera will record it at that exact point.
Another important feature of these cameras is their mutil-point focusing system, which in the Canon 450 has nine points of auto focus or focuses on nine areas simultaneously, ensuring a clear sharp image.
2.2. Additional kit you might consider
The most innocuous and seemingly superfluous kit that you might discard because of extra weight can be invaluable in wildflower photography.
If you're out in the field all day or at home composing an awkward shot it can be difficult to maintain the same position for a long time. Here is a typical kit list you might compile before setting off on an expedition.
1. Small foldaway fishing stool: Especially useful for people with health problems or bad backs and allows you time to compose your picture.
2. Small pliable tripod The 'gorilla pod' (available for 13 or around $22) is a nifty tool which is a miniature tripod made up of segmented inter-locking joints that can be manipulated in any direction. The gorilla measures only 1 foot tall but can accommodate cameras up to DSLR size via its locking ring.
Its flexible nature allows you to clamp it to trees, fence posts and just about any surface and can be used for interesting low angle shots.
3. More substantial tripod - an adequate tripod can be obtained for around 40 or $80 and is crucial for consistently clear wildflower photography.
This is because it eliminates camera shake which is exaggerated in close up work where the depth of field is decreased, meaning that the image sensor has difficulty focusing properly resulting in blurred images.
An additional tip I have found useful is to turn the tripod into the horizontal position, meaning your camera and thus field of view is lower, giving a more natural shot, as if you are in amongst the undergrowth. Also by using a right-angle viewfinder (an L' shaped attachment fitting onto your eyepiece) you can compose your shot by looking downwards instead of through the viewfinder, again useful for people with back problems.
4. More Professional Equipment
Plamps. Pardon? No it's not a spelling mistake, plamps are pliable clamps, which resemble the tentacles of an extra terrestrial from a bad 1950's 'B' movie, emerging from its flying saucer.
A locking clamp is fitted to your tripod and has two pliable arms made of segmented joints similar to the Gorilla pod, with a pincer at the end. These can be used to pin awkward branches or leaves that are in the way of your shot or to hold other devices such as a reflector.
Reflectors A reflector is a valuable tool when shooting flowers outdoors as it controls the worst enemy and best friend of all photographers; light.
A reflector is a foldaway circular device with a plastic outer edge with internal gauze that reflects natural light and flash onto shadowed areas in a picture.
This is vital when shooting wildflowers at midday as the light is at its harshest, and excess shadow may take away the detail of the flower head.
4. Making the best of your existing camera using manual shooting and other tips
Whilst the macro mode features of cameras are very good they can be limited in windy and low light conditions or when you take the picture hand held without a tripod. Here the risk of camera shake is greatly increased which will result in loss of detail and blurring in your images.
One way to lessen the impact of the elements is to shoot in manual mode or master the other features of your digital camera independently so you can choose when to use them as oppose to auto focus where the camera decides.
Depth of field and aperture setting
Generally speaking a larger depth of field, created by a smaller aperture (high 'F' value around f11) will be needed for close up work so the image sensor is not confused by too much light, which may give a blurred photo.
However if you have a particular flower that you want to isolate from its background it is best to stand further away and use a longer focal length, and wider aperture (lower F number, f4-f5.6) which will focus on the foreground whilst blurring the background.
Composition
Try to employ the principle of the 'rule of thirds' where a grid three by three is super imposed onto your image either by the camera or your minds eye. The idea being that a point of interest intersects at each point of the grid, the image not necessarily being slap-bang in the middle.
Post-Digital Manipulation Software
Namely Photoshop techniques used to alter the colour or hue/saturation of your image. This can be achieved by going into the image menu, then selecting adjustments, then hue/saturation then finally re-sample colour. Here you can have green flowers and red stems the only limit is your imagination.
When to photograph
It is generally better to photograph flowers in the early morning or late evening when the light is at its weakest. This will give you more detail, particularly in white flowers, where the additional use of a diffuser over the flashbulb may help to soften shadows and render the veins in the petals more clearly.
Photographing in bright but slightly overcast weather conditions is also preferable to bright sunshine as you won't get shiny foliage reflecting back at you, and the natural colour of petals will come through much more.
A good rule of thumb is to take your camera with you as much as possible when you go out hiking or strolling, that way you never miss a shot; I've had some of my best results that way.
Don't be afraid to get it wrong, you can always delete it and start again, the flowers aren't going anywhere fast are they?