How to take pictures of beautiful flowers

Taking pictures of beautiful flowers is something I have always enjoyed. You see things on the photos and through the camera lens that you don't see just looking at them. Most people don't get down to flower level and really see the flower. Taking flower photos is a good way to practice with your camera as well. Flowers stay where they are so you can take your time to get the shot just right. They also make really nice relaxing slide shows in the middle of the winter mixed with some nice background music.

Best conditions for good photos

The best conditions to take good flower pictures. Number 1 thing is calm winds. There is nothing harder than trying to shoot a flower that is blowing in the wind. The second best thing is to try to do the photographing in the shade or overcast, or with the sun lower in the sky and preferably behind you.

It is sometimes very nice with a blue sky background for your shot, you must have the sun at your back for this to work well.

Direct overhead midday sun is the hardest time to get good pictures of flowers, and most other things as well.

If you want the shot to be perfect, the best way to do that is to do it inside with studio lights and a black background. You can get a similar effect even outside if you use your flash and have the right aperture and shutter speed settings. you need to experiment to get it right.

The nice thing about flowers and calm conditions is you have time to experiment and even bring foam boards into the garden for backgrounds.

Look over the garden area you are going to take the picture in. Get down to the bloom level and look for a perfect bloom. Look through the view finder and look at the background to see what you want to include and what you want to exclude. Look for other flowers with complimentary colors to enhance the shot. Make sure the complimentary color doesn't overpower the bloom you want to be the main subject. Think about where is the first place that you look when you look at the scene, where is your eye drawn? Composition is the key to great flower shots more than most other shots.

Wet flowers are very nice sometimes

Right after a good rain is a very good time to shoot some flowers. You will have to experiment to see what flowers look best wet. You can even do this by turning on the sprinkler and watering the garden, then taking the shots. Some nice pictures can even be taken with just a spray bottle full of water.

If you have a place to shoot from a dry area, shooting flowers during a good rain can also make for some really cool shots.

The bottom line in taking pictures of beautiful flowers is. Get in close, be careful of the background. Try a large aperture and a small aperture to blur background or have it in focus. Take your time with the composition, it can make it nice or great. Don't shoot in direct sunlight. Use the flash if you need to. Look for complimentary colors to enhance the subject flower.

Have fun and take a lot of pictures. I have take about 7000 to 10000 flower photos over the past 10 years, they are always fun to look at.

If you would like to read some other photography articles that I have written, check these out.

10 tips to great portraits with a point and shoot camera

The secrets to great vacation photos

10 tips for taking great photos with your SLR

What to do with your digital pictures

Flattering portraits with a pocket camera

How to pick the perfect digital camera

Take great fireworks pictures

Take great halloween pictures

The best digital camera on a budget

How to organize your digital pictures