help with flower photography

Always been fascinated with flowers. I will be traveling the world since I am in the Navy and I figured it would be a great hobby for me.

I have lost interest in shooting people so I need a nice break.

I am looking for tips/guides/books/arti​cles that are helpful.


I know the basics;

Shoot after it rains and overcast helping with harsh UV
Shooting at sunrise/sunset helps with softer light
Using solid cardboard color for backgrounds to make colors pop

I'm just looking for publishings by people who specialize in the field


Thanks a ton!

Moved out of the photo sharing forum to the talk forum. Hopefully you will get more help here.
As for books, I like George Lepp.

Check out these sites.
http://digital-photography-school.com …hotographing-wildflowers/
http://www.kadamsphoto​.com …ographing_wildf​lowers.htm
http://blog.gregdisch.​com …o-photograph-wildflowers/
http://www.digitalcame​raworld.com …raph-flowers-in-the-wild/

Have Fun,
Jeff

Nick Aufiero wrote in post #16988217
Always been fascinated with flowers. I will be traveling the world since I am in the Navy and I figured it would be a great hobby for me.

I have lost interest in shooting people so I need a nice break.

I am looking for tips/guides/books/arti​cles that are helpful.


I know the basics;

Shoot after it rains and overcast helping with harsh UV
Shooting at sunrise/sunset helps with softer light
Using solid cardboard color for backgrounds to make colors pop

I'm just looking for publishings by people who specialize in the field


Thanks a ton!

Back in my film days, when I had more free time to devote to photography, I carried several white cards (8x10 pieces of white poster board) and a couple of spring clamps fastened to 18" steel rods that I could stick in the ground for reflectors (or sometimes to provide some shade). When shooting flowers in their natural settings, I found it easier and more pleasing to redirect the ambient light than it was to mess with flash (especially with a manual SLR where off camera flash was a pain). The clamp could also be used to hold a darker card behind the flower for a backdrop, although I always preferred the out of focus natural setting for background.

I agree about soft light....and fast primes if possible.

I usually try to find a background that creates bokeh that enhances the shot, like blades of vertical grass behind a flower.

Composition is always something of "interest" when it comes to flower photography, but the problem to me is that there is no easy answer!

Here are a couple shots that popped out, I don't know how great the compositions are, but I do like the images!:

Composition can be more important than the flower itself. From a couple of old transparencies. The first one isn't a flower, but I loved the ambient light on the leaf. The second one was just one of those arrangements that you stumble across when you take a walk in the woods.