Download Photos Of Flower
Katharyn Kasson
Flowers are popular subjects for macro photographers, especially when the photographer is new and just learning about color and shape, light and shadow. I was no different when I was a beginner. As an avid gardener, my first passion gave rise to my second: flower photography. I wanted to document the flowers in my garden, which, at the time, included eighty varieties of roses and twenty different varieties of clematis, among others.
Choosing the right kind of flowers and arranging them properly is very important when photographing flowers to highlight their translucency. Look for flowers with petals that allow light to shine through in order to make the most of the backlight. In my experience, the best kinds of flowers for this are calla lilies, tulips, daffodils, peonies, magnolias, poppies, irises, dogwood, cherry blossoms, hydrangeas, and alstroemeria, among others.
Flower photography composition is one of the most important elements of any genre of photography. In photo light box photography, there are different approaches one can adapt. An eastern flower arrangement style, such as Ikebana, focuses on simplicity and emphasizes lines and form. A western-style, however, shows an abundant use of flowers as a mass. My style lies somewhere in between these two. I tend to use as many flowers as possible, but I pay attention to the spacing between the subjects.
Give some thought to what kind of arrangements please you. Start with a rough sketch on a piece of paper. For me, arranging flowers becomes spiritual and meditative. I found that it becomes an internal, non-technical process. Express yourself in various arrangements using the same bunch of flowers. What is your vision? How will you build your images?
Select your flowers for the shoot and keep them in water until the last possible minute or use florist water tubes to keep them hydrated. Once you start arranging them on your light box, you must move quickly, otherwise they start wilting.
With your flowers arranged on or in front of the light box, shoot your first series of bracketed images (3 or 5). The first one should be +2 stop overexposed, the second at +1, the third at +3 stops. These settings are not written in stone. Use them as a baseline and tweak them as you see fit.
Open all of the bracketed images in Photoshop as layers. Starting with the lightest frame on the bottom and the darkest frame on top, select all the layers and auto-align them. Using layer masks, bring in the details of the flowers from the rest of the layers.
Now that you know the flower photography secrets of creating jaw-dropping artistic fine art photos, all you have to do is give it a go. Feel free to share you own tips and techniques in the comments below.
Padma Inguva is a flower photographer who first picked up a camera to capture the fruits of her labor in her New Jersey garden. Her curiosity and perfectionism have driven her to spend thousands of hours in shooting and processing floral portraits and she loves sharing her gained insights with others. Her Meetups, webinars, workshops, and mentoring sessions cover topics like equipment selection, composition, lighting, and post processing. Her hope is that through photography, others can learn to see the beauty in little things and create for themselves an oasis in this constantly demanding life.
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This was a very informative post on using light to illuminate flowers. Thank you for providing the necessary equipment, set up and camera settings. The images are awesome and I will be following to see future posts. ThNk you.
The reality is that you need a macro lens, close-up lens or extension tube to get really creative with close-up photos of flowers (more on both of those in a bit). But at the same time you may be surprised just how close you can get with the (non-macro) lenses you already own.
Most flowers have green leaves which give you a beautiful green background. The aperture you select determines the sharpness of the background. Use a wide aperture to throw it completely out of focus, or a smaller one to make it sharper.
Since aperture is the most important camera setting for flower photography, most photographers shoot flowers in aperture priority mode. This way, you can quickly adjust the aperture to find the perfect depth of field without worrying about ISO or shutter speed.
Discover more great photo tips for photographers of all skill levels. Explore what more you can do with Photoshop and Lightroom to grow your flower-photography skills in colorful new ways.
Long-term monitoring efforts include photos of the same spots on the reef year after year. This section includes repetitive images from select photostations at East Flower Garden, West Flower Garden, and Stetson Banks.
I've established in previous posts how much I love using photos to decorate my house (Turning Photos Into Art and A Family Photo Timeline). Photos make any decorating project more personal, sentimental, and unique. It's also inexpensive to decorate with photos.
So, when my friend Sandy asked me if I would make 6 table centerpieces for her sister's 6oth birthday party, I immediately thought that this was a perfect occasion to incorporate photos into the party decor. I asked Sandy if she had some photos of Shelley throughout her 60 years that I could use in the centerpieces. Sandy, who loves photos every bit as much as I do, got them to me at lightening speed. (It's always fun to work on a project with Sandy--she knows how to GET IT DONE!)
Step 1. Arrange the flowers. I bought 5 different kinds of flowers--fall colors for a November birthday. Got them at Sam's for a total of $25. I bought 6 small, clear glass vases at the Dollar Store for, well, a buck a piece = $6. I made 6 identical flower arrangements and tied a bow around the vase. They looked like this:
Step 2: Make a birthday sign for the centerpieces. I created this "Shelley's 60th" card in Microsoft Publisher. It can be done in Word, too, or any number of software options that are most likely already on your computer. I scanned and included a baby and current photo of Shelley, and some downloadable balloon clipart. The colors of the border, title, and balloons were made to coordinate with the fall colors of the flowers.
Step 3: Scan a variety of photos through the years. Some of these were color photos, but I converted them all to black and white (used Picasa's free editing software). Color photos get lost when mixed in with the colorful flowers. Making all of the photos black and white makes them stand out more and gives the centerpiece a more unified appearance. Sandy provided photos that included many of the people who would be at the party. That makes the centerpieces more meaningful and fun for Shelley and the party guests. After scanning the photos, converting them all to black and white, and resizing them, I gave them all a matching orange border. The border adds a little color that coordinates with the fall flowers. I thought too many border colors would be too busy.
Step 7. Insert the floral picks into each bouquet. I put the "Shelley's 60th" birthday card at an angle (so you don't have to worry about keeping it straight) at the top of the arrangement. There are 2 of these birthday cards on each bouquet--back to back on the same pick so they're visible from both sides. Each bouquet had 5 photos, scattered so there were photos to view from each side of the bouquet. That way guests seated all around the table could see a photo.
I mixed up the photos so that no 2 arrangements were exactly alike. A couple of photos were used more than once, but every arrangement had mostly different photos. That way guests can walk around to view the photos on each table--great for getting conversation going between guests at different tables.
It was our first time ever going to see the super bloom since moving to California and we just cannot get over this location, these photos & this couple! We love how sweet & intimate these two are and these photos truly reflect how much love they share!
On October the 21st, 1967, almost 100,000 people marched on Washington, D.C. to peacefully demonstrate around the buildings of the Pentagon in protest against the war in Vietnam. Then a Magnum photographer, Marc Riboud documented proceedings. The last frame he captured was that of 17-year-old Jan Rose Kasmir as she held up a chrysanthemum flower to a row of bayonet-wielding National Guard soldiers.
* This blog post may include affiliate links for which I may receive a small compensation. Learn more about my affiliate & cookies policy here. Thank you for supporting this flowery blog! ???
A telephoto lens is good for flower photography because it can separate the subject better and create a better bokeh than a non-telephoto lens. It will also allow you to take pictures of flowers without having to get too close and will allow you to take pictures of flowers that are farther away.
My two favorite lenses for flower photography are a 105mm macro lens and a 50mm f/1.4 prime lens. The 50mm lens is my go-to lens for most situations, but I absolutely LOVE the 105mm macro lens for flowers. (The featured photo above of a rose with water droplets was captured with a Nikon 105mm macro lens and a Nikon D750 DSLR.) I use a Nikon DSLR camera with the Nikon 105mm f2.8g and the Nikon 50mm f1.4G lenses.
2023 Update: Growers often change their crops and do not always plant flowers. In recent years, the number of farmers growing flowers has decreased, and unfortunately, Explore Lompoc is no longer able to track them definitively. Any new bloom information will be posted here.
Where to See Them: The flower fields rotate every year, and are scattered throughout Lompoc Valley. Some can be spotted west of Old Town Lompoc, along Central Avenue, from Floradale Ave. to Union Sugar Ave.
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