Kim Hojnacki Photography

The Art of Photographing Flowers.

When you walk by a field of wildflowers or in a garden you are looking down.  When you shoot flowers from a standing position, as you look down, your flower shots will just look average.  If you want to create a flower shot with some interest, shoot from an angle that you don’t see every day.  What that means, is not take your shot looking down, but get down yourself and shoot from that level.    Another interesting angle is get down below the flower and shoot up. 

When shooting flowers, you can use a zoom lens and shoot on aperture priority mode.  Try to isolate one flower, or a small group of flowers that are close together and focus on just that flower.  By doing this, it puts the background out of focus and makes for a stronger visual composition.  

The ideal time to shoot flowers outdoors is on cloudy, overcast days.  The shadows are soft because the sun is hidden behind the clouds.  The colors are richer and not washed out by harsh sunlight.  Another ideal to shoot flowers is after a rain.  Try and capture the raindrops still on the petals.  If you do shoot on a sunny day, mornings and late afternoons are the best.  It’s best if you try and position yourself so the flowers are back lit from the harsh rays of the sun. 

If you are shooting flowers indoors, soft light coming from window works best.  Look for a window that has non-direct sunlight coming in.  Position the flowers near the window so you are getting side lighting.