When taking photos of flowers, you want them to look their best. And since you like sunny days it is easy to get the idea that those sunny days also provide the best conditions for making pictures of your flowers and garden.
But wait! That bright sunlight is actually not the best for showing your flowers at their very best. Rather, try a slightly overcast day. The softer light on such a day is easier to handle.
And there is more to it, too - here are six tips you can use to make pictures like the professionals:
Use a piece of cardboard to create a shadow: Hold the cardboard to shade the background. This will help to make the background darker and thereby less distracting.
Take a mirror, or a piece of aluminum foil, and use it as reflector. Hold it so that the flower will get extra light, this will make it stand out against a darker backdrop. (Adjust the camera setting to get the flower, rather than the background, correctly exposed.)
Need to soften up that harsh sunlight? Then make a diffuser - take a white plastic bag or some other semi-opaque stuff, and stick it to a frame made of a bent wire coat hanger. Use this to diffuse the sun's rays and create a more subtle effect.
If the sun is out, then experiment with backlit photos. This means you shoot the picture into the sun, making your flowers lit from the back. In some cases they will come out looking almost transparent!
Around noontime, the sun is at its peak and actually producing the most dull type of light for picture-making. Try taking out your camera at dawn... or near sunset. You will be amazed at the difference.
Nowadays every camera has a zoom lens. Use that zoom function to make your flowers stand out better, by "zooming in". This tends to give you less problems with distracting stuff in the background, since it enlarges your subject relative to what is further away.
Even though you may not be a professional, these tips can help you take professional-looking photos of your flowers and your garden as you experiment with the tips above. If you use a digital camera you can take a lot of pictures, and simply delete those you do not like. - 16069
But wait! That bright sunlight is actually not the best for showing your flowers at their very best. Rather, try a slightly overcast day. The softer light on such a day is easier to handle.
And there is more to it, too - here are six tips you can use to make pictures like the professionals:
Use a piece of cardboard to create a shadow: Hold the cardboard to shade the background. This will help to make the background darker and thereby less distracting.
Take a mirror, or a piece of aluminum foil, and use it as reflector. Hold it so that the flower will get extra light, this will make it stand out against a darker backdrop. (Adjust the camera setting to get the flower, rather than the background, correctly exposed.)
Need to soften up that harsh sunlight? Then make a diffuser - take a white plastic bag or some other semi-opaque stuff, and stick it to a frame made of a bent wire coat hanger. Use this to diffuse the sun's rays and create a more subtle effect.
If the sun is out, then experiment with backlit photos. This means you shoot the picture into the sun, making your flowers lit from the back. In some cases they will come out looking almost transparent!
Around noontime, the sun is at its peak and actually producing the most dull type of light for picture-making. Try taking out your camera at dawn... or near sunset. You will be amazed at the difference.
Nowadays every camera has a zoom lens. Use that zoom function to make your flowers stand out better, by "zooming in". This tends to give you less problems with distracting stuff in the background, since it enlarges your subject relative to what is further away.
Even though you may not be a professional, these tips can help you take professional-looking photos of your flowers and your garden as you experiment with the tips above. If you use a digital camera you can take a lot of pictures, and simply delete those you do not like. - 16069
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