Creative Photography for beginners
FLOWERS
Richard and Sue Loader
1. Focal Point ● ●
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Why are you taking this photo? How will you help the viewer understand your motivation and interest? Use the camera to concentrate the viewer on the part of the photo that best helps you get and hold their attention
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Pick a focal point The focal point can be a colour, spot of light, a tiny creature. Doesn’t have to be part of the main subject but it usually is Make sure the focal point is sharp in the photo
Even in a crowd there needs to be a focal point. It should help the viewer quickly understand your photo.
The focal point is the part of the image to which the eye is drawn to begin its journey around the photo. It is named ‘focal point’ not because it is in focus but because it is the area the viewer should focus their attention on.
Whatever the style of image be sure to set the focus on the focal point. In a garden view the focus will normally be on the foreground On a pattern shot select one of the prime elements and focus on that
2. Clutter & Confusion Check for distractions ●
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Hot spots such as reflections from leaves (use polariser) and bright background objects ‘White’ sky - change angle to exclude it if possible, blue sky can be OK Shadows - use a diffuser or reflector
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Your own feet, tripod legs Dead stems, especially grass stems remove them if possible Garden paraphernalia like hosepipes, bright tools, wheelbarrows Check for unfortunate coincidences that make strong lines / divisions that might cut through the image
Check for clutter around the edge of your image - there are three distractions here
There’s a fallen over terracotta pot and saucer spoiling this shot
By moving the camera just a little and moving a little closer the pot and saucer are excluded - they are still there!
3. Move & Compose ● ● ● ● ● ●
Get orientation of camera right, portrait or landscape Up, down, left right - move around to find the best angles and POV Rule of thirds - use grid if camera / phone has one Leading lines Colour accent Diagonal(s)
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Subject looking into photo and negative space Context background if it helps Patterns and repetitions Curves for the eye to follow Framing
The grid that most cameras can show helps with composition as does that moveable focus point.
Leading lines and Use the grid to help avoid having the focal point / horizon/ virtual horizon on the centre line
Allow your subject to ‘look’ into space within your frame rather than ‘looking’ at the frame edge Upright plants such as this suit the portrait format
Sometimes having background in the shot can help the viewer understand the subject. This is a wildflower that grows in just a few locations in the UK the second shot helps understand it’s habitat
Curves can lead the viewer's eye through the photo - loosely ‘S’ shaped in this case but other curves can work too
Negative space Sometimes an image works better if there is an area of background with no content. It can help emphasise the subject. This smooth background zone with little in the way of features is called Bokeh - hard to achieve with mobiles and point and shoots.
Background sky can be very distracting. A higher viewpoint or different angle can often provide an alternative
4. Depth of field ● ● ● ● ●
Phone gives little control Fast lens on interchangeable lens camera best option eg. f2.8 ‘Long’ lenses are best eg. 200mm or longer Focussing has to be spot on Weird objects can give useful colour background
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Very shallow DOF can take away context from a subject Very useful in busy environments like flower shows or untidy gardens Focus on the ‘eyes’ of the subject Very effective in backlight
Focus on the ‘eyes’ Just as with birds and animals focus on the ‘eyes’ unless you do the shot just seems wrong
4. Depth of field The next slides were taken with a DSLR (Canon 80D) 100mm Macro lens f2.8 - f32 The only manual change in camera settings were the f stop, the shutter speed has changed to keep the exposure constant. There are objects deliberately place in the background so that you can see how the widest aperture gives the most background blur.
f 2.8
f 4.5
f8
f 16
f 32
Mobile phone
Depth of field In these next slides the plants are arranged in a line, all equidistant from the camera. At f2.8, the widest aperture the plants are all focussed and the background blurred, as the aperture narrows the background becomes more clear and distracting - in this case.
f 2.8
f 4.5
f8
f 32
Mobile phone
5. Check again for distractions Having worked through all the previous steps you can easily find that something along the way has brought a distracting element into your frame. So, run your eye around the edge of the frame in particular looking hard for anything at all that doesn’t belong in your shot - deal with it if you can. then
CLICK!
6. Dealing with the elements ● ●
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Diffuser - Handy for bright contrasty light Reflector - Direct light up into flowers that hang - Gold is warm, Silver neutral - card can be cold….card covered in bacofoil just as effective Plamp - Good for holding flowers steady in wind but also to hold flowers in position to aid composition - clothes peg on a wire will work almost as well.
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Fast shutter speed wind - shutter speed of 1/500 sec or better can help, mobile phone cameras often use fast shutter as default Use backlight bright sun - backlit shots can be very successful, medium to low sun level is best Try HDR (bright sun) - setting on mobile phone, it can deal with contrasty light very well.
Diffuser Allows some light through but controls deep shadows and hot spots Best with an assistant - hold close to subject so that the sun shines through it onto the flower. Collapses to small size and goes in slip case
No Diffuser
With Diffuser
Reflector Can reflect light up into flowers and control shadows. Gold, Silver and White can be used each one changing the warmth of the reflected light