5 Ways to Photograph Flowers

Hey everyone! Recently I’ve been going back into my photo library to dig out some floral photos (see what I kinda did there?). Maybe it’s because I’m longing for some colourful outdoor photos again. But I also found lots of photos I had taken of cut flowers and greenery indoors too. So I thought I’d share some ways to photograph flowers differently than you might usually do it.

* pin me *

If you think of a typical way to photograph flowers, it’s usually with the photographer standing up, and photographing down at an angle towards the flowers. So today let’s mix it up a bit and find out how to add some variety to your flower photography. Just in time for our gardens to start blooming, right?

1. Fill the Frame

This type of composition works beautifully for those flowers with huge blooms and a lot of detail in the petals. Think peonies and hydrangeas and snowball bushes. Get really close until all you have in the frame is blooms, and you can get a beautiful textural photo.

* fill the frame *

2. Contrasting Background

A great way to highlight the pretty shape and organic details in a flower is to photograph it against a contrasting background. Something linear, with sharp angles and hard surfaces. When you see flowers growing against fences and brick terraces and hard surface walkways, as they often are, take the opportunity for a photo.

* contrasting background *

3. Change Your Perspective

Instead of remaining standing and shooting down towards the flowers, try getting down low and shooting upwards. The details on the underside of the bloom are pretty too, and the sky makes a beautiful backdrop for floral photography. Don’t be shy. Sit down cross-legged and point your camera upwards. Or maybe even lie on your back. You might be surprised by what you see in your viewfinder.

Do you know what these are correctly called? I wrote about them in this post here.

* change your perspective *

4. Show Some Action

Flowers are actually an easy subject matter to practice photography with. They’ll stay in place while you find the right shooting angle and adjust your camera settings. Unlike people and animals, for example. But you can add another element of interest to your photos if you can capture the interaction with other elements of nature. Raindrops pooling on the large leaves of a hosta, for instance. Bees buzzing around pollenated centres. Or a butterfly perfectly settled. If you have the time and are patient, these moments will happen and make for photos with an added layer of beauty.

* show some action *

5. Lovely Dead Crap

What the what?!? It means… don’t deadhead the blooms in your garden too soon, or toss those dried-up, cut tulips and roses. Take a photo of them first. Fading and dried blooms have a unique beauty all their own. So take advantage of the post-perfect stage of a flower too. And why lovely dead crap? If fading and dying blooms are your thing, then check out this hashtag on instagram #lovelydeadcrap and be inspired by other people’s photography. Then give it a try yourself.

* lovely dead crap *

6. Top Down

So I lied, I have six ways, not five. But six doesn’t make for a catchy title so consider this one a bonus. Although, if you’ve been around my blog for awhile then you already know that I love this perspective. I wrote a whole post about it here. And it works for flowers too. A little bit like changing your perspective in number three above. Top-down gives you a bird’s-eye view that you wouldn’t normally have as you’re walking through a garden. Or of your vase of flowers on the table. Hop over to my top-down photography post for some tips and tricks to help you out if you haven’t really tried it before, and see if you don’t fall in love with it like I did.

* top-down *

So, another reason I was looking through my archives is that some of these images will be featured on a series of notecards that I’m printing on my new professional grade printer. I’m stocking an online shop them and can’t wait till all the details are taken care of so I can open it! Which one of these images is your favourite? If it hasn’t already been made into a card, maybe I’ll add it! Stay tuned…

Need some more photography tips?