Some tips/examples of flower photography?

blackrose89 · Feb 2, 2012

What are some compositional tips for flower photography? When I try to take photos of flowers they look rather "blah". What are some tips on making a flower photo stand out. Any example would be great!

#1 I took this today. On the fence about it :/ What could I have done to make it better?

Flower by blackrose1981, on Flickr

MTVision · Feb 2, 2012

To make it interesting maybe show a view you don't normally see....

analog.universe · Feb 2, 2012

When I shoot flowers, my main concern is how the flower is lit relative to the background elements. I find the flower shots I'm happiest with end up being at the edge of a forest, or in areas with other taller plants, because the backgrounds are more shaded.

Also, negative space is a compositional addiction of mine, and that shows up in my flower photos as well. You've cropped your shot tighter than I probably would have, but, how much you can play with that stuff depends on what's in the background.

Here are a couple shots that use the ideas I'm talking about:

(the second one obviously also has some color tweaks)

mrpink · Feb 2, 2012

Norris Lake 2010 457wwR by Matt Francosky, on Flickr

Ron Evers · Feb 2, 2012

One thing I might offer is to keep the pic from being too busy as the viewer is not sure where to look.

1. Here is a busy one of mine - do you know whwere to focus?

2. A very single subject for comparison.

3. More of a population

4. A similar population

5. And back to a single subject.

See what pleases your eye.

Avoid shooting down on flowers, get down to get a perspective the viewer is not accustomed to.

mishele · Feb 2, 2012

Lighting....

sm4him · Feb 2, 2012

Lighting, as mishele said. And color balance.
I tend to focus in on one flower...just my "style" I suppose. And as MTVision mentioned, I like to look for perspectives that are different from the normal way you look at flowers. Shoot it from different angles and perspectives to see what works for that particular flower and setting. Pay attention to the background and try to "pull" the flower out from the background. Use complementary colors to make the flower "pop."

Mine aren't as good as mishele's, or Ron's but just for some more examples:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24369838@N07/6214991601/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24369838@N07/6809657549/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24369838@N07/6809657329/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24369838@N07/6809657255/

MTVision · Feb 2, 2012

analog.universe said:
When I shoot flowers, my main concern is how the flower is lit relative to the background elements. I find the flower shots I'm happiest with end up being at the edge of a forest, or in areas with other taller plants, because the backgrounds are more shaded.

Also, negative space is a compositional addiction of mine, and that shows up in my flower photos as well. You've cropped your shot tighter than I probably would have, but, how much you can play with that stuff depends on what's in the background.

Here are a couple shots that use the ideas I'm talking about:

(the second one obviously also has some color tweaks)

My daughter was just looking at all the pretty flowers on this thread with me and she faked sneezed. She pointed to your (analog) 1st flower picture and said "this is pretty but it makes me sneeze." She's a dork like her mother!