How to photograph wild flowers
Photographing flowers from the purely botanical or scientific viewpoint can be very different from photographing flowers creatively. Having said that, many beautiful photographs of wild flowers are taken purely for scientific purposes.
A photographic record is useful for those wishing to study a plant. Often these photographs are no more than straightforward pictures showing the plant in its immediate environment, or perhaps depicting a particular detail. Of course, these photographs should be sharp and clear, but with modern cameras that should not be a major problem.
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The pictures above show two very different creative ways of photographing wild flowers. On the left is Pilosella aurantica, better known as Fox-and-cubs, or even Devil’s Paintbrush or Grim the Collier. Its brash, colourful flowers have been accentuated by the choice of camera angle, careful framing and accurate exposure in hard frontal light.
Compare that to the soft lighting and side angle used to capture the more delicate pastel colours and shape of the foxglove on the right. Very different.
Both techniques will be demonstrated on your Flowers and Photography Holiday in Menorca.
You will also be shown how to create those essential straightforward shots – so important for your botanical records and research.
Lovers of wild flowers who want to photograph more than just a visual record with their cameras, who want to capture something of the magic and beauty of wild flowers, must look at things a little differently. Flowers have very different visual personalities – some are exuberant and bright while others are more subtle and delicate.
The ability to capture these subtleties is one of the many things you will learn on your Flowers and Photography Holiday in Menorca.
You will not need an expensive Digital SLR camera to achieve beautiful, creative images of the wild flowers you find in Menorca. A relatively inexpensive compact camera with a close-up facility – and that’s pretty much standard these days – will be perfect. But the choice is yours.
The photograph on the left shows Astrantia major, beter known as Astrantia. This simple photograph was taken with a small Canon Ixus 970 – a really excellent little camera for photographing wild flowers in the field. It’s small, simple, has a macro (close-up) facility, and the quality is outstanding.
Photographer Philip Dunn will pass on many tips and guidelines that will enable you to take good sharp photographs. But much more than that, he will demonstrate and explain how you, too, can capture the magic of wild flowers in all their glory.
