Making the most of your camera in the garden
As Flea Market gardeners, we take and post a LOT of pictures and there is a lot of talent on our page. Here are some tips from some of our flea folk on how to take great pictures in the garden!
1. Good Lighting Take photos on a cloudy bright day for even lighting. The hour before the sun rises or sets is great for photography. Pros call this the ‘Golden Hour.’
The ‘golden hour’ under even lighting
2. ‘Edit’ before taking your photo To help your garden scene put on its best face, step back and look at what you want to take a photo of and see if it needs some help to make it more interesting. Maybe adding potted plants to fill in bare areas, editing out rough looking branches with pruners if necessary.
3. Holding still To help reduce fuzzy photos, be sure to stabilize the camera before clicking that shutter. A tripod, a rock, a box or whatever you can find to keep the camera still when you press that button.
A junky scene, nice but let’s get closer
Cropped scene focuses on just a few nice elements
4. Really Seeing To take a good photos you need to ‘see.’ ‘Seeing’ is the real secret of art. Before you take a photograph, you need to ‘think, sort, analyze and make decisions.
- Vantage point – Where are you standing when you take the photo? Are you above, below or straight on? (Get down on the ground or up on a chair and see the difference!)
- Light and shadow – Do you see any reflections? Look for interesting shadows. Are there light and dark parts in your frame?
- Detail – Will photograph be taken far away or close-up? Is it a complex photo or simple? Does it include background details? Try not to capture your reflection in an object or your shadow! You have to “get down” for some shots. 😉
- Frame – Where is the subject in your photograph? In the foreground, middle or background? Do things walk out of the edge or come into the photo? Arrange objects in three or five, odd numbers. Edit out too many object, though!
- Remember it’s a digital world now so you can shoot, shoot, shoot! Take LOTS of photos of the same vignette at different angles…then choose the best.
5. Camera Settings Become familiar with your close-up setting and your ‘No Flash’ setting. You usually don’t need flash indoors or out if there is any amount of daylight. Change to your close-up setting to get between 1 or 2 feet from flowers or small things. Experiment to see how close you can get!
6. Get Close, Zoom In, or Crop Don’t be afraid to zoom in. Sometimes everything in a setting is not picture worthy, but a part of it is excellent. Or crop your photos with your computer’s photo editor. Get rid of anything that isn’t really needed.
7. Experiment with Editing If you have a photo Editor, like Microsoft Picture Manager or Photoshop, try adding contrast, lightening or darkening your photo, removing color to create a B&W picture or simply cropping your photo. Have fun and play around. If you need help, Google your question or a favorite tip is to ask a teenager!
Photo Examples:
Julie Brown Original Photo Wildflowers
Julie Brown- Cropped and enhanced to bring out the blue flowers
Jane Ochinero Krauter -The ‘before’ , notice the plant stand?
Jane Ochinero Krauter ‘After’. Cropped ugly green stool out!
Nell Howard Stelzer- The original photo
Nell Howard Stelzer Desaturated in Adobe photoshop.
Nell Howard Stelzer- This is zoomed to show the raindrop!
This is the camera, Canon PowerShot ELPH, (below) I use most often in the garden. It fits easily in my pocket in the garden or when traveling. It takes movies and has a big viewing screen, important for my eyes..I love the color! ~~ Sue
Jeanne says, “Love my Sony DSC-H5 Super Steady Shot (8.1 megapixels) …can take quality wide angle to zoom photos…and I love that I can do ‘manual’ settings or choose to use auto. Love taking pics!”
Happy Shooting!
Compiled by: Patty Hicks, Julie Brown, Nell Howard Stelzer, Nancy K. Meyer, Jane Ochinero Krauter, Jeanne Sammons, Sue Langley, Marie Niemann and Kirk Willis.
2 Comments
I bought a point and shoot when my little Kodak finally gave up and quit last fall. I love my camera as it is easy to use and does everything for me. It was quite reasonably priced too-not like the SLR which can be pricey. Another blogger friend also bought one on my recommendation and she says she loves it. It has the best zoom in the class (32); which can be good when getting insects and all.
Love my Sony DSC-H5 Super Steady Shot (7.2 megapixels) …can take quality wide angle to zoom photos…& I love that I can do ‘manual’ settings or choose to use auto. Love taking pics!