Finding Beauty in Flowers

For great-looking flower pictures, you do need to take care of a few things. First, your choice of subject. While full-bloomed flowers look beautiful, don’t ignore dying flowers. They can equally look rustic and interesting.

One of the most common challenges is to find a clutter-free backdrop. In a garden, you will always find unwanted leaves, pots, tree branches or other objects that distract you. An easy way to combat this is to either move the flower pot in front of a pleasing background, or change your vantage point.

You can also blur out the background by opting for a wide aperture or use a telephoto or macro lens to fill the frame. Getting really up close will also help you add an element of abstraction and add a unique twist to the otherwise conventional pretty flower picture. Finally, consider carrying a portable studio while photographing in a garden. This simply means carrying some plain coloured papers and a thermocol sheet. The coloured papers can be held by a friend, and when rendered out of focus, they can make pleasant backgrounds. The thermocol will help you throw some light onto the petals and control the kind of shadows being formed.

—Ankit Saxena