Garden Photography Series Tip #1 “Study Your Shots”

My Garden Photography Series will help you become a great photographer in no time at all.  During my quarter century in the business I’ve learned exactly what it takes to get stellar art shots. Check the MoZone to be sure you don’t miss a single tip. 

As your garden peaks this summer it’s time to capture all the beautiful blossoms with your digital camera.  Never before has garden photography been so easy and cheap!  When I was learning back in the day, it took weeks and big bucks to get your film back from processing to find out if you got it right.  One camera setting off or the wrong film speed or bad light could land a pile of film in the trash.  But with digital pictures you can shoot them and dump them and shoot some more without ever spending another dime!

iceland poppy

It takes time to learn all the nuances of getting great shots, which I learned the hard way over the last twenty years.  I’m a situational garden photographer, that is I shoot things as is rather than creating arrangements to shoot. Getting situational photography right means you need to be aware of a lot of small things that can make or break a shot.

Over the coming months I’ll share with you my tips and tricks for creating killer garden pix as we create my digital photo gallery at https://moplants.com/.  

The best way to get better fast is to do a lot of shooting and review it immediately.  Obtain a cord to connect the camera with your TV to view the shots in this large format while they’re still on the card.  You won’t be able to tell much if you review just from the camera LCD or viewfinder.  But every little thing shows up loud and clear on a TV!  So go out and take a bunch of shots in your garden, then come in and look them over with a critical eye to see if you got it right or not. 

Consider each shot and ask yourself:

  • Are there any unusual shadows?
  • Is any part of the image burned white or over exposed so it loses its color?
  • Is the part you want in focus or is only the background in focus?
  • Is the flower too small in the shot?
  • Is the flower overly large and hard to make out?
  • Can you tell what kind of flower it is from the picture?

It’s tough to see your mistakes, but until you recognize them you’ll never improve. 

Read Mo’s article:  Zooming In On Garden Photo Excellence at https://moplants.com/yardsmart/yardsmart_garden_photo.php