You Can Take A Flower Photo Like This -Here's How

WELCOME EVERYONE to my brand new blog!  This is the first ever blog post for me. Being of the "baby boomer" generation, it's taken me quite a while to play catch up with all this new technology.  I hope to provide some insight into why and how I take the photographs I do and to discuss other topics as well.

Here are 6 tips on how easy it is to take beautiful flower photos like this without any expensive equipment!

1.  Whatever flower you choose to photograph, it is most important to get as pristine and fresh a flower as possible.  You don't want any dirt, brown spots, or blemishes of any kind on the bloom.  Then get a relatively short narrow vase, fill it with fresh water and cut the stem at a 45 degree angle.
2.  Now it's time to find some light.  No need for any expensive lighting setups or flash here.  Mother Nature provides all the light you need.  I took the image above on my kithchen counter adjacent to my sink! All you need is to find a window that's not getting any direct sunlight.  Preferably a north facing window, but any window that's not getting direct sunlight will do.
3.  Get something black for the background.  Black makes your flowers POP! I used a leftover secton of black matboard for this photo.  If you don't have matboard, any sturdy black material will do.  You could even spray some cardboard black if you had to.
4.  Because the difference between the highlight side( the side that's getting the window light) and the shadow side(the opposite side) is so great, you need to bring some light into the shadow side.  You do this by reflecting the window light back into the shadow side by using a white reflector.  I used a leftover piece of white foamcore.  Any white board or material will do.
5.  Mount your camera on a sturdy tripod.  I can't emphasize this enough. Even with today's image stabilization lenses and cameras, you'll get the best image possible if you mount  your camera on a tripod. (Don't forget to turn IS off when on the tripod!)
6.  Finally, set your camera's aperture to the smallest available(i.e. F22,F32 on most DSLR's- F8.0 on most point and shoots)  This aperture along with a tripod will give you a tack sharp image.

Follow these 6 simple steps and you'll be well on your way to taking great flower photos, too!

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