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Introducing my Guest Author

This page is written by my guest, Angie Patterson of the Beginner Photography Guide. As a gardener, my focus has always been on growing the flowers and plants, with the skill of taking pictures of my creation secondary.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and good pictures of your garden tell a story - whether you simply want to record the blooms at a certain date, or be more artistic, learning the garden photography tips and techniques here will improve your skills.


Garden Photography Tips

for the Beginner Photographer

Garden photography tips to double your fun in the garden.

Do you love your garden but your photos of it don't look quite as stunning?

Do you wonder why?

Prairie Crocus
A Picture of Prairie Crocus

Learning to improve your results does not necessarily mean you need to understand a lot of technical photography information.

Often, simply understanding a little more about your camera, exposure and composition will allow you to see results very quickly.

For example, if your camera is usually set on the auto function it may be choosing an exposure according to what it thinks it sees. This may simply not be what you're looking for as the end result.

However, if you’re quite happy shooting on auto that’s obviously the place to begin. If not, changing your camera to a manual setting can help you create the mood you desire. If you have no idea how to operate on the manual mode I suggest you become familiar with the symbols on the mode dial.

What’s next?

Purple Asters
A Picture of Purple Asters
Proceeding to a few simple composition basics will not only get you started but on your way to stunning photos. If you're a beginner photographer be kind to yourself as you practice garden photography tips. I first learned with film and I was lucky to get one decent photo from a roll of film.

You’ll see encouraging results if you keep going and especially as you make deliberate choices about garden photography tips relating to composition

Bee on flower
A Picture of Bee on flower

Your adventure as a photographer is to have fun and practice subject cleanliness each and every time.

For example, when you're taking garden photos do "things" sneak into your picture? Things like garden furniture, the corner of a building, a fence, the neighbour's vehicle, children's toys and a host of other such distractions?

Garden photography tips

When you really begin to observe your surroundings, if you don't already, quiet observation is a great way to find fascinating subjects. It's also a great way to practice clutter awareness and composition creativity.

Correct exposure is another variable which can make or break the end result. Photos with extremes of shadows and glare or simply too dark or too light can be very frustrating.

When your camera is set to the auto mode it's choosing what it thinks is a correct exposure for the scene you're showing it. This means the end result may not be what you want or were anticipating.

Multiple exposure flowers
A Picture of multiple exposure flowers
Aster flowers in abstract
A Picture of Asters in Abstract

However, once you notice how light changes throughout the day you'll become empowered to make the best of it. As you delve into experimenting with different garden photography tips playing with intentional blur and, if your camera has the feature, multiple exposure can be fun, too.

As you gain knowledge and build a good photography foundation it’s all about having fun, keeping it simple and developing skills applicable to any subject you choose.

Still want more information? Go from Garden Photography Tips to Beginner Photography Guide.


Garden Photography Tips top of page





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