10 creative skills of flower photography

Lead: In flower photography, we often encounter such a problem. Flowers that look particularly enchanting when taking pictures are extremely common. Combining some experience of taking flowers with my friends around me, I will share some creative skills of taking flowers with you.

1. Shooting under special climatic conditions

Chimonanthus praecox is a unique scenery before the arrival of spring. When the north wind is cold and the earth is frozen, wintersweet blooms in front of the crowd, making the earth fresh and elegant. Every year from the end of 165438+ 10 to March of the following year, the small and golden Chimonanthus praecox blooms one after another, emitting rich floral fragrance and quietly spreading the message of spring. In this season, there are often snowfalls and freezing weather, which is an excellent opportunity to shoot wintersweet.

Manual mode, f/5.6, 1/250 seconds, ISO200, focal length180 mm. Photography: Tang Rong

Taken at Beijing Botanical Garden. After a rain and snow, wintersweet was frozen by snow and ice. Choosing side backlight and depicting frozen wintersweet with macro lens can make people feel the artistic conception of frozen wintersweet and better show the elegance of frozen wintersweet bones.

2. The unique charm of taking flowers out of season

During the year, we are eager to catch up with the flower season. Many people will choose the season when flowers bloom, but actually? Flower season? It should cover spring, summer, autumn and winter. In midsummer, the lovely lotus is always a charming melody, and the red flowers and green leaves are intoxicating, attracting people to raise their cameras and press the shutter. However, in late autumn and winter, some people pay attention to lotus flowers. As we all know, shooting lotus flowers in this season can get rid of the glitz and publicity in midsummer, show off the residual load of washed lead, and make people feel the true meaning of life.

Manual mode, f/2.8, 1/2000s, ISO 100, focal length150 mm. Photography: Liang Jiankang

Manual mode, f/2.8, 1/2000s, ISO 100, focal length150 mm. Photography: Liang Jiankang

165438+ 10 in Guangzhou, the residual load left by the branches in the pond almost lost all the pleasing colors. After the wind and frost, I am still proud and comfortable. Residual lotus contains the beauty of loneliness and confidence, which is far more delicious than a blooming lotus. Even if beauty fades from youth, the melody of life still stirs. When shooting, we should carefully choose the form of residual load, present it in the form of ink and wash, be calm and restrained, and a new round of life is quietly erupting.

Chasing golden light

Landscape photography pays special attention to the prime time in the morning and evening. The light in these two periods has extraordinary expressive force, and the photos taken are often the most beautiful. The same is true of taking flowers. In the morning and evening, the magical natural light will set the flowers and water with dazzling Phnom Penh, which magically presents unique texture and details. In prime time, everything is so beautiful.

Manual mode, f/5.6,1100 second, focal length 400 mm photography: Xie

Chaozhou in July. The withered lotus petals fluttered on the water, and the pink color was like a wandering lotus lamp. Naughty fish sometimes swim lightly with petals. Under the backlight of the morning glow, golden ripples rippled. Pay attention to the reflective effect of the water surface when shooting, and wait for the shooting opportunity in the light change. You can also use a polarizer to adjust the clarity of water reflection and lotus petal reflection to better suit your shooting intention.

4. Create dreamy scenes with light spots

Light spots, shallow or deep, can always bring a fantastic atmosphere to photos. They look so real, but they are so ethereal and dreamy floating in the air. When shooting, photographers are often willing to show this out-of-focus state and highlight the subject while rendering the atmosphere. As many photographers know, lens folding? Donuts? It has a unique spot effect.

Manual mode, f/4.5,11000 seconds, ISO 125, focal length 300 mm photography: Tang Rong.

In the Beijing Botanical Garden in May, the gardener was watering the flowers, and in the backlight, glittering and translucent spray was flying everywhere. Shooting with a folding lens and a high-speed shutter, water droplets solidify into dreamy spots in the oil painting picture. It should be noted that the focal length of the folding lens is fixed and there is only one aperture. It is necessary to control the depth of field by adjusting the shooting distance to get the desired effect.

After the rain, the lotus leaves are covered with crystal drops, which is a good opportunity to show the dream. This photo was taken with Canon EF 100-400 mm/4.5-5.6L ISU lens and 2 times rangefinder for manual focusing. Under the backlight, the raindrops on the lotus leaf in the foreground turn into layers of light spots, surrounded by delicate lotus flowers, emitting dreamlike light.

A catadioptric lens, also called a reflective lens, is unique in that when the high light spot is out of the depth of field, it will not become an ordinary light spot on the picture like an ordinary telephoto lens, but will present small circles of different sizes, which is what everyone often says? Donuts? Don't have fun Using doughnuts skillfully in flower photography can not only increase the interest and artistic appeal of the picture, but also produce fantastic artistic beauty.

Except for the iconic foldback lens? Donuts? It's also easy to get beautiful facula effect for lenses over 200 mm If you are careful, you will also find that sometimes the out-of-focus spots in the background backlight or side backlight are not really round, but regular polygons? It may be pentagonal, hexagonal or more, which actually corresponds to the number of lens diaphragm blades. The more aperture blades in the lens, the more round the Jiao Wai spot looks.

Manual mode, f/4.5,11000 seconds, +025, focal length 300 mm Photography: Xie

5. The wonderful world in water drops

Photographers who like to shoot flowers know that the flowers after rain and those moistened by morning dew are more delicate and charming, and the water droplets are crystal clear under the irradiation of backlight and side backlight. When shooting flowers, bring a small watering can full of water and spray it on the flowers to make the picture more vivid. In fact, there are secret weapons that can make the picture more exquisite than a simple watering can.

Manual mode, f/4.5,11000 seconds, +025, focal length 300 mm Photography: Xie

In the early morning, the warm climate makes the leaves of flowers and plants covered with crystal dew, which is a good opportunity to shoot flowers with macro lens and close-up lens. Choose a bright dewdrop, then find a small flower to put on the background, and carefully observe the position of the flowers reflected in the dewdrop through the viewfinder, so that they can be perfectly reflected in the dewdrop, and you can get a particularly delicate picture. It should be noted that the depth of field is extremely shallow when shooting with macro lens and close-up circle, so it is best to choose dew on the same focal plane, and shoot by manual focusing with backlight and side backlight to better show the crystal clear texture.

In early spring and March, in addition to looking for dew in the morning, the secret weapon to take dew at any time is to use Kaisailu as artificial dew. Kaiser dew is thicker and more plastic than water. Find flowers suitable for performance, gently drop a few drops, and shoot with macro lens or telephoto lens, and you can also get beautiful pictures. When shooting in natural environment, try to avoid the influence of wind. You can raise the ISO value appropriately and wait for the moment when the wind stops shooting. If necessary, you can use clothes to keep out the wind on the windy side.

Aperture priority, f/5.6,1/50s, ISO200, focal length 170 mm Photography: Tang Rong.

6. Insects visiting flowers add aura to the picture.

Flowers attract insects with their bright colors and sweet nectar. When insects stop on flowers suitable for shooting, they can often take high-quality photos. Clearly presents the details that are not easy to be detected by the naked eye, which makes the flower shooting full of vitality and vitality, and the moving nuances are fully exposed.

Manual mode, f/ 13, 1/250 seconds, +000, focal length 90 mm Photography: Xie

The temperature in the morning is still very low, and the insects covered with dew are almost motionless. They must wait until the sun rises completely to absorb enough heat, and then they can start their day's activities. At this point, you can get close to the shooting very easily. This work was shot with a 90 mm macro lens and close-up. In order to get the right depth of field, we need to find the right focal plane, use a small aperture like f/ 10~f/ 14, and shoot with a flash.

7. Show the charm of the micro world

The stamen is the most attractive part of a flower, and expressing the beauty of the stamen is also one of the important contents of flower photography. The telephoto lens and macro lens are very suitable for shooting stamens, fully showing the details of flowers.

Aperture priority, f/ 16,1125 seconds, ISO 100, 90mm macro lens and close-up lens. Photography: Zhang Qiang

Generally speaking, it is best to choose the morning when the flowers are blooming, when the flowers are more vibrant. With the external flash outside the machine to show exquisite details, you can get uniform light and soft colors. Pay attention to control the output of the flash and soften the light with a soft mask to avoid the light being too stiff.

8. Multiple exposures show extraordinary artistic conception

In flower photography, multiple exposure is an important skill in order to express unique artistic conception. Multiple exposures can present the same subject many times in different ways on the same photo, or magically superimpose different scenes on the same photo. Nikon D90 and above, Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EOS 1DX, EOS 6D and other models all have multiple exposure functions.

Manual mode, f/2.8,11600 seconds, ISO 160, focal length 200mm. Photography: Tang Rong

Magnolia in full bloom has pure and flawless huge petals, as if it were carefully carved with beautiful jade. This work was shot with two exposures. The first one is manual focusing, deliberately defocusing to obtain a soft blur effect, and quickly moving the camera while pressing the shutter to make the lines more elegant, as if people smelled the rich fragrance of Magnolia and felt its noble and amazing temperament. The second shot of real-life focus highlights the beauty of Magnolia under the background of bright and dark colors.

9. Rain is dancing among the flowers

In addition to the dew mentioned above, clusters of elegant rain also make flowers more beautiful. However, Tang Rong is not only satisfied with taking pictures of rain. He took nine photos before he got the work he wanted.

Manual mode, f/22, 1/20s, ISO 160, focal length 70mm. Photography: Tang Rong

Photographed in the botanical garden, the gardener is sprinkling water on the flowers. The first picture should seize the opportunity to shoot the really burnt flowers in the water mist spraying. In order to better enrich the picture effect, we should quickly find the flowers that match the cutting, and quickly move the camera down at the moment of pressing the shutter to get seven colors that complement the rain in the background. Finally, the water droplets on the leaves are photographed with a large aperture virtual focus, which makes them turn into small spots and makes the final work full of fantastic artistic conception.

10. Let the flowers blend into the surrounding environment

Flowers are undeniably the main body in flower photography, and their colors and shapes are indeed the most eye-catching. However, if the environment in which the flowers are located is skillfully chosen, it will not only help to set off the flowers, but also show their organic connection with the surrounding environment and create works with more artistic conception and dramatic effect.

Manual mode, f/3.5, 1/640s, ISO 100, focal length 200mm. Photography: Yan Zhenlin

Manual mode, f/8,1100s, ISO400, focal length 47mm. Photography: Xie

Chaozhou in April is the season when kapok blooms. Kapok on high branches is not an easy object to express. In foggy weather, I slowly searched along the river. The last kapok hangs down the river and the fishing boat is red. The blending of environment shows the cycle of life from flowering to death.

Unique equipment for flower photography

1. tripod ensures clear shooting.

Tripod is a must for flower photography. Macro photography of flowers often requires a smaller aperture, a slower shutter speed, and a stable tripod. The telephoto shooting has a long focal length, which requires a high shutter speed. Using a tripod can also better ensure a clear picture. It should be noted that the position of many flowers is relatively low, so when choosing a tripod, we should consider the lowest degree that it can be adjusted.

2. Fill the light with reflector and flash.

The reflector can fill the flowers with light when the light is insufficient and reduce the contrast when the contrast is too large. If the light is not enough, you can use a flash with a soft mask to make the light softer.

3. Polarizers make flowers colorful

Polarizer is also a very useful weapon, which can eliminate reflection and make flowers more colorful.

4. Use the background cloth to get a simple background.

The main body should be highlighted when taking flowers, and the problem of messy background can be solved by using background cloth. You can prepare some black, white, red and blue background cloth in the camera bag.

Spray dew with a small watering can

You don't have to wait until it rains to pat the lovely little drops of petals. You can bring a small watering can full of water and spray it on the flowers to make the picture more vivid.

6. Vaseline and glass plates

Prepare a glass plate and apply vaseline on the glass plate with a toothbrush to form the brushwork effect of oil painting. Then spray some water drops with a small watering can and shoot flowers through the glass coated with vaseline to get a unique oil painting effect.

7. Post filter

In addition to using various props to shoot flowers, some post-filters can also make photos more amazing, and line-drawing filters are typical representatives. After being installed in Photoshop as a plug-in, you can make the work glow with a new look just by adjusting the parameters.

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