Photographing Flowers. Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis

202 Pages·2012·181.74 MB·English

by  Harold Davis (Auth.)

Photographing Flowers
Harold Davis
Exploring Macro Worlds with
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Acknowledgements
Very special thanks to Mark Brokering, Matt Buchanan, Gary Cornell,
Anaïs Garcia, Valerie Geary, Paul Gottehrer, Sara Scott, and Matt Wagner.
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, UK
Copyright © 2012 Harold Davis and Phyllis Davis. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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ISBN: 978-0-240-82073-6
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12 13 14 15 16 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in China
II
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oo Why Photograph Flowers?
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Survey after survey comes up with the data And, okay, flowers are simply beautiful. In
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that flowers are a subject that photographers fact, flowers live for beauty. As a species, they
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at all skill levels want to shoot—but the make their living by seeming attractive—to
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photography world is also full of naysayers their pollinators, and to us humans because
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oo who reject the floral world in favor of grunge, symbiotically we help them spread far and wide.
nn gadgets, social realism, and human perversity.
Mostly, flowers aren’t practical. We
I’m here to tell you that, whichever side of this
help them grow for their beauty and
great debate you are on, you can have it all.
poetry. How can we not want to capture
If you are one of those cynics who favors the this ephemeral and bold stand against
hunters over Bambi’s Mom—because Bambi entropy and the chaos of the universe?
is just too cute to tolerate—bear in mind that
If you are interested in photographing flowers
with flowers the sex is up-front and x-rated.
too, this book shares my knowledge and
The reproductive organs of a flower come
experience related to flower photography.
in a number of permutations, and if they
I’ll explain what I look for in my floral
don’t attract there is no reproduction,
models, and the techniques I use in the
ergo no species.
studio and in the garden. By the way,
Where else can you find such a riotous display the techniques I’ll show you for making
of colors and shapes contained in such a small stunning close-ups and macros can be used
package? Every flower is different. on any subject matter—not just flowers.
I like to photograph flowers for: Since I do love flowers, and hope you are
a flower lover too, most of all this book is
n The grace they bring the world
an excuse to look at and talk about flowers
in all their myriad glory: different flower
n The wildness that is contained in
species, how they look to a pollinator,
the heart of every flower no matter
how they reproduce, how they age, and
how showy or domesticated it is
how they are best photographed.
n The realism, clarity, and bravery
Enjoy!
with which flowers confront the
mystery of their brief lives
 Photographing Flowers
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For a botanist, flowers are categorized accord- because of wind—although on still days
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ing to a taxonomy in which individual species this motion can be slight. Motion limits the

aa are grouped within a plant family, or genus. I’ll shutter speed one can use, which in turn has
be taking a look at understanding this system implications for the aperture and depth-of-
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of categorization in the context of flower field you can choose (this issue is explained
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photography later in this book (pages 24–27). further on pages 98–105). Of course, every

SS Plant identification according to genus and photographic problem also has a potential
species is certainly important when it comes creative benefit. Flowers in motion because
cc
to understanding flowers, and also marketing of the wind can lead to a beautiful blurring
aa
photos. But the truth is that two other ways effect (see example on pages 104–105).
ll
ee to categorize flowers are more important
to me as a photographer than the botanical
Right: The Hagiwara Japanese Tea Garden
taxonomy and nomenclature.
in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is
a popular destination for tourists and
When I plan a shoot involving flowers, the
photographers. In planning to photograph
most important things I need to understand
the gardens during cherry blossom season,
are where the flowers are located and the scale
I decided I would focus on a broader view,
of my photography.
and try to show the relationship of these
Flowers can be photographed in fields where flowers to the surrounding garden.
no one tends them, in the wilderness, in
Photo: 14mm, 1/20 of a second at f/22
a public or private garden, in my garden,
and ISO 100, tripod mounted
indoors in an arrangement, and indoors in a
controlled situation in a photography studio.
Pages 10–11: I saw this gazania growing in
The images of iris in a vase on a black back-
my garden and I was particularly attracted
ground shown on pages 22–23 are examples
by the elegant arc of the stem, combined
of studio flower portraits.
with the perfect construction of the petals.
Each of these very different environments
I snipped the flower with pruning shears,
leads to different scenarios about the equip-
brought it into my studio, and placed it in a
ment I can use, likely possibilities and issues
bud vase. Using a black velvet background,
having to do with lighting, the kinds of images
I made a simple photo emphasizing the
that can be created, and potential problems.
classical shapes of this flower.
Regarding pitfalls, as an example, think of Photo: 100mm macro, 1.6 seconds at f/11
wind. Outdoors, flowers are usually in motion and ISO 500, tripod mounted
12 Photographing Flowers
PP
ll
aa
cc
For a botanist, flowers are categorized accord- because of wind—although on still days
ee
ing to a taxonomy in which individual species this motion can be slight. Motion limits the

aa are grouped within a plant family, or genus. I’ll shutter speed one can use, which in turn has
be taking a look at understanding this system implications for the aperture and depth-of-
nn
of categorization in the context of flower field you can choose (this issue is explained
dd
photography later in this book (pages 24–27). further on pages 98–105). Of course, every

SS Plant identification according to genus and photographic problem also has a potential
species is certainly important when it comes creative benefit. Flowers in motion because
cc
to understanding flowers, and also marketing of the wind can lead to a beautiful blurring
aa
photos. But the truth is that two other ways effect (see example on pages 104–105).
ll
ee to categorize flowers are more important
to me as a photographer than the botanical
Right: The Hagiwara Japanese Tea Garden
taxonomy and nomenclature.
in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is
a popular destination for tourists and
When I plan a shoot involving flowers, the
photographers. In planning to photograph
most important things I need to understand
the gardens during cherry blossom season,
are where the flowers are located and the scale
I decided I would focus on a broader view,
of my photography.
and try to show the relationship of these
Flowers can be photographed in fields where flowers to the surrounding garden.
no one tends them, in the wilderness, in
Photo: 14mm, 1/20 of a second at f/22
a public or private garden, in my garden,
and ISO 100, tripod mounted
indoors in an arrangement, and indoors in a
controlled situation in a photography studio.
Pages 10–11: I saw this gazania growing in
The images of iris in a vase on a black back-
my garden and I was particularly attracted
ground shown on pages 22–23 are examples
by the elegant arc of the stem, combined
of studio flower portraits.
with the perfect construction of the petals.
Each of these very different environments
I snipped the flower with pruning shears,
leads to different scenarios about the equip-
brought it into my studio, and placed it in a
ment I can use, likely possibilities and issues
bud vase. Using a black velvet background,
having to do with lighting, the kinds of images
I made a simple photo emphasizing the
that can be created, and potential problems.
classical shapes of this flower.
Regarding pitfalls, as an example, think of Photo: 100mm macro, 1.6 seconds at f/11
wind. Outdoors, flowers are usually in motion and ISO 500, tripod mounted
The Worlds of Flower Photography 13
Knowing that I will be capturing subjects Flower photography is great fun, and there is
in motion can lead me to leave the tripod probably nothing I would rather be doing. But
at home, and focus on other aspects of the to get really good results, as the great micro-
photographic craft besides creating an image biologist Louis Pasteur put it, “Fortune favors
that is end-to-end sharp. the prepared mind.”
By “scale” I mean how big is the portion of Before I can begin the process of pre-visual-
the flower I will be photographing, both in izing, and considering the equipment and
relationship to the flower as a whole and to techniques I will use, I need to understand
the environment or landscape the flower is place and scale. With this understanding I can
part of. I can photograph flowers in a way have handy the gear I am likely to need, and
that shows the landscape they belong to; start considering how to approach conditions
alternatively I can capture groups or bouquets in the field, garden, or studio to create the best
of flowers, or a single flower. Moving closer in and most appealing flower photos possible.
still, the macro details within a flower provide
the possibility of creating images that show
entirely new worlds.
As Ansel Adams famously declared, photos
are made, not taken. When I begin the adven-
ture of photographing flowers on a given day, I
usually have an image I want to make in mind.
Of course, the result often doesn’t match my
preconceptions, and I always need to be open
to profitable detours.
My thought was to create a simple image of cherry blossoms against a white
background in my studio. The elegance of the composition would be determined
by the intersecting lines of flowering cherry branches with very little clutter.
I went out with camera, tripod, and pruning shears, clipped two branches from
a neighborhood tree, and created the effect you see here using a light box as the
background, and shooting from about fifteen feet away with a macro telephoto lens.
Photo: 100mm macro, 4 seconds at f/22 and ISO 100, tripod mounted
14 Photographing Flowers
Knowing that I will be capturing subjects Flower photography is great fun, and there is
in motion can lead me to leave the tripod probably nothing I would rather be doing. But
at home, and focus on other aspects of the to get really good results, as the great micro-
photographic craft besides creating an image biologist Louis Pasteur put it, “Fortune favors
that is end-to-end sharp. the prepared mind.”
By “scale” I mean how big is the portion of Before I can begin the process of pre-visual-
the flower I will be photographing, both in izing, and considering the equipment and
relationship to the flower as a whole and to techniques I will use, I need to understand
the environment or landscape the flower is place and scale. With this understanding I can
part of. I can photograph flowers in a way have handy the gear I am likely to need, and
that shows the landscape they belong to; start considering how to approach conditions
alternatively I can capture groups or bouquets in the field, garden, or studio to create the best
of flowers, or a single flower. Moving closer in and most appealing flower photos possible.
still, the macro details within a flower provide
the possibility of creating images that show
entirely new worlds.
As Ansel Adams famously declared, photos
are made, not taken. When I begin the adven-
ture of photographing flowers on a given day, I
usually have an image I want to make in mind.
Of course, the result often doesn’t match my
preconceptions, and I always need to be open
to profitable detours.
My thought was to create a simple image of cherry blossoms against a white
background in my studio. The elegance of the composition would be determined
by the intersecting lines of flowering cherry branches with very little clutter.
I went out with camera, tripod, and pruning shears, clipped two branches from
a neighborhood tree, and created the effect you see here using a light box as the
background, and shooting from about fifteen feet away with a macro telephoto lens.
Photo: 100mm macro, 4 seconds at f/22 and ISO 100, tripod mounted
14 Photographing Flowers