Section 2 Shooting
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Flower photography requires careful control
of both exposure and focus. Bright sunlight
can result in extreme contrast, with the danger
of overexposing lighter areas. White flowers
can be particularly difficult to shoot, even with
diffused light or in a shaded area. Since the
tonal variations in a white flower are very subtle,
even slight overexposure loses the texture of the
lightest areas, Figure 12-16. Bracketing in 1/3
stop increments is usually sufficient, although
sometimes decreasing exposure by one stop or
more may be necessary.
Controlling focus is critical to photographic
success. Your camera’s autofocus system can
sometimes be fooled, locking on to something
other than the subject you want to be in sharp
focus, Figure 12-17. On a digital camera, you can
confirm the correct focus using the LCD. Most
cameras allow you to zoom in and pan to check
the captured image.
Selective focus is a useful tool when
photographing flowers. By choosing a large
aperture, such as f/2.8, you can create a very
shallow depth of field that emphasizes a
single flower or even a portion of a flower.
The background may be extremely out of
focus, or just soft enough to be recognizable
as other blossoms but not visually
competitive with the sharply focused subject.
See Figure 12-18.
Strong emphasis is achieved when a
subject is isolated from its background by
lighting contrast. See Figure 12-19. Color can
A
Jack Klasey/Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 12-16. Keeping detail in light-colored and white
flowers. A—The metered exposure provided good detail
in the green foreground leaf and the more-shaded petals,
but burned out the center and more brightly lit petals of
the water lily. B—Decreasing the exposure brings out
detail and texture.
B
Jack Klasey/Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 12-17. Autofocus systems sometimes select a
focus point different from the one you want. In this case,
the background evergreens were selected instead of the
flowers.