Day 62

Spring is HERE!!

Well kinda.

I had a blast taking some pics today.  Waaaay too many good ones to just pick one!

What a sweet little bud!

I absolutely HAVE to get a tree like this!

I've been looking at these berries each and every time we leave the church for weeks!

Just about to bloom!

Reach for the sky! ;o)

 

Shot with my Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT

Lens 50mm f/1.4

All five photos had an ISO of 100 & f/2.0

Shutter Speeds from 1/640 to 1/4000 depending on light levels.

Shooting flowers and/or small things in nature can be tricky.

Here’s a list of some tips that I’ve learned:

• The absolute *best* days to shoot flowers are overcast days.  You won’t get any “hot” or blown out spots on your flowers, nor will you get harsh shadows!
• The second best days are cloudy ones.  Wait until the sun is covered by a cloud and shoot away!
• Waiting until your flower is in the shade {sun goes behind your house, etc.} works too!
• Use a wide-open aperture.  I’ve found that it’s hard to get tack sharp focus on close ups of flowers if my aperture is larger than f/5.0.
• A wide-open aperture also helps to blur backgrounds and/or clutter in your photo putting the emphasis on your flower.
• Try to angle yourself so that there’s nothing distracting in the background.  Think playground equipment, fences, anything that distracts the eye.
• If you can’t get a good angle to remove distractions, try holding a piece of colored card stock or construction paper behind your flower.  If you don’t put it too close your wide aperture will blur it and no one will know it’s paper!
• White balance is KEY to showing the gorgeous colors in flowers!
• Keep it simple.  One or two blooms makes a bigger impact than a mass of them.
• Remember the Rule of Thirds.  Place your bloom where the lines intersect for maximum impact!
• Don’t be afraid to ask neighbors if you can shoot their flowers!  Most are excited that I’d want to and even more excited when I offer them copies of a picture or two!
• Watch your exposure.  Be careful that you are exposing on your flower and not the bright sky!

Do you have any tips to add?  Share them in the comments below!