Our summer gardens are really showing off for us now, at this midpoint in the year. All the planning and hard work are bearing fruit—literally. You have every reason to be proud of your garden’s beauty. And yes, I suspect, like me, you’re also identifying flaws and weaknesses that your attentive gaze recognizes. But consider: There’s another way to “look at it.”
Let me suggest setting down your garden tools and picking up your camera or smartphone. Now’s a great time to take some pictures!
“Why?” you ask. Well, there are several reasons to plan some summer photo shoots. Let’s review some of the (1) uses you might have for garden photographs and (2) tips and tricks for taking great garden photos.
You ought ’a be in pictures…There are lots of reasons for spending time taking photos of your garden and the gardens of others as well:
A fresh viewpoint to observe both the familiar and the overlooked beauty in your garden. Looking at a picture often gives a fresh viewpoint. Plants, both welcome and uninvited, can be noted. Your perspective changes when you see your shrubs and trees in a photo.
A diary of the growth and expansion of particular plants and trees—throughout the year and over the years. On your computer create a folder for each area or special planting in your garden. Save this season’s dated photos of each area, then you can add future photos. You may even locate some photos taken in the past of that lovely magnolia or the flowerbed you redid 2 years ago.
A reminder of work that needs to be done. Note the plants that need to be moved or trimmed or receive first aid at some future date—a visual “To Do” list.
A source of beauty & gifts to use as notecards, greeting cards, and other original creations. If you take photos of your neighbor or friend’s garden, you have resources for gifts—notecards with pictures of his garden or a t-shirt printed with her garden’s fountain and pergola.
You may come up with other uses for these photos. But one thing I’ve found, it is great fun to plan and execute these “portrait sessions” of your garden.
Ready, Set, Shoot!...Which brings us to a review of garden photography with some bonus tricks and tips. Here are some pointers beyond the “point-and-shoot” variety of photos:
LOCATION & COMPOSITION:
Make some notes on which areas you want to photograph.
Consider the best angles and locations for photographing each area. (If you’re doing the photos of a friend or neighbor’s garden, ask about their favorite areas.)
Decide on the preferred size: portrait (vertical photo) or landscape (horizontal pic).
Does the area to be photographed demand a “big picture” or a “focused closeup”?
LIGHTING:
For outdoor plant photography avoid taking photos in the middle of the day. Images often appear washed out. For indoor plant photography, you may need to add light.
Golden & Blue Hours: The “golden hours” are sunrise and sunset when the light is kind. The period when a cloudless sky becomes a dark blue is called the “blue hour,” a good time for photos when the house is lit inside and porch lights turned on creating a soft glow.
Overcast skies are good: Diffused light works well for cooler colored flowers or plants creating richer colors. Be aware of what lurks in the background, and experiment with ‘Portrait’ Mode to blur the background.
SETUP:
Vary the viewpoints—from above, side, or below. Choose the best flowers for your focus. You may want to clean off insects and debris from leaves and around the base of the plants in the picture. Bring a spray bottle for “instant dew.” The droplets add freshness to the image.
Look at the image you’re about to photograph from top-to-bottom and side-to-side. What’s in the corners of the picture?
Avoid distractions in the picture unless that’s where you want the viewer to look—a favorite pet resting in the begonia bed, a bright Cardinal perched in the poplar tree.
You may want to have a tripod handy—a small one allows you to steady the image and setup a picture from ground level looking up, a fresh viewpoint for most of us.
SEQUENTIAL photos: You may want to note your locations and return in a month or two, or every few weeks and take another photo of the same area. You’ll discover some interesting developments as you review the sequence of pictures.
Don’t forget TEXTURE. The veins of the leaves, the pebbles at the edge of the flowerbed, the fuzzy petals of the flower can all add to the beauty.
Once you’ve gotten a satisfactory number of photos of each garden or portion of garden,
DISCARD, EDIT, and ORGANIZE your photos. If you wait, you’ll forget what you were going for—beauty, growth, problem areas. Move those photos that make the cut into the garden folders you created. If you’re using a smartphone, you will automatically have the date of the photo, and you can add a note as well. When winter comes you can go back to the folders and enjoy revisiting the splendor of your summer garden.
You may find yourself sending photos of your garden to friends in your emails, or you might add a favorite image of your garden to your social media posts. Added bonuses after all your planning and efforts.
