Tag Archives: plant

Garden photography is a specialist field, and like interiors photography, travel or food, it has its own techniques and skills which must be mastered if the results are to be successful.  I have been shooting gardens for many years now, and have finally worked out how to do it  …  I’ll keep this short (there are many other resources devoted to garden photography) and have reduced the tips to just 5 basic ones.  I hope they are of some use!

1) Use a tripod.  It slows you down (good) and if you’re doing close ups, you need the steadiness to capture the fine detail.

2) Fill the frame.  Nothing worse than a beautiful plant portrait that’s too small in the frame.

3) Get up early.  The light is what makes a shot.  And you miss the traffic.

4) Go to good gardens. It’s inspiring, and the owners generally know what the plants are (important for your captions)

5) Compostion (I know, like all good photography)… look for ‘views through’, focal points, colour combinations.

And last but not least, study the great garden photographers… buy the magazines, look at websites and books (remember them?)… hours spent every week looking are hours well spent… the best?  Andrew Lawson, Jonathan Buckley, Andrea Jones, The Harpurs, Clive Nichols, Gary, Derek, Marianne etc…

Oenothera fruticosa 'Fireworks' and Bristol Botanic Gardens