Practice

Practice makes Perfect. You've heard it a thousand times. It's cliche' but it is the truth.

When it comes to flower photography and trying to develop the creative eye, I often use flowers from the florist. Whether it's a small bouquet (the most preferable), single pot of a plant (like Lilies or Tulips) or a small assortment of varying flowers with no particular order to them, I enjoy the flexibility they give in being able to move them around the house in order to follow the light. This also means you get to control how that light will fall on them, as well as how you can work around them.

This freedom is terrific. It allows you to really explore the many opportunities that can unfold when you spend time concentrating on them without the worry of wind and other little nuances that come into play when you are in the field. The ability to have this controlled environment makes it easier to develop methods and approaches to shooting that can then be more readily available to your brain when it comes to making creative choices in the field.

Often times the best way to get into this mind set is to just shoot a couple of straight images. Sometimes trying to think creative can block you up before you even snap a frame. I will just frame up a standard portraiture and fire. It gets you looking through the viewfinder, it gets you in the act of doing. This is very important - get into the doing. Once you've snapped a shot or two, then start to explore a little. Maybe your exploration starts on a portion of the flower you are shooting. Maybe you want to shoot petal detail. Whatever you think might work, shoot it. If it stinks, delete it. With digital there are very few good excuses for not taking the shot.

The image on the left is composed as a classic flower portraiture but with this image, I tried riding the highlights as much as I could, dancing on the edge of clipping. In fact there were two small portions that did clip, but I did not find them distracting enough to render the image to the delete bin.

I have often times railed against blown out highlights in the general landscape form but only because often times they are like black holes to the viewers eye in that once seen, the brain can't help but keying in on it.

On the other hand, if used in an abstract way or as some form of directional or framing tool, a blown out highlight can fit nicely into the context of the image.

Often, I will shoot in multiple DOF's. Just because the mind thinks one execution of an idea will work better doesn't always mean it does. Having a nice range of f/stops to play with works well with seeing how images can work or not at varying DOF's. With shallow depths of field, I usually shoot with f/4. I've stated it many times that I like the touch more DOF you get with it, while still rendering the background blurry. Depending on the effect I'm looking for, f/2.8 sometimes is just too soft for my liking - that or I have yet to grow into finding that precise focal point that makes the image standout at that aperture.

From f/4, I'll jump up to f/8 and then f/16. These jumps in stops are usually enough to give me an idea of the DOF range to play in. For more subtle plays, try just a stop. If you have found a range you really are confident in for a particular effect, I'd bracket the f/stops in 1/2 stop increments so you can really examine the fine movement in DOF in order to maximize your vision.

Once I find a particular composition I like, I will then experiment with different focal points as well as play around with the DOF. Many times, the initial inspiration of a shot is the strongest but there are times when further exploration lead to stronger images. Again, taking the time to think about the options is the key. Don't be in a rush to find the next shot when in fact the next shot could simply be a focal point change away. The two images below are an example of changinf the focal point of the image.

It's all about the practice. Every successful person in a craft reaches their success through practice. Every successful person has made mistakes. Every successful person has had mediocre results. The key is to learn from these and continue to move forward in a positive fashion.

When you are shooting a bouquet of flowers in a controlled environment, you should never worry about "nailing" every shot. You should be concerned with making the most of the compositions, focal points, DOF's and exposures you are creating. The "nailed" shots will be a natural by-product of this effort. I've had my share of sessions where nothing exciting ever occurred or I simply felt uninspired and the images looked that way. But like baseball players, every hitter goes into slumps. The key is to know you will get out of it and rise to the occasion when it is really needed.

Another way to find images is too look through your viewfinder and rack the focus of the lens. Racking focus simply means, turning the focusing ring (in manual mode) very slowly from a certain amount away, all the way to the closest point that the lens can focus. When I do this in a certain area and find nothing, I then pan or tilt the lens a little and repeat the same process. This method is a slow process as well but it can reveal a treasure trove of opportunities.

Using the racking method mentioned above, I took this same approach when working with a pot of Tulips we bought during the Easter season. It was another wonderful challenge to try and come up with interesting compositions to explore. Unlike a bouquet of flowers where there is a better chance of variety in subject matter, Tulips of the same color also have the same shape. The challenge was working angles, light and lines to make something a little different.

I found myself working a lot of the stem area of this flower. Having shot lots of 'flower' shots and centers, I opted to stay away from that form unless something very different came up. Positioning the plant in the light and then working my way around it was a challenge in itself. Depending on how the light was coming through the window and how strong often determined where I positioned and photographed it. Many of the images here were shot in various parts of our kitchen. I was constantly moving the plant, sometimes drastically, other times very subtly.

When working with the Tulips, I very often used wide open apertures like f/3.2 and f/4. This allowed for just enough of the main subject of the shot to be in focus while blurring out the other portions. This became very important when including objects purposefully used in the foreground but wanting them to be blurred out for support and effect.

Also of an important note is to make sure that in order to maximize the line you want in focus, to be as parallel to it as possible. For example, when you look at the shot above on the left, the stem is in focus. The reason for this is that my lens is parallel to the subject. If I'm too above or below it and angled, achieving a good focus throughout would be difficult is not outright impossible. I also will lack control of the background if I stop down to try and achieve more DOF.

Experimenting and practicing will only lead to greater images. You should never get frustrated if a session does not produce results you had hoped. You have to always stay positive and focused on the belief that if you keep working at it, keep your mind open to new ideas, that new kinds of images will show themselves.

It takes time to become a good photographer, it takes a longer time to become a good artist. In fact, I think any artist will tell you that they are never satisfied of their current station. They are always looking to grow and looking for new challenges and expressions. You should be to. Embrace the journey.

Embrace the Lensbaby

As an addendum to this piece, I also wanted to talk about the Lensbaby. I think this is a terrific tool. (check out the link by clicking on this line). With this unique lens you can create some very extraordinary images that create feels all their own. I won't say this is an easy lens to use. It actually takes some patience, practice, passion and time to get used to.

The mix of bellows movement and aperture ring choice is very cool and the different combinations you can do are seemingly endless.

Below are a series of images taken with the Lensbaby using aperture rings of 2.8, 5.6, 8 and 22.