Spring into action

Use Siân Lewis’ easy tweaks to take wonderful shots of the delicate, sculptural spring flowers popping up in your local parks and gardens

Six blooming lovely tips for taking photographs of cheery spring flowers

Spring has sprung, and there are bright and beautiful blooms popping up everywhere. We’re here to prove that you don’t need an expensive macro lens to get great shots of wild flowers in all their colourful glory, especially if you don’t mind getting a bit muddy! Our six steps to better bloom shots and ideas for floral images will definitely spring-clean your photography.

If you’re lucky enough to have a well-looked-after garden then you won’t have to venture far to find a flower to practise on. Otherwise, stately homes, parks and public gardens will be bursting with colour around now. We headed to the Rococo Gardens in the Cotswolds to shoot their snowdrops and daffodils, and to show you how to brush up your skills ready for the bluebells and poppies that will turn up later in the year.

The earlier you can arrive at your location, the better, as sunrise will add a soft warm light to your images,

Don’t panic if the sky is looking overcast – cloudy days are actually better for shooting wild flowers as bright sunlight can lead to harsh shadows and exposure problems

and there will be less wind first thing, which will keep flowers still. Don’t panic if it’s looking overcast, though – cloudy days are actually better for shooting wild flowers as bright sunlight can lead to harsh shadows and exposure problems, especially if you’re shooting white flowers.

You don’t need any special kit for this project, but using a tripod will help make sure that your camera and backdrop is perfectly still, and will also mean that you really concentrate on your composition. The down side is that you’re less flexible and it’s harder to get down really low, so it’s worth experimenting with both a tripod and shooting handheld.