Flower Power!
Flower photographer Andy Small shows you how to get bloomin’ great floral shots in your home, garden and wildflower fields
Get perfect portraits of plants with Andy Small
During the past year many photographers have had to resort to finding their inspiration much closer to home. This has not been an issue for me as, for the past 30 years, I have ceaselessly explored the photographic possibilities of my garden and surrounding hedgerows here in the Hampshire countryside. As a fine-art photographer my underlying approach has always been to use my camera as creatively as possible, exploring ideas that echo my appreciation for other forms of art, such as painting and drawing. Indeed, when I first started exhibiting my work in the 1990s many people couldn’t believe that they were looking at photographs. I assured them that they were, especially as this was before the days of computers and I was, at the time, just using film and chemicals.
Using my garden and nearby countryside hedgerows as inspiration means that I am never at a loss for photographic ideas. I also knew, from the beginning, that I did not want my images to be purely descriptive, no matter how alluring the subject may be. So I was drawn to the more intimate plants, avoiding the more showy specimens. Seed heads, in particular, have
always fascinated me and the different ways that plants have developed to disperse their seeds.
I have used a variety of techniques and equipment over the years to help pursue my efforts to bring an artistic creativity to my images, including: wideangle and macro lenses; panoramic views as well intimate details; infrared-converted cameras and different types of filters; and multiple-exposures and intentional camera movement. Over the next few pages I’ll explain these techniques so that you can find inspiration close to home and shoot fantastic flora in your own back garden.
PLANT PORTRAITS
The approach to taking plant portraits shares certain similarities with those an artist might use when creating a portrait of a person, however, trying to capture a likeness of the subject is not necessarily the only aim of the artist.
With this in mind it helps to have an affinity with your subject. I am surrounded by nature in my garden and when I go walking around the fields near me. This gives me the opportunity to really get to know the different characteristics of the local flowers and plants.
Spending time looking is time well spent. As a photographic artist I try to make people aware of things they might not initially notice themselves.
Composition is key
Once I have decided on the aspects of my subject that I want to explore, my thoughts turn to how best to convey these in the final photograph. A great deal of the success of an image will be determined by the composition. This is basically the arrangement of visual elements within the frame, but its effect is so much more than this.
A successful composition can draw the viewer to what you want them to see and evoke differing emotional responses. There are a number of visual elements that we need to be aware of when composing our images and the list is subjective, but the following are what I consider to be key…
Repetitive motifs
As humans we’re drawn to patterns – it’s a way we make sense of our world. We may already be doing this unconsciously in our images, but we can use patterns to make images more appealing. Patterns are everywhere and there’s research to suggest that fractal patterns in nature have a beneficial effect on mental health. In photographing nature we are more than likely capturing fractal patterns. Using these in our shots is another of the key visual element that we can use in our compositions.
In order to create a memorable picture, every part of the image needs to be as carefully and well thought out as the main subject
Positive and negative shapes
Giving the foreground and background equal prominence is one of my key messages in composition. Many people will see the subject of the photograph as all-important, however, in order to create a memorable picture, every part of the image needs to be as carefully and well thought out as the main subject.
By cropping the photograph of the poppies (top left) I have created new shapes in the background. These ‘negative shapes’ should be given as much consideration as the ‘positive shapes’ and their juxtaposition is crucial for the final look of the photograph. Whether an image is cropped or not, it is good practice to think of the main subject and background as working in tandem.
Square or rectangular format?
This is often determined by the subject and is something that can be decided later with cropping, but I prefer to do as much creative work in the camera as possible. Square formats usually work well for a symmetrical composition, whereas in a rectangular format it is usually a better idea to place the main subject slightly to one side.
STUDIO SHOOTS
There are certain advantages to working indoors; control of lighting, lack of wind, isolating subjects and being creative with backgrounds are just some. Working indoors also allows us to explore ideas that would be difficult to achieve outside. Highlighting the different stages of the dandelion (below) is a good example of this. Having a garden means I have a plethora of subjects to hand, which I can pick and bring inside when I have ideas for images. For those who don’t have access to this you could try visiting your local garden centre to find and purchase different specimens to work with.
My studio setup relies on natural light and homemade props. I see it as an extension to working outdoors. It is a setup that anyone can achieve with the minimum of expense (see Studio setup, right).
Natural lighting
During the past 30 years of taking images indoors I have always used natural lighting – all that you need is a window. It is important for me to see the effects of the light when setting up the flowers and, in the early days, when flash was the only alternative, this seemed very artificial and too overpowering for my delicate subjects. Even now, with the introduction of LED lights, I still rely on my window for the best lighting.
Just like being outdoors the light from the window can vary so that, at some point during a sunny day, there will be direct sunshine and, on other days, a cool, even light pervades. As I am not working commercially this has never been a concern, but more of an advantage.
The window is positioned behind the studio setup, which means that all of my subjects are backlit. To me this is the most sympathetic lighting for delicate subjects, as not only does it enhance
testing I decided that using painted glass gave me the look I was after. The brushstrokes give a variegated look that adds interest and depth. I paint the glass with acrylic that can also be removed when dry with a Stanley knife blade. Due to the translucent nature of glass, using a mixture of two or three different coloured panels stacked together can produce some great effects.
SHOOTING OUTDOORS
While I can become engrossed in photographing subjects indoors, nothing beats being out in nature with my camera. As a photographer I consider myself very fortunate that, in the act of creating our artworks, we also experience being there as well.
One thing I have learnt through photographing outdoors is the benefit of being patient. Waiting for the light to be right or the wind to drop is certainly never a waste of time.
Keep an eye on the weather
Photographing outdoors is very dependant on the weather. This doesn’t mean that I never venture out in anything inclement – far from it, in fact! It does mean, however, that the weather will influence the overall mood of your image.
Stay local
It can be an advantage to photograph a place you know well. I often walk the same paths every day and marvel at the rapid rate of growth in nature. Recently, I noticed the hedgerow of hogweed seed heads on my usual cycle route a few days before I took this picture (above left) and knew it would make a great subject. I decided to take the photo in the evening when the sun was setting, to silhouette them against a colourful sky. But, depending on the time of day and with different weather conditions, many other images could have been created.
Wide-angle lenses
Working outside gives me the chance to use my wide-angle lenses that are rarely used when I am working indoors or in my garden. I have a 15mm prime lens, which is fantastic, but my Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8g AF-S ED is my go-to standard lens. I used this lens set at 35mm and f/16 to photograph the hogweeds against the sunset.
One of the advantages of using a wide-angle lens is that it enables me to add context to the main subject, rather than isolating it as I would tend to do with my macro lenses.
Panoramic format
Sometimes taking a subject as a panoramic image is the best way to convey a scene, such as a marvellous field of poppies.
One of the first panoramic images I took was of the bark of a tree. Using my 100mm macro lens, I moved the camera up and down, taking pictures of different parts of the bark. When I finally stitched them together I could print an almost life-size image with amazing detail.
It is possible, when using lenses with a longer focal length like I used for the bark, to just mount the camera on the tripod and gradually move the camera to different parts of the subject in order to create your pictures for stitching.
However, I found that it wasn’t as easy when attempting the same setup with my 15mm lens. This is because wide-angle lenses need to rotate around their nodal point in order to produce images that aren’t affected by parallax and so can be stitched. The most cost-effective solution, for me, was to purchase a nodal slide. I used this setup to shoot the wonderful field of poppies (top left).
MACRO CLOSE-UPS
One thing I could not have managed without is a macro lens. It was like opening a window into a new world when I bought my first macro lens 30 years ago, and I haven’t stopped using it since. I am currently the proud owner of the superb Nikon AF 200mm f/4d IF-ED Micro that took all of the images on this page.
Most people’s idea of macro photography will probably be an extremely detailed close-up picture of an insect or flower that has, perhaps, been even more pronounced by the heavy use of focus stacking. Whilst I will continue to take photos like this, it has become apparent to me that highly rendered detail is not always the most important thing I am looking for.
One reason I find my macro lens can be so engaging is that it shows me the world differently and in a way that is impossible for me to experience with human vision. Utilizing the shallow depth of field when using the lens with a wide aperture is something that I like to do, as it produces a very painterly-feel to an image and it is this quality that I find can be the most creative.
A different reality
A macro lens’s ability to focus in on small details gives me the opportunity to produce images that could be seen as being somewhat abstract. This highlights an interesting debate on what an abstract picture actually is to people. In my view, these extreme close-ups aren’t strictly abstract,
because they are depicting real objects and their reference is the natural world.
Another aspect that can be deceiving, when focusing closely on a subject, is the lack of reference to the scale of what is being depicted. This adds yet another layer of mystery to the image and helps to make it more challenging for the viewer as they are seeing things that are not normally seen.
A macro lens’s ability to focus in on small details gives me the opportunity to produce images that could be seen as being somewhat abstract
Macro alternatives
Long before I purchased my first macro lens, I experimented with other less-expensive ways of focusing closer on a subject. This has become relevant again for me in my role as a photography course tutor. Not everyone that attends my classes on creative flower photography has a macro lens, so what are the alternatives?
My first foray into the macro world was to use a reversing ring; excellent quality at a reasonable cost. I also have extension tubes that are a great way of enabling a lens to focus extremely closely.
Tripods
One essential piece of equipment, though, that I hardly ever take a photograph without is a tripod. I have a couple of tripods: one is very lightweight and made of carbon fibre, which is comfortably portable; and another more substantial one for indoor use. I use a ball-and-socket joint for both, which I find to be the most versatile.
Apart from the obvious benefit of keeping the camera still, using a tripod also helps us to take our time and consider the subject more.
IMPRESSIONIST IMAGES
An impressionist approach has a great deal of appeal for me, as it affords me the opportunity to be the most creative with my camera. The idea is to convey an impressionistic response to the subject that results in the image looking more like a painting than a traditional photograph. There is a lot more emphasis on depicting movement, creating an atmosphere and the play of light, rather than having everything pin-sharp and conventionally well composed.
A lot of us have probably experimented with ND filters to blur movement in water and clouds, for example, and this was my starting point. There are many techniques that can be employed to create this style of photography, but what I use mainly are multiple exposures and intentional camera movement (ICM). Whilst it is possible to use Photoshop for this, it is important for me that, when I produce these pictures, all of the effects are done in-camera at the time of shooting. My D800E has the option for combining up to 10 different exposures in one frame, which can help massively.
ICM and multiple exposures
In the image of the trees (above) I have used a small amount of ICM on one of the exposures whilst altering the camera’s position for another two exposures. Although with experience it is possible to predict the outcome, the variables here make it difficult to know exactly what your final image will actually look like. This, for me, is the exciting part of the process, I have an idea of what I want the image to look like but it doesn’t actually exist in reality. It is my completely unique creation.
Moving the lens
Being a large lens, my Nikon AF 200mm f/4d IF-ED Micro has its own tripod mount. This means that the lens and camera can be rotated 360 degrees within the mount bracket. Up to 10 different exposures can be made with my D800E, so by using all 10 quite a complicated image can be built up.
In the photo of the daisy (right) I have centred the lens on the middle of the flower. The petals appear whiter where the exposures overlap. Each different exposure can, of course, have different settings. There is also the possibility of using ICM whilst rotating the camera.
Create a scene
This is a technique I like to use a lot. It involves planning ahead to create a view that doesn’t exist. In the case of the image with the purple allium and blue nigella (top left) both plants were in different parts of my garden. I wanted to combine them in one image. Taking the allium first, I had to leave a
An impressionist approach has a great deal of appeal for me, as it affords me the opportunity to be the most creative with my camera
clear space where I wanted the nigella to be. It was then a case of moving the camera to shoot the nigella, then combining both with my D800E.
Moving the subject
The technique of walking all around a subject taking photographs, and then combining all the shots in a multi-layered final image, has been popularized by the photographer Pep Ventosa. Working in a similar way I do the same thing indoors, not by moving myself but by moving the subject. This technique can be used to give a very painterly feel to the image.