Garden Photo Taking

Comment

Comment by Candi Morris on September 7, 2009 at 6:30pm

My husband and I find that a small tripod, either a tabletop model (when we are hiking) or a larger folding model are very valuable tools as well. Especially when trying to get a photo close-up of blooms, etc.

And, to toot my own horn and show off some of our work using a tripod, check out the City of Dayton calendar this month (Sept), where Forest Ridge is featured...my husband Tony and I are the photographers featured there!

Comment by Brian Swartz on September 7, 2009 at 4:48pm

Some general tips for garden photos:
Start with some general overviews making sure your horizon line is straight.
Next, try to get closeups of some of your favorite features.
Try to get down to the flower's level. Close ups are best done on a day with a light cloud overcast. That helps cut down on harsh shadows and overexposed highlights. Also the colors show better under this condition.
Fill the viewfinder with the blooms. You need to be aware of how close your camera can focus. Some cameras have a special setting that looks like a flower bloom that allows the camera to focus closer.
Hold the camera steady and gently squeeze the shutter to take the picture. If you jab at the camera to take the picture, a blurry photo can result.
If your shutter speed is slow, that can also give you a blurry photo. You can try to set a higher ISO (relates to the sensitivity of the camera to light).

Comment by Velnita on September 6, 2009 at 3:31pm

I've heard of photoshop but I've never used it. The only editing that I do is to crop some of the pictures and I do that while they're still on my camera before I download them. The size of the pictures is large enough that I don't lose too much clarity--and with a good optical zoom, I usually don't have to crop much.

A few years back I had another camera and I used a generic photo editing program. The following year, I didn't know if my plants looked the same of worse because I wasn't sure which photos I had edited. One of the main reasons that I take so many photos of my plants is so that I can compare the plants from year to year.

Plus, I belong to an on-line gardening group that has a yearly photo contest. We aren't supposed to enter photos that are edited (other than simple cropping).

I seem to have the best luck with early morning light. The last hour before sunset can be interesting too. My next choice is cloudy days.

Comment by Mark Webber on September 6, 2009 at 10:33am

When you load pictures, do you have to work them up in a program like photo shop?

Comment by Velnita on September 6, 2009 at 1:57am

I have a Sony Cybershot H50. It's a good quality point & shoot camera. It has a 15x optical zoom that I like for close ups. The view screen is 3" and it tilts 90 degrees. That way I don't have to get down on the ground for certain shots and I can hold the camera way over my head if I want and still see the view screen.

I don't know anything about shutter speeds and stuff so I like the point & shoot cameras. Still, I wanted a camera that if I ever want to play with that stuff, I could. Most of that stuff can be adjusted manually (I've never tried it though).

It has image stabilization which is great since my hands shake.

The down sides to this camera is that it will not fit in your pocket. It isn't a compact camera. But for me that doesn't matter since I only use it when I'm here at home and want to take pics of the flowers.

Overall, I'm very happy with it and don't regret buying it. Still, if I had to buy a camera today, I might choose a Canon Powershot SX10 IS. It has a 20x optical zoom and I've heard good things about it.