© Janet Davis

 

Like precious babies, our gardens are the apples of our eye – and the constant focus of our camera lens.  Kodak is keen on us, Fuji is fond of us, and along with new parents, we keep the camera shops in business.

 

Anyone who can click a shutter will eventually try to capture on film those magical moments when the garden is sheer perfection.  Alas, sometimes what the gardener hopes to preserve isn’t quite what comes back from the developer.  What went wrong?  “Maybe the #@$# camera?”   “Must be the #&@&# camera shop!!”

 

Alas, probably not.  Likely, what happened was that the sun was too bright (wrong time of day), or the camera shook as the shutter was being pressed, or the gardener tried to capture too much in the scene, or the wrong film was used for the time of day – or any number of factors that generally aren’t the fault of the camera or developing shop.

 

So it’s useful to reflect on how to improve your photography techniques, no matter what type of camera you’re using.

 

Digital cameras are wonderful for folks with computer savvy; the better models allow use of conventional camera lenses for close-ups and wide-angles and many offer high resolution that allows reproduction to large print sizes.   Best of all, you only keep your best shots and print just what you want.

 

Disposable cameras can often produce surprisingly good results.  Automatic point-and-shoot film cameras produce excellent photos too.  Especially useful are those with a zoom lens that let you take everything from wide-angle shots (28 mm) of an entire border, down to close-ups (105 mm) of individual blossoms.

 

But automatic cameras with built-in lenses aren’t always flexible enough for the developing photographer, who’ll want to experiment with an SLR (single lens reflex) camera.  Though these can be used as high-priced point-and-shoots (since most newer models feature automatic focus and exposure), they also permit manual override to let the photographer experiment with aperture opening and shutter speed.  And they can be fitted with a special macro lens to produce extreme close-ups or a telephoto lens to capture distant scenes.

 

Here are 10 tips for taking good garden photos:

 

  1. Shoot with the sun at your back, or coming in from the side.  Work in early morning or late afternoon, or on a slightly overcast day.  Good photographers know that you can even make wonderful photos in a light rain, when the colors of foliage and flowers are richly saturated.  Avoid bright sunshine between mid-morning and 4 pm, which results in high contrast and deep shadows.  If you must shoot in high-contrast light, try using a flash.

 

  1. Use the correct film for the light available.  For prints, 100-ASA is fine for sunny conditions; 200 is preferable if there’s cloud cover; and 400 is good for the low light of early evening.  For slides, use Fuji Velvia 50 (this is a slower film that requires a tripod to hold the camera steady), Fuji Sensia 100 or 200, or Kodak Elite 100.

 

  1. For close-ups, even with a point-and-shoot camera, you might want to invest in a tripod, especially if your hand is less than steady or you wish to take low-light or evening shots, when the shutter will stay open longer.

 

  1. Take time to compose your picture, looking for the best viewpoint.  Try to avoid cluttered backgrounds and watch the edges of the frame to make sure nothing unwanted intrudes on the scene.  By sitting on the ground below that perfect flowered branch, you can get a beautiful blue-sky background.

 

  1. Find a focal point – birdbath, perfect rose, butterfly – rather than a lot of disconnected elements.  Think of yourself as an artist painting a scene, not a shutter-clicker.

 

  1. Capture the same scene from different viewpoints to ensure you get at least one shot you like.  Try taking the same scene in morning and late afternoon, and shoot vertical as well as horizontal formats.

 

  1. Shooting into the sun to capture the brilliant color of a backlit leaf can produce a dramatic result.  But cut out flare (the sun spot in the viewfinder) by using a lens shade or by holding your hand or a paper above the camera to shade the lens.

 

  1. Be patient on windy days to avoid blurred shots.

 

  1. Most cameras use automatic light meters that seek an average for lighting.  That means that if the scene is very light, e.g. a wintry scene with snow, the light meter will automatically underexpose, giving a grey effect.  With an SLR, you must increase the exposure 1-1/2 to 2 f-stops to achieve the whiteness of the snow you see.  With a point-and-shoot, try focusing on something green or a mid-range color as you compose the shot, tricking the camera into metering for normal conditions. Similarly, if shooting very dark foliage, it may be necessary to underexpose the shot to compensate for the light meter’s tendency to brighten the scene too much.

 

  1. Always, always, always carry extra film and spare batteries!!

 

Adapted from a column that appeared originally in the Toronto Sun.

 

Back to Essays, Poetry & Humor