Emma: If you are anything like me, you struggle to take gorgeous pictures of flowers... I don't know why? But it's soooo hard to take pictures where they look true to life! I've teamed up with professional wedding videographer Michael Hurley to find out how to take better photos of flowers using just our iPhones! I am 100% going to be taking note of this myself!! Over to Michael...
In this quick and easy guide I’ll explain how you can use your iPhone to take stunning
photographs of flowers. As an experienced wedding videographer with over 15 years
experience filming weddings, I’ll demonstrate the best hacks to get the most out of the
technology you have just sitting in your pocket.
Let’s get started.
1. Shoot up close with a shallow depth of field
Flowers are full of colour with an amazing variety, so the best way to get a beautiful
shot is to get as close to the flower as possible. Be sure to keep your camera steady,
and your flower in focus. And when I say get close, I mean it. Don’t use the zoom on
your camera, get right up into the flower as close as you can while staying in focus.
This should also give you a shallow depth of field, which is when the background is
slightly soft with the flower strongly in focus. This is what we call a bokeh effect and is
an extremely popular effect within photography.
2. Use a simple background
Getting a clean background is very important. The last thing you want is a distraction
in your frame, taking away from the beauty of the flower. An ideal way of getting a
good background is getting down low and shooting high, using the sky as the
background. Make sure the sun isn’t shining right into your camera, a slightly
overcast day is perfect. I once had a bride who said she hoped for glorious sunshine
on her wedding day, but any photographer or videographer will tell you that a slightly
overcast day is best! If you’re inside make sure the background is a simple colour
preferably one that contrasts with the flowers - i.e if the flowers are bright colours,
make the background darker. The contrast between light and dark works really well in
photography.
3. Shoot in soft light
Lighting is the most important thing to consider when taking a photo and natural
lighting works best. Don’t use the flash on your camera, the natural light from the sun
is ideal. However, a bright sun can cause over exposure and could give your image
some harsh shadows. Wait for the sun to go behind a cloud and you’ll find that your
flower will look much softer.
4. Fill the entire frame
Make sure that your flower takes up the entire frame of your camera. Don’t worry too
much about cutting off some of the outside petals, flowers carry so many details, and
highlighting the best parts of the flower will create a more powerful image. Always
remember to keep it in focus, so use your own judgment on how much detail you
want to capture. If you are taking a picture of the wedding bouquet, sometimes it’s
better to get a shot of just a few of the flowers instead of the whole bunch. You’ll be able to get a lot more detail, capturing more vibrancy and more powerful colours.
5. Use a macro lens
If you want to take photography a bit more seriously, investing in a macro lens would
be a smart move. A macro lens will allow your camera to capture images a lot closer
compared to the built-in camera lens. The Moment Lens is one of the most popular
on the market right now and will allow you to capture amazing images.
6. Be creative
Always remember, there is no right or wrong way to take a photograph and practice
makes perfect. Sometimes it may help to change the view you’re shooting at, so use
your own creativity to get the shot you want, not the shot you think other people want
to see.
Michael Hurley is an experienced wedding videographer based in Ireland. You can
find out more about him and his work at www.michaelhurleyweddingfilms.com.