What makes an outstanding flower image?

Here are some of the important factors:

1. Exposure/Lighting – Time of day is the biggest factor here. Just at dawn or before sunset are the best times to photograph outdoors. Just before sunset the color temperature is great for flowers. The color saturation is best without the powerful sun overhead. However, you have to be careful not to get shadows into the image.

2. Tripod – Never try to take a serious photograph of nature with the camera in your hand! The slightest of camera shake renders the fuzzies.

3. Bokeh – Look at the image below for a good example of bokeh (the out of focus background). For this effect, you’ll need a quality lens, and you’ll want to open the aperture as much as you can. This will also mean a lower shutter speed, which is another reason why you’ll need a tripod. A nice bokeh will also give the image a 3D illuminating quality.

4. Luck and perseverance.

5. Time. You’ll need to shoot a lot of images to achieve good results in just a few. See rule #4.

See our earlier posting with some examples of Flora in Israel

Here’s a couple more:

Even a weed can look dramatic…