In order to take great flower pictures, you don’t need any fancy camera gear but you do need to have an eye for detail. Learning how to take sharp, crisp beautiful pictures of flowers like the ones we see in garden catalogs and magazines is really pretty easy with a digital compact, and this article shows you how. 

Many of us have had the experience of taking a picture of a pretty flower that seemed picture perfect.

Another problem many new flower photographer enthusiasts find is that their pictures come out blurry and out of focus.   

These are all things that are easy to avoid.

You should first always plan to take flower pictures when the lighting is good and the air is still (no wind). Even a gentle breeze can cause the flower to move enough to blur your picture. Usually the calmest time of day is around dawn. This is also a time when you’ll often find the best lighting.

But if you don’t want to get up early, you can still get great flower pictures. Other good times for lighting are the hour before sunset and anytime there is high overcast (bright overcast). These times offer soft light without the dark, harsh shadows. The time right before sunset and just after dawn are perfect for adding a warm glow to your picture. And if it’s a little windy, you’ll need to set up a blind or a temporary windbreak.

The other big reason for out of focus flower pictures is from using improper camera settings. Depending upon how close you want to get to the flower, set your camera to either Portrait or Macro. The macro setting lets you shoot from within an inch up to a foot depending upon your camera (check your camera’s manual). If using manual settings, choose a wide aperture (small F-stop number). All of the above settings sharpen the subject and put the background out of focus, even blur it.

Once you find a pretty flower, now it’s time to turn it into the perfect flower photo.

• Look for a flower with pristine undamaged petals. Or if you find a flower that’s almost perfect, except for a ragged petal or two, simply remove them. If removing the petals will leave a gap then leave it alone and move on to another flower.
• Look for anything on the flower than could distract from the picture like tiny bugs or pieces of dirt and gently remove them with a soft paintbrush or makeup brush.
• For a dewy look, gently sprinkle or spay the petals with a few drops of water.

Next it’s time to compose your picture.

• Look at the flower from different positions to see what angle looks best in your viewfinder or preview LCD. You might see a shadow that is pleasing – or not so pleasing. Look at how the light looks from different angles. You should also look at taking your picture from different angles or vantage points. Try lying on the ground for a bug’s eye view or holding the camera high above the flower for a bird’s eye view.
• Don’t cast a shadow over the flower. And if the flower is backlit (which can create a nice, irredescent effect), avoid lens flare by using a lens shade or wearing a broad brim hat to prevent light from entering the lens.
• You also want to look at the background tones. Contrasting tones will add depth and make your flower stand out.

Once you find the best angle to take the flower, fill the viewfinder with the flower and use classic composition methods like the “rule of thirds” to position the flower in the best position in the camera frame.

Then focus on the part of the image you want to be the sharpest – this could be the stamen, a ladybug, etc. Then keeping super steady, press the shutter down.

As you can see from the tips in this article, flower photography is all about paying attention to detail. And how you display your flower photo also makes a difference so make sure to display it in a picture frame that compliments it. When framing your flower picture, avoid highly decorative frames like flower picture frames or bright colors like pink picture frames that will overpower your flower photo. Instead, choose a frame that subtly accents the flower and you’ll be sure to have a framed flower picture that everyone will admire.