Taking perfect flower pictures

I revisited The Kuala Lumpur Orchid Garden yesterday as I wanted to figure out and experience how to take perfect flower picture Thanks for the tips provided by the three experts, Bonnie Bruno Photo Buffet, Bo The Seeded Earth and Bernie Kasper BFK photography.

I went there in the morning when the Orchid Garden opened at 9am.The morning sun was rising and I started to look for my targets, orchid flowers with rich colors are what I want to shoot. I walked around the Garden and could feel the morning sun glow and warmth. Unexpectedly there was a slight breeze. It could be because the Garden is located at higher ground with trees surrounding it.. Bonnie Bruno and Bo did confirm that morning shoot is the prime time for shooting perfect flower pictures

The morning has a vast difference from the afternoon as I noticed that there are dews on the flowers and this makes the flowers better and fresh looking .But the morning also attracts many tiny insects to the flowers. The bees and butterflies were fluttering around the flowers for the nectar.

Unlike Canon 70-200mm zoom lens, the use of Canon 100mm Macro lens at a closer distance makes it easy for me to spot the insects and thus less mistakes. Bo’s advices made me more careful and I avoid it in the shoot. The result this time is better with less mistakes of insects being seen in the pictures.

If you want to be serious with flower photography or close-up photography, Bernie Kasper recommended shooting with an extension tube specially fixed with a 70-200 zoom lens. The result will be fantastic. Sharpness is the most difficult part in close-up photography and patience is another factor. If you want to take a perfect shot and the photo was not sharp and out of focus, then you will regret not bringing the tripod..

To be frank, some of my shots are out of focus possibly due to lack of good eye sight, reflection, unsteady hand clicks as I didn’t bring along a tripod….lazy…..troublesome..

When photographing flowers outdoors, be aware of sudden slight breezes that might set the flowers in motion. Likewise, breezes can be caused indoors by the opening of a door or the brisk movement of people. For sharp pictures, you must be prepared to wait for all movements to cease before releasing the shutter

Lets have a look at some of these flower pictues taken on a Canon 30D fixed with a Canon Macro lens 100mm F2.8