Author: Joseph Storey

Your own garden can be home to some of the coolest subjects for your digital photos. However, just like other forms of photography, garden photography requires a certain degree of skill, patience, and enthusiasm to pull it off.

If you’ve been capturing garden photos, and displaying them in digital frames (read more), for some time already but just can’t seem to improve your skills at all, then here are some useful tips you want to consider:

Think of the Garden as a Whole

To start, you have to think of your garden as a sum of all its parts: the plants, decorations, flowers, structures, etc. By picturing your garden as a whole, you will be able to establish a shot that sets the scene.

You want to first capture views that feature all of your garden’s elements. While you can get to the individual components later on, the first step you should take is to picture your garden as the collection it is.

The Right Timing is Crucial

To be honest, you can consider just about anytime to be the best time. Somewhere in your garden, a flower is starting to bloom any minute now.

Most of the time, getting the best shots would mean picking the right time to shoot.

For example, if you want to shoot better digital photos of your garden, try shooting when it’s overcast. Meanwhile, if the sun is shining brightly, you will be able to know where the light is and how it will behave.

Try not to feel restricted by the seasons as well. Different seasons present different opportunities to capture your garden. Winter seasons can bring that snowy effect while fall can add that exciting combination of red and orange.

Pick the Right Subjects

Flowers can be the main subject when it comes to garden photography, but they’re not the only ones that make up your garden. You can also find decorations, structures, and even vegetables which can also make excellent subjects.

Keep in mind that your garden is an invitation for you to get creative, so don’t just limit your focus on flowers. Even a simple weed or a pile of leaves can make excellent subjects as long as you let your creativity take over.

Prepare the Necessary Equipment

To take your photography skills to the next level, investing in high-quality equipment is necessary. You can find excellent DSLR cameras on the market which are available at a fairly affordable price. You should also consider investing in a tripod that can make a constant companion for capturing photos without any blur.

Consider Your Garden’s Personality

Lastly, you want to consider your garden’s personality which is defined by the plants, structures, and decorations you place into it. You can actually find several garden types that are defined by the items that make them up.

English gardens, for example, tend to be filled with old-fashioned plants and are often flower heavy with a lot of color and plantings. Meanwhile, Japanese gardens tend to be more graphic and contain only a few flowers but with a lot of hedges and structures such as bridges and stone lanterns.

Conclusion

Just like gardening, gardening photography will remain a work in progress. It’s all about the experience you get to enjoy as you do it. If you want to improve your skills in garden photography, then you have to be patient, give it time, and make sure to practice until you take your skills to the next level.