10 top tips for Garden Photography

[Mal]

So the other week we had the 10 top tips for wedding photography, now I am looking for the 10 top tips for photographing a garden.
My brother in law is an awesome landscape gardener, he is in constant demand and has done many gardens on Sydney's northern beaches. Recently he has been getting more and more work in Canberra (word of mouth) Only trouble is that it is a little hard for these Canberra folk to head up to Sydney to look at his work. They want to see his work.
So that is where I come in. I will be taking some pictures of his work. And never having really photographed gardens before I am after some pointers from those who have.

[Glen]

Bring a ladder! Mal I have no idea but I have seen a number of garden pictures which were taken with some height and a wide angle and so showed the garden plan well. Very handy to put the other images in perspective.

[sirhc55]

1 First find a garden
2 Lay blanket on lawn
3 Take picnic basket and lay out goodies
4 Open a good bottle of red
5 Have a good drink
6 Flick some honey onto the nearest flowers
7 Wait
8 Bees etc will flock to honey covered flowers
9 Ready camera
10 Shoot flowers and bees - 2 shots in one

[Mal]

1 First find a garden
2 Lay blanket on lawn
3 Take picnic basket and lay out goodies
4 Open a good bottle of red
5 Have a good drink
6 Flick some honey onto the nearest flowers
7 Wait
8 Bees etc will flock to honey covered flowers
9 Ready camera
10 Shoot flowers and bees - 2 shots in one

That sounds like a relaxing shoot day.

[Mal]

Bring a ladder! Mal I have no idea but I have seen a number of garden pictures which were taken with some height and a wide angle and so showed the garden plan well. Very handy to put the other images in perspective.

Glen I like the ladder tip. Will add that to the kit bag

[who]

Alternative to a ladder would be a roofrack if you have a 4wd.... and are shooting a front garden.

Also, from my limited experience, walk around everywhere to check for things you don't want in the frame (dog droppings, a stray leaf on a manicured lawn or path, etc)......

[big pix]

ladder and do a pano........ stich with CS3

[Willy wombat]

Choose the time of day would be the first thing I would suggest, avoid midday and strong overhead light. Take a tripod and try some longer exposures when the light starts to drop away. You could get some nicer colour saturation that way.

[Matt. K]

sirhc55
Wondeful advice. And then shoot a video of the garden.