Flower Photography: June 2008 Archives

Many of our subscribers wanted to know if there are specific exercises, or learning tools, they can use to improve their flower photography. I asked Tony Sweet if he has any favorites.

Tony's reply...

Tony Sweet discusses the combination of colors in the background and foreground in this beautiful photograph of a flowering dogwood tree.

Tony explained ...

This photograph of an iris is spectacular. I asked Tony Sweet if he used a Lensbaby to create it. The colors and the changes in focus are wonderful.

Tony Sweet answered ...

Tony Sweet's artistry, technique and special equipment allow him to create a spectacular flowering dogwood photo. I asked him how he achieved this great image of a dogwood flower.

Here's Tony's answer...

The dandelion??? A lot of our listeners and readers have asked me to get the inside information from master photographers -- not just their tips and tricks, but their secrets.

Tony Sweet focuses on a common weed, the dandelion, to share some of his principles...

Is the flower the only important part of a photograph? Should you include a background when you're photographing flowers? Should you even think about it? These might not be questions you've considered. Our expert has a fascinating insight on backgrounds.

Read Tony Sweet's answers...

A lot of our listener-submitted questions have been about depth of field, especially in macro photography. Tony Sweet shares a way to use software to achieve things you normally can't using only your camera.

Read Tony's thoughts on how to get more with your macro lens here ...

We've gotten so many questions about macro flower photography -- about taking macro close ups of flowers -- and personally that's generally my favorite approach to taking photographs of flowers.

One subscriber asked, "When shooting macro close-ups of flowers, depth of field becomes critical. Can you give some tips on what to have in sharp focus, what's a blur and is there a way to extend the depth of field to include the entire bloom and still show the minute details of the flower, but still have the background blurred?"

Read Tony's answer here...

Audri Lanford: I'll just take this one step further because we got a lot of questions about what to do when it's breezy or windy. Is this just a simple situation: you can't photograph in wind? Or what can you do?

Do you have any tips for taking a picture of flowers outdoors if there is some wind?

When you're trying to capture the detail and clarity in flower photography, what's the best time of day -- and in what weather -- do you get the best flower photos? And what do you do when the weather doesn't cooperate?

When you're photographing flowers, do you pick the flower first? According to Tony Sweet, that's not the best way to pick your subject.

Audri Lanford: Let's now talk a little bit about choosing your subject. What do you look for when you choose flowers to photograph? In other words, are there special criteria you use to choose the flower, like their shape or their color?

And what is the most striking feature of a flower that makes it a good subject for being photographed?

Read Tony's answer here...

Here's Tony Sweet's answer to the single biggest mistake people make when they take pictures of flowers...

My special guest this week is master flower photographer Tony Sweet. Find out the questions he answered, a little about Tony's background, and get links to all the resources we discuss during the interview. You'll also be able to view all of Tony's photographs that he describes towards the end of the interview.

Want to take your photographs of flowers to the next level? Listen to master photographer, Tony Sweet, answer seven of the biggest questions about photographing flowers.

Tony is going to be answering important questions about taking wonderful photographs of flowers.

You might be wondering...