Creative Garden Photography

Make great photos of flowers, gardens, landscapes and the beautiful world around us

Gardens are everywhere, all around us. In this long-awaited guide to garden photography, noted botanical photographer and author Harold Davis tackles the subject of garden photography with an expansive brush. In this book, you’ll find techniques for photographing extreme macro subjects while becoming a better landscape photographer. From tiny flowers to vast landscapes, your photography can be enhanced using the techniques you will discover in Creative Garden Photography.

What is a garden? The topic of garden photography encompasses a huge range of photographic styles and techniques that can be applied to almost any kind of photography. Learn to use this toolset from one of the acknowledged modern masters of photography.

• Explore gardens, types of gardens, and how best to photograph them

• Create stunning floral macros and high-key imagery

• Learn techniques for adding impressionism to your photos

• Use light and creative exposures to enhance your imagery

• Master close-up focusing, depth-of-field, and focus stacking

• Create your own custom field studio “in a bucket”

• Complete exposure data and the story behind every photo

“My goal as a photography teacher and writer about photography is to inspire and to help you become the best and most creative photographer and image-maker that you can be.”
—Harold Davis

“Harold Davis’s etherial floral arrangements have a purity and translucence that borders on the spiritual.”
—Popular Photo Magazine

“Davis is a pioneer and a new art form—part photographer, part digital illusionist.”
—Rangefinder Magazine

“Harold Davis’s Creative Photography series is a great way to start a photography library.”
—PhotoFidelity

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

ENTERING THE GARDEN
Understanding Gardens
Garden Styles and Purposes
Different Kinds of Garden Photography
Garden Purpose and Design Informs Photography

OF LIGHT AND GARDEN
Sunrise, Sunset, Blue Hours, Golden Hour

ON LOCATION: THE ROMANTIC GARDEN, SCHWETZINGEN AT SUNRISE, GERMANY

ON THE IPHONE: SNAPSEED

USING A TRIPOD
Using a Tripod for More Creative Options
Tripods for Garden Photography: Materials, Legs, Types of Heads
Tripod Tips and Tricks

BLENDING EXPOSURES TO EXTEND RANGE

BLACK AND WHITE IN THE GARDEN
Photographing the Zen Garden

ON LOCATION: IMPERIAL GARDENS OF OLD NARA, JAPAN

CONVERTING TO BLACK AND WHITE

IMPRESSIONISTIC PHOTOGRAPHY
Camera in Motion
Subject in Motion with Camera Stationary
Creative Exposures
In-Camera Multiple Exposures
Post-Production

ON LOCATION: PHOTOGRAPHING MONET'S GIVERNY, FRANCE

ON THE IPHONE: WATERLOGUE

FOCUSING ON REPETITION
Compositions with Repeating Garden Elements and Patterned Spaces
Best Practices in Focus
Depth of Field

ON LOCATION: THE PARC DE SCEAUX, FRANCE

FOCUS STACKING

DRAGONFLIES, BEES, AND WASPS
Stopping Motion
Getting Close
Dealing with Those that Sting
Auxiliary Lighting: Reflectors, Macro Strobes, LED Lighting

WATER DROPS AND SPIDER WEBS
Refractions in Close-Up Photography
Spider-Web Studio

MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR

GARDENS OF THE MIND

PRINTING GARDEN PHOTOS

NOTES & RESOURCES
Off-Beat Garden Photography Tools
Places to Practice Garden Photography
Recommended iPhone Apps for Garden Photography
iPhone Workflow
ImageBlender

NOTES AND RESOURCES
GLOSSARY
INDEX

Capture stunning macro floral images with this gorgeous guide by acclaimed photographer Harold Davis. You'll learn about different types of flowers, macro equipment basics, and the intricacies of shooting different floral varieties in the field and in the studio. Harold also shows you techniques in the Photoshop darkroom that can be applied to flower photography to help you get the most out of your images. Beautiful and authoritative, this guide to photographing flowers is a must-read for every photographer interested in flower photography. Photographing Flowers will also win a place in the hearts of those who simply love striking floral imagery.

The essential guide for digital macro photographers everywhere The art of macro photography-photographing small objects or super close-ups of small sections of big objects-yields fascinating results, but shooting at this level brings its own set of challenges. Now you can shoot close-ups with confidence and creative flair with this information-packed guide. Renowned photographer Harold Davis provides pages of field-tested techniques on focus, depth-of-field, exposure-even the appropriate equipment to use for this unique niche of digital photography. The book includes stunning and intriguing examples of his work to illustrate concepts. Walks you through the basics of macro photography, whether you're capturing an insect, a flower, a close-up of the texture of a pine cone, or more Shows you how to overcome the challenges of this type of photography, such as using the appropriate equipment and how to handle focus, depth of field, and exposure Takes you beyond the fundamentals to help you develop your own creative style Informs and inspires you with the author's own stunning examples of macro photography Join the vast and beautiful world of small photography with this essential guide.

Learn how breaking photographic rules can result in stunning black-and-white photos Black-and-white photography poses unique challenges; without color to guide the eye, contrast, lighting, and composition take on even more importance. Renowned photographer Harold Davis explains these elements and demonstrates the basic rules of black and white photography as well as when and how to break them. He breaks through the complexity of this photographic medium, explores opportunities for black-and-white imagery, and shows how to capitalize on every one. Richly illustrated with the author's own images, this beautiful guide presents the skills needed for great black-and-white photos while encouraging your confidence and creativity. Goes beyond basics to teach photographers how to conquer the challenges posed by black-and-white photography Appeals to professionals and serious amateurs who are interested in exploring creative black-and-white imagery Presents photography fundamentals and shows how black and white requires some of the rules to be bent Encourages creative thinking and confidence Lavishly illustrated with Harold Davis's outstanding monochromatic photos Whether you're a professional just venturing into black and white or a serious amateur, Creative Black & White will both educate and inspire you.

The garden is a rich canvas of visual ideas, all waiting to be skillfully captured and evoked by the camera. With in-depth discussions on creative technique and technical literacy, The Photographic Garden is an inspiring guide for understanding the complexities of light and design in the garden and a primer on the latest digital image-making tools, from cameras to postproduction software. Professional photographer Matthew Benson shows you how to become a better, more intuitive artist in the landscape; helps you foster a deeper understanding of design and aesthetics; and encourages you to develop your own visual sensibility—through hundreds of his own thoughtprovoking, evocative garden images. You'll learn how to explore the garden with your camera; how to apply the fundamentals of composition, light, and color to image-making; and how to use digital technology to improve and enhance (and even rescue!) the images you've taken. Most of all, you'll be motivated to see like a camera, work like a professional, and imagine and create like an artist.

This beautiful book explains the basics of composition and using your camera, but quickly moves on to show you how to try many different flower photography techniques, both indoors and out. Through clear step-by-step guides and stunning examples, it shows you how to capture the smallest flower portrait through to broad garden landscapes. There are ideas on how to develop a creative eye using available light, colour and background. The most important rules of flower photography are explained, and also how to break them. It shows how to use a light box in your home for flower portrait photography and still life and explains how to edit your photos and take them to another level. As well as practical advice it provides inspiration through a monthly photo gallery giving ideas of botanical subjects to capture throughout the year.

In The Way of the Digital Photographer, master photographer and digital artist Harold Davis shows you how to make digital photography an art form. Great digital photographs need both camera and computer to be truly extraordinary. Using detailed examples and case studies from his own work, Davis provides myriad ideas you can use in your own work, and he shows you how to unlock your own creativity to make those special images you have always dreamed of! Readers discover how to effectively use post-processing techniques and gain insight as to how the techniques and steps involved can inform their choices when making a photo and in postproduction workflow.

Go beyond the basic rules of photography to capture stunning portraits Portrait photography is a vital topic for photographers of every level of experience, from amateur to professional. Written by renowned photographer Harold Davis, this inspirational book encourages you to define our own photographic style and capture stunning, creative, and unique portraits. You'll discover tips and techniques for "breaking the rules" of basic digital photography so that you can go beyond the fundamentals such as composition, lighting, and exposure in order to create memorable and incomparable portraits. Explores the most common subject of most photographers-people-and explains when, why, and how to forgo the fundamentals to capture memorable portraits Encourages you to define your own unique photographic style and offers information and inspiration to help you do so Delves into a variety of creative techniques that you can use when exploring ways to take lively and stunning portraits Illustrated with Harold Davis's striking portrait photography, Creative Portraits will both inform and inspire you.