The Garden Photography Workshop

Learn to take better garden photos! One of the most rewarding aspects of gardening is sharing its beauty, both physically with those who visit and virtually with those who only see it on a screen. But capturing a garden’s true essence is difficult, and often the moments worth sharing are ephemeral. In The Garden Photography Workshop, internationally known garden photographer Andrea Jones shares the trade secrets that make her photos sing. You’ll learn the basic photography skills and tips on using a range of camera equipment. Profiles of real gardens from around the world exemplify the most common problems a photographer can face, like harsh light, wet weather, and cramped spaces, along with advice and techniques for addressing specific concerns. We live in a photo-driven world, and this helpful guide is a complete tutorial for anyone who wants that world to be filled with beautiful images of gardens and plants.

To a gardener, it may seem obvious that daffodils suggest spring, roses peak in summer, apples mean autumn, and bare trees represent winter. This may be obvious to you but perhaps not to your viewer. And it may be so obvious to you that you overlook the seasonal potential for garden photography. Weather, Moods and Seasons is the third lesson in the THINK LIKE A GARDENER series: a collection of exercises designed to extend the photographer's perception of garden design to finding themes and telling stories. The THINK LIKE A GARDENER series is part three of the 4-part PhotoBotanic Garden Photography Workshop. There are six easy to follow lessons in each series.

A photograph of a plant should be as carefully considered as was the plant when it was placed in the garden. The photo should reveal a genuine understanding of the plant in its setting. Photographing Garden Plants is the fourth lesson in the THINK LIKE A GARDENER series: a collection of exercises designed to extend the photographer's perception of garden design to finding themes and telling stories. The THINK LIKE A GARDENER series is part three of the 4-part PhotoBotanic Garden Photography Workshop. There are six easy to follow lessons in each series.

A camera is a great tool that helps you distill overall impressions into a distinct capture—those details we really see. This lesson will help you learn to find the photo within the photo. Details and Vignettes is the sixth and final lesson in THINK LIKE A CAMERA, the second series of the PhotoBotanic Garden Photography Workshop with garden photographer Saxon Holt. The camera is an artistic tool that frames a composition in two dimensions. Learn techniques of lines, shape, and focal points found in all good gardens to fill the frame with strong compositions. "Whether you have a big megapixel SLR camera or just a smart phone, your pictures will improve as soon as you think about what the camera is seeing—versus what you are seeing. Use the camera frame to fill your photograph with only those elements that tell your story."

Provocation and Intrigue is the fifth lesson in the GOOD GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHY series, a survey of the various elements any landscape photographer must consider when capturing an image artfully to tell the story of what he or she sees. This lesson in the PhotoBotanic Garden Photography Workshop covers a wide range of ideas to help you create your own style, to provoke and inspire your viewers.

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

Wildlife watchers and aspiring natural-history photographers - collect up your kit and get ready for a practical course with a difference. Photographic workshops are exceptionally popular but not everybody has the time or budget to attend one in person. This 'workshop in book form' allows you to absorb the benefits of the workshop experience without actually being on location with the professionals.

Every photo should have a focal point, a spot within the frame where your story is told. The rule of thirds helps place those “sweet spots.” Focal Points is the second lesson in THINK LIKE A CAMERA, the second series of the PhotoBotanic Garden Photography Workshop with garden photographer Saxon Holt. The camera is an artistic tool that frames a composition in two dimensions. Learn techniques of lines, shape, and focal points found in all good gardens to fill the frame with strong compositions. "Whether you have a big megapixel SLR camera or just a smart phone, your pictures will improve as soon as you think about what the camera is seeing—versus what you are seeing. Use the camera frame to fill your photograph with only those elements that tell your story."