Photographing Flora | Lesson 3

PHOTOGRAPHING FLORA

“Flowers turn towards the sun even when it’s cloudy”

Lesson #3 – Composition …. and Light

Authors and instructors: Monika and Patrik Banas

1 ia909 CONTENT

o The basic rules and when and how to break them effectively

o Working your object … and other points of view

o Let there be light – direct light, backlight, open shade

o Colors, monochromatic pictures

o More elements of design

o The Assignment #3

THE BASIC RULES AND WHEN AND HOW TO BREAK THEM EFFECTIVELY

Discussing composition rules before making a photograph is a bit like discussing the gravity laws before going for a walk.

The composition – where to put it?

The most basic rule (it should be engraved in stone!) – “All composition rules are only recommendations” ;-)

The rule of thirds

The most notorious composition rule – the rule of thirds. Here is a little reminder.

Humans have liked threes since antient times. The golden fish was able to fulfil three wishes, Cinderella had three magic nuts, in most households there are three little pigs (or at least two or one) ;) and we all know three musketeers. The rule of thirds was “invented” in ancient Greece to establish proportions in art and architecture as its use can help improve considerably the effect the resulting work has on its audience. In photography, this is a simple composition rule that helps us to place the photographed object in a way that is pleasing to the eye and brain. It can work magic on a photograph and can be the proverbial cherry on a photographic cake. A human eye simply doesn’t like to see something divided into two halves (indeterminately defined composition) - one eliminates the other and the result is confusing. That’s why we prefer thirds, that way we can have a “winning” part of the frame. If there is anybody who doesn’t know what this is all about, here are some details (the others will read it as a refresher ;-): imagine your photograph divided by four lines – two vertical and two horizontal – so that they cut across the photograph in exactly one third each. Like that:

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/10 @ 1/800 s, ISO 1250 When you take pictures, try to place the photographed object into one of the four intersections of the lines. Which one, it will depend on what is going on in the photograph. Think about what is the most important element of the frame and whether you would place it on the left or right side or upper or lower part. We can see it best using some examples:

6 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3.2 @ 1/3200 s, ISO 800

7 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/7.1 @ 1/250 s, ISO 800 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/5.6 @ 1/500 s, ISO 400

Of course, rules are there to be ignored, but we actually recommend sticking to the rule of thirds, at least at the beginning. When you can master it perfectly, then you can start experimenting with it. Otherwise, something will seem to be “missing” all the time. Try to follow the rule in most of your photographs … unless it is one the exceptional cases when breaking the rule would actually add to the photograph – we will talk about this later ;-).

The rule works fantastically for photographing flora, don’t ignore it.

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/5.6 @ 1/1600 s, ISO 400 Centered composition

If you want to brake the rule of thirds, you can use a centered make sense don’t you think? In reality, the name comes from the composition. We criticize it in photographs quite often as it often fact that bull’s eye also means a target, so the analogy is evident ;-). doesn’t look good. Because an We talk about the exception proves object being in “a the rule, we have dead center” or that one for you – using it’s a “bull’s eye a symmetry. When composition”. We something is think this term symmetric, it is the originated from the same on the left as fact that if you place well as on the right the object right in the or at the top as well middle of the frame, as at the bottom, the viewer stares at it divided in half. numbly just as if you Well, and when would if you happen something is to stand eye to eye divided in half, we with a bull (especially don’t want to share if wearing red boxer the thirds! So, don’t shorts). You cannot be afraid to use the move your gaze Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/16 @ 1/250 s, ISO 1000 centered compo- anywhere else and sition if you feel are therefore missing the rest of the picture. We don’t really have that it looks damn good! As we said before – especially with any proof for the theory as we just made it up, but it seems to symmetry or an object that fills the frame well.

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/4 @ 1/1250 s, ISO 800

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/7.1 @ 1/20 s, ISO 250

14 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/4.8 @ 1/800 s, ISO 250 Off-centered

Slightly moved from the center of the frame, but not quite according to the rule of thirds. Great to highlight the length of the petals – you would be surprised. Should you put it to the left, or right? Try both … or simply flip the photograph in an editing program.

An object placed towards the right side …. left side …. top edge or bottom edge? Experiment!

Nikon D800, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/14 @ 1/6 s, ISO 200 15

Nikon D800, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/14 @ 1/6 s, ISO 200

17 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/11 @ 1/25 s, ISO 250 VERTICALLY OR HORIZONTALLY

Notice the lines – a flower with a long vertical line will probably look best vertically … although not always. And of course, you can again place the object to the left, center or right … Flower with long petals usually look best when captured horizontally.

And when is the best time to photograph an object vertically? As we like to say – immediately after you took the picture horizontally! Believe it or not, you will usually get two visually quite different photographs!

Crop It’s not necessary to have the whole object in the photograph. Try to compose your shot already in the camera and don’t rely on cropping it later. Of course, there are limits and sometimes you simply cannot get closer – whether due to your equipment or because of other reasons. But try to crop in postprocessing as little as possible. It will improve your ability to compose better and you will not lose precious pixels. It will also slow you down a bit, which is always good – we think more, look around, are more perceptive, more accurate and the results are usually better. When cropping flowers, similar rules apply as when cropping portraits – when you compose a shot, try not to crop only a small part of a petal, because that can look like a mistake. You should also avoid the object just touching the edge of the photograph. The crop should be either quite decisive, so it is clearly intentional, or none at all.

original picture

WORKING YOUR OBJECT … AND OTHER POINTS OF VIEW

We will be talking about something that is referred to as “working your subject” … (but don’t worry, we will not be working too hard ;-) and we paraphrased it “working your object”. No, we are not talking about manual work, we are talking about objects in front of your camera!

If you ever observed people taking photographs, the most common scene would be this: a person stops, points his camera, pushes the shutter…. And keeps going. No and no and once again no! Simply – when you come across something interesting, some interesting floristic object, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a tulip, a gerbera, an apple on a tree, a bee on a sunflower or a green leaf – make the best of it! Don’t leave before you make at least 3, ideally more, different shots!

Therefore, we appeal to you – get rid of this touristic bad habit and never take only one shot of your object! Change the angle, change the background, change the composition, change the lens, change anything!

Shoot:

 from bottom up  the back side / the bottom side (sometimes that’s the most interesting part)  from the above down (when you do that, the shot usually loses its depth, but that doesn’t mean it cannot look good)  as a composition with the surroundings (environmental portrait) or as a detail  with different background  …. and you will certainly be able to come up with something else!

An example: We made a trip with friends to a cottage in the countryside, in the middle of Canada, in the middle of nowhere, no telephone signal. We were shooting starry sky at night, without the light pollution, but we kept our cameras busy during the days as well. Our friend Jennifer brought a little decoration with her – a small, beautiful, purple hyacinth in a bottle. Since the bottle was not very photogenic, we just rummaged among the dishes and found an enamel jug that we used as a “vase”. And the purple (!) wall in the bathroom just asked to be used as a background! So, we did.

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3 @ 1/80 s, ISO 2500

22 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3 @ 1/60 s, ISO 2500 Of course, we came closer after taking the initial picture and made a close up of the hyacinth itself as you can see on the previous page. Yes, all it took was to come closer and turn the vase so that the two green leaves “framed” the main flower in the front.

What else? A beautiful light comes through the window! Whoosh and both the hyacinth and the vase are on the window sill. Notice the background with a soft grid on the next page – that was a soft insect netting on the window, which, when blurred, created such beautiful “moiré” effect ;-)

24 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3 @ 1/250 s, ISO 1250 Wonderful. Let us have a closer look at the hyacinth. The light coming from the window is really interesting, so we put the hyacinth back against the purple wall, but close to the window. Under a certain angle we got a ray of light into the frame, which together with an aperture f/3.3 created such beautiful bokeh! And yes, we know that this is a “strange” composition, divided in half and with a distinctive white spot in the background, two “no’s” that we warned you against. BUT – do you remember when we wrote last time and also above that all photographic rules are not really rules but “recommendations”? This is exactly the case when we personally prefer not to follow these recommendations as we simply like the shot. Just like that.

25 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3.3 @ 1/200 s, ISO 2500

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/11 @ 1/100 s, ISO 800 And what kind of photographers we would be if we left such a beautiful flower without taking a close up shot. This time we needed more light (we were not using a tripod) and so we took the flower out onto the porch and took a closer look. You can see the result on the previous page.

All these pictures with the hyacinth were taken with one camera – Nikon D810 and one lens – Nikor 105 mm. But without any doubt we would be able to make similar pictures with different camera or lens. Because the most important thing is not to abandon your object after taking the first shot, but to work it!

Different point of view

To take the additional shots you don’t always need to move the object or look for another spot. You just need to look at it differently … or from a different side! What do we mean by that? Just that if everybody looks at, and takes a photograph of, a gerbera only from above so that they can get a nice “bull’s eye” shot with a centered composition - YOU should go and have a look at its beauty from BEHIND. You will see how nicely you would be surprised. That obviously applies to any other flower – have a look at a sunflower picture two pages later. That is also a good example of a flower that is usually shot from the front and centered, or among other sunflowers. And yet, the sepals are so delicately hairy! The backs of flowers are seriously photogenic and unjustly neglected – you need to really fix that!

28 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/4 @ 1/100 s, ISO 800

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/45 @ 4s, ISO 200 And while we talk about a different angle – have you ever wondered what the flower, and generally flora, look like from a bug’s view? So, from the bottom up? If not, you should definitely try it! Lie down in the middle of a meadow and point your camera with a wide-angle lens upwards!

And if you don’t feel like lying down or the angle will not be wide enough, then just place your camera on the ground and press the timer (so that you can move out of the shot) – see the example.

Please, don’t be a lazy tourist, exercise your creativity, your photographic eye and the art of seeing and take away a lot of fantastic shots!

Nikon D810, Nikkor 16-35mm, f/13 @ 1/125 s, ISO 400 30

31 Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm, f/14 @ 1/250 s, ISO 400 LET THERE BE LIGHT

“There is no bad light. There is spectacular light and difficult light. It's up to you to use the light you have.“

Jay Maisel

When it comes to light, everybody knows that without it there would be no photograph. Light can be bright – in the middle of a sunny day, or soft – at dawn or dusk (so called golden hour) or it can be diffused with the help of some kind of a diffuser. The light can come from right or left – side light, from behind you – front-lit scene or it can be in front of you – backlight. Without light, there would be darkness.

Open shade (semi-shade)

Officially the best light for photographers in general. We don’t need to do anything, just enjoy it. It’s a soft, diffused light that falls evenly on all parts of the plant, it makes no shadows, it isn’t intrusive and it simply suits plants well. An open shade (semi-shade) comes naturally when the sky is cloudy as the clouds act as a “natural diffuser”, simply as if you shade the sun with a diffuser made of a cloud. This is a “safe” light that is relatively easy for photographers. However, if the day is too cloudy, with a completely overcast, steel-grey sky, it can feel a bit flat and without life, the resulting shot can be “cold” – blueish. That’s why the camera has the white balance setting “cloudy” (with a picture of a cloud) to have a little bit of warm yellow added to the picture.

But sometimes the conditions are not ideal, the sun is high and the light is bright and that’s not what you need … or maybe you can use the light creatively (for example backlight).

Bright light

Bright light is a strong light that is not diffused and shines directly on our object, strongly and steadily. For example, in the middle of a sunny summer day. Bright light usually doesn’t suit flowers as it casts strong shadows. And since flowers are soft and subtle creations and their photographs are often about lines, strong shadows can ruin the whole composition. On the other hand, bright light can be used creatively as well. Sometimes it is the light and shadows that catch our attention and you may want to take a picture of exactly that. Do it, but first think about it and make sure that it will not feel disruptive and that it’s indeed what you are looking for, that the light and shadows will make the picture special – that they became the main object of it.

The following shot of a poppy makes a good example. It was taken in the middle of the day during a photo workshop in Tuscany, when we take pictures all day and we have to work with whatever light there is. When we came across a poppy field, we were not able to wait for hours for an ideal evening or morning light, so we used the opportunity and photographed the poppies with a tele-lens in a strong, bright light. Apart from using the backlight (see the next chapter), it was the bright light that created this beautiful play of light and shadow on the poppy’s petals. All we needed to do was point the camera at the isolated flower that was standing a bit upfront among the others and thanks to the aperture f/4 and focal length 200 mm we were able to create a beautifully blurred red background, that surrounds the red shadow play.

Nikon D810, Nikkor 70-200mm, f/2.8 @ 1/8000 s, ISO 320 Backlight

In our opinion, backlight has a special place in the light hierarchy … in fact it stands a bit outside of it. Backlight means that the source of light is directly in front of you and unless you go blind, you can make perfect photographs.

A brighter light/backlight suits some plants really well, for example poppies seem even more lively and they glow. Pasqueflowers’ tiny hairs look amazing in a backlight. Tulips can look truly beautiful when you catch the light inside of the flower. It works really well when petals are fine and the light can get through them easily.

And when you, as a bonus, catch a morning dew in the backlight, or if you are not afraid to shoot during a spring shower (that kind when the sun is shining at the same time and there is a rainbow afterwards), then your photographic eye, as well as ours, will be very happy with those beautiful drops of light (alias bokeh!).

In any case it’s a fact that early morning and early evening light gives objects a nicer color tone.

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/4 @ 1/5000 s, ISO 1250

37 Nikon D800, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3.3 @ 1/640 s, ISO 500 Nikon D800, Nikkor 70-200mm, f/2.8 @ 1/3200 s, ISO 400

Silhouettes

When talking about backlight – flowers can be also photographed as silhouettes! There are two necessary conditions for photographing silhouettes:

a) the object has to be lit from the back with a strong source of light (and must not be lit from the front at the same time). A sunrise or a sunset are typical situations, but you can use an artificial source of light as well – a computer monitor, a TV screen or a night lamp b) the object’s shape has to be easily recognizable and simply pretty – as a silhouette

When it comes to point b), it’s true for most flowers, so don’t hesitate and include it into your photo portfolio.

40 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/4.5 @ 1/160 s, ISO 400 How to work and change the light

Diffuser

We talked about this gadget in the first lesson, so just a quick recap – it helps to alter the light and change it from bright into diffused. You can use a white umbrella as well, but it has to be white, because colored ones would usually reflect and add an unwanted color tone.

Reflector

We talked about this one as well. It helps to reflect /add light where there is not enough of it. It is usually needed when photographing flowers with a dark center (e.g. sunflower), a “deep” shape (e.g. calla lily), flowers that overhang towards the ground or when we photograph plants from the bottom or when shooting in a backlight and the front is not lit sufficiently. In these cases, you can add a little bit of additional light to the dark areas to achieve a better picture.

The most common combination of reflector is gold on one side – warmer tone – and silver on the other side – colder tone. Instead of the silver side, you can use aluminium foil, it works just as well and is cheaper ;-)

Which one you chose depends on your preferences, the object, the specific situation and the result you want to achieve. There are no general rules or recommendations what suits which flower better. Try! Notice what effect the reflector has on its leaves as well as the blooms to make sure you get the result you were after.

ATTENTION! Learn how to work with the reflector, the light you create might be too bright – practice how it works, what angle you need to hold it at and how much light it reflects. Even though it may sound strange, sometimes you may need a diffuser at the same time as the reflector.

PHOTOGRAPHING INDOORS

One of the best things about plants and flowers is that you can photograph them all year round, whether outside in May, or indoors in December, they are accessible all year, outside or in a shop.

Photographing inside has its advantages, but also (what a surprise) disadvantages.

We think the major advantage of shooting inside is the control over weather. It’s not raining (unless we splash over our heads with a sprayer), the sun is not scorching and – main of all – there is no wind. Yes, that wind which keeps outdoor moving exactly the part of the plant that we just focused at. That wind that forces us to shoot at very short speeds of shutter so that the photographs would be sharp. Indoors we can easily use 1/10 second, no whiff will blur the center of our shot.

However, it’s the longer times that force us to use tripod indoors. If you are not a fan of tripods, we have bad news for you – you cannot avoid it if you want to become really good floristic photographers. With a tripod you can shoot at the mentioned time 1/10 second and the tripod will be a super patient assistant, holding whatever you give him to hold.

We don’t want to talk much about tripods, but would like to mention two things:

a) We are not rich enough to buy cheap stuff – you get what you pay for. If you buy a tripod for 25 EUR, you cannot expect miracles, flexible positions and strong stability. b) If I bought the tripod I have now straight away, I could have saved the price of the previous two (or more).

Or, as someone on the internet mentioned – “The disadvantage of a cheap tripod is that it’s light. The advantage of an expensive tripod is that it’s light”. We just want to say that investing into a good quality, stable tripod is a good idea and it will save you money later.

Of course, you can shoot inside without a tripod, but then you need as much light as possible. Shoot during the day and move your models close to the window, where there will be nice, open shade/semi-shade (see the chapter about light above). If the time needed drops below 1/100 second, then you are in trouble and you need to adjust the exposure. Increase the ISO and/or lower the f-number and open the

42 aperture a bit more. From our experience we can say that if we want to shoot inside with an f-number higher than f/8, then we use a tripod – take this as our personal experience.

What if you cannot be close to the window, or there is not enough light outside and you cannot increase the ISO any more or open the aperture? Well then you need the tripod! You don’t have one? You don’t have a picture either! In that case it’s better to get a cup of coffee and leave it for later.

A cactus photographed inside by a window. For a correct exposure and a chosen f-number, we needed a shutter speed 1/6 s, which definitely requires a tripod.

COLORS AND MONOCHROMATIC PICTURES

Colors generally

There are many theories, descriptions, symbolisms and characteristics of colors and their meanings and influences on humans and we are sure you read many of them. We decided to pick a few of the more interesting (we believe) examples and point out that colors are not perceived and described in the same way around the world.

Blue

Blue is good, but why? A blue color has a lot of positive associations all over the world, maybe the most. When we had a topic “favorite color” in our Photo-project P52, more than half of all photographs were related to blue color. In North America and Europe, it’s perceived as a pleasant, healing and soothing color (maybe that’s why it was used by nurses in hospitals), but maybe sometimes it soothes too much, as it is also connected to sadness and depression (to have blues, feeling blue, there is blue Monday etc. and we have to agree, as we can often experience the annual Saint Louis Blues).

In some countries it is used to “fend off the devil” and amulets in the form of a blue eye can be found for example in Turkey, Greece, Albania or Iran. For the Eastern culture blue is the color of immortality and in Hinduism it’s the color of Krishna. And in contrary to all the hype that blue is a boy’s color, it is actually a girl’s color in China!

We have a blue photograph two pages above, so we will save the space and paper when printing this lesson ;-)

Green

For a long time, one of the instructors of this course thought that green is in fact blue (and the other way round) and in fact nobody really convinced him otherwise till now. By that we want to say that it is important to keep the child inside you alive and creative, but also that the perception of colors can be individual and especially the shades “between blue and green” are often perceived differently by people. Green is a color of nature (or chlorophyll), happiness (mainly in Ireland), crispness, but sometimes it can mean envy (“green-eyed” monster). Green is forbidden in Indonesia, but it is a national color for Mexico as it represents independence. In the Eastern cultures it means happiness and fertility, but sometimes infidelity and apparently in China man never wear green hats as it would indicate they have been cheated.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3.5 @ 1/320 s, ISO 400 Pink

Girly, romantic, soft …. No, not everywhere! In Japan this is perceived as a boy’s color! In Korea it conveys trust … and you know the singer P!NK, right?

Red

Love, excitement, energy, blood, warning, danger …. all this is conveyed by red color! In our home country it’s perceived as a color of communism and Russia, in Asian cultures it’s a very important color because it brings happiness, joy, prosperity and a long life. Even brides are wearing it and the money in a form of a present are handed over in red envelopes. In India it’s a color of serenity and spirituality, while in Africa it’s a color of death, in Nigeria it means aggression.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm, f/2.8 @ 1/1000 s, ISO 250 47

Yellow

Warm and cozy, the color of sun and optimism, the color of hope, but also notices or warning. Sometimes a color of envy. It’s supposed to raise appetite, especially when combined with red, which is why it’ used by a famous fast-food company. In China it’s a color of pornography, so be careful if somebody talks to you about a “yellow book”! In Africa this color is close to gold, so it represents people from the higher social ranks. In Japan it’s a color of bravery and warriors wear yellow chrysanthemums to show their respect to the royal family and the emperor.

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/22 @ 1/3s, ISO 200 48

Orange

Autumn, crops, harvest, curiosity and creativeness. The national color of the Netherlands and the Dutch royal family, a symbol of sexuality and fertility in Colombia, happiness and good health in Eastern cultures …. and the color of robes of Buddhist monks. The color of pumpkins and Halloween. In Japan and China, it’s a color of good health and happiness, in India it’s a color that represents the religious identity of the Hindus.

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/6.3 @ 1/2000s, ISO 640 Purple

Color of kings and royalty! Also, a spiritual color and a color of nobility – for example in Japan only the highest standing Buddhist monks were allowed to wear the color. It is also a color of pieta and faith, among Christians a color of penance. In Brazil and Thailand, it’s a color of sadness (did you know that wearing purple is deemed unsuitable unless worn to a funeral?), in the USA it’s a color of appreciation and honor (“Purple Heart”). As we mentioned in the first sentence – in Britain and France it’s a color of royal family … because a purple pigment used to be rare and expensive and therefore purple fabric was only worn by the wealthiest.

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/4.2 @ 1/250s, ISO 1000 White

In our country and the western world white is a symbol of purity, sacred, innocence … and that’s why brides are dressed in white. But in China, Korea and several other countries, white is a symbol of death, bad luck and it is a grieving color, worn to funerals. So, you can choose. Perhaps we should go to Peru, where it’s a color of angels, good health and time.

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/4.5 @ 1/1250s, ISO 1000 Black

In our countries and in western world it’s a color of death, sadness, occultism (black magic), devil or hell, illness and unhappiness. It’s a mystery why it’s also an elegant color and one that makes you look slimmer and every woman should have a “little black” dress in her wardrobe. In Africa it symbolizes age, maturity and manliness and in the Middle East it’s a color of grieve and at the same time rebirth. But apart from the movie Black Tulip we don’t know any black flower, so we will not include an example this time.

So, as you can see, it’s not easy with colors, is it! ;-)

A color is, in any case, the strongest element of design and we are convinced that this is also the main reason that makes flowers so popular as an object of photography. It’s not easy to write about colors because so much has been written already. We will therefore only mention the basics and in the simplest way, so that you will finally really remember the “color theory” ;-).

Colors can be sorted into warm and cold (but don’t worry if you don’t have the time, somebody already did that for us) and all you need to do is imagine fire (red, orange, yellow) and water (blue, green) and you know which one is which.

We also know primary colors, secondary colors and tertiary colors. The primary colors are red, blue and yellow. These are basic colors, they did not originate by combining/mixing other colors. All other colors can be produced by combining the primary colors.

Secondary colors are created by mixing two primary colors 50/50. Among these colors are orange (yellow + red), green (yellow + blue) and purple (red + blue).

Tertiary colors are created by mixing one primary and one secondary color 25/75 or 75/25.

Color schemes

Based on their relationship, colors can be sorted into two main groups: analogous and complementary.

Analogous colors

Analogous colors are placed next to each other on the color wheel and that’s why they combine well, but they may not offer enough contrast.

Complementary colors

Complementary colors complement each other and they are placed opposite each other on the color wheel. By combining them, you can achieve enough contrast. The color combinations are for example – blue + orange, purple + yellow and red + green.

design by pixien.com 53

Have a look how it works in nature:

It’s fantastic that although we often cannot decide what color to use on a bathroom wall and how to color-coordinate bathroom towels with it, nature has sorted it out a long time ago. Have you noticed how it combines colors without even thinking about it? A little poppy head inside a red poppy flower is green and a purple crocus has yellow anthers inside … isn’t it fascinating?

Nikon D7000, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/4 @ 1/640 s, ISO 100 54

What flowers or plants come to mind when talking about colors?

White – snowdrop, ox-eyed daisy Yellow – narcissus, sunflower Orange – tulip, gerbera Red – rose, rosehip Green – grass, leaves Blue – forget-me-not, knapweed, hydrangea Purple – bluebell, hyacinth, crocus, iris

Monochromatic

A photograph is monochromatic when there is only one color and its hues, tones and tinges used in it. It means both the object and the background have so called “partner look”. There is no contrast, but the resulting images are usually really strong!

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/5.6 @ 1/80s, ISO 800 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3.3 @ 1/1000s, ISO 800

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3.5 @ 1/250s, ISO 1000

MORE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Lines

For some the most important element of design, for some the second most important element of design. Either way, lines have a strong say in photography and the same goes for nature. Lines can be vertical, horizontal, diagonal, arching, narrow or wide … and most often they are used to draw the eye towards the main object of the photograph. But thanks to their power and especially in nature – lines themselves are rewarding objects for photographers, whether they are long and narrow swards of grass, tree branches or ribs on a leaf. Nikon D800, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/4 @ 1/4s, ISO 100

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3.8 @ 1/400s, ISO 640

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/36 @ 1/5s, ISO 250 Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/3.2 @ 1/1000s, ISO 160

Texture

Imagine a randomly repeated pattern that you can usually touch and feel. We often find texture in nature and if you want a good example, imagine a tree bark, sunflower seeds, tree cones … And of course, whatever you find in the vegetable department in a supermarket – a Romanesco broccoli for example (see below). And we can add a cactus on the next page (though we recommend to touch it only veeeery carefully!)

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/20 @ 1/2s, ISO 100

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/36 @ 6s, ISO 200 Shape

Shape is a two-dimensional object and it is simply a way we learn to identify things around us. Circle, square, rectangle, star, heart … But shapes don’t have to be strictly based on basic geometry, they can be abstract. In any case, in photography, well defined and recognizable shapes work best. A maple leaf has a nice shape and the name of the shape is, well, “maple-leaf shape”. We discovered the shape of a circle on this flower bud of a carline thistle when we “looked differently” from above. And we found the shape of heart on a clover leaf on the next page.

Nikon D810, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/5.6 @ 1/125s, ISO 400

Nikon D7000, Nikkor Macro 105mm, f/4.2 @ 1/500s, ISO 640 THE ASSIGNMENT #3

1/ You can choose here – take either a picture of plant/flower where a symmetry/centered composition is the key or take a shot in a backlight. The most courageous can fulfill both at once ;-)

2/ You have a choice here as well – take a monochromatic photograph of a flower or plant. Think about what is your object and what is the background, whether you find it in the natural environment or make it yourself. Try to avoid the usual green (but this is not compulsory!), ideally, show us something unusual and creative! Or take a picture where you use some other element of design!

Please, be selective and upload only TWO photographs for the assignement.

You can add the photographs that did not fit into the assignment gallery into the discussion in a separate thread / forum! And don’t be shy to discuss them together!

When you upload the pictures, please add information about the aperture, shutter speed and a short description why you have chosen this particular photo among all those taken during the week, how did you take the picture and so on.

Happy hunting for light and colors!

Monika and Patrik