Copyright © Noella Ballenger   Soft light on an overcast day brings out the rich color in the thistle.  By using a very long telephoto lens (400mm), isolating one thistle and keeping my depth of field restricted by using an F4, I was able to blur a very busy background and make the one thistle look exciting.

You’ve decided to photograph flowers, but how do you portray them in a way that will keep the viewers attention—show that creative wow factor that you saw and felt when you clicked the shutter button?

 

I’ve always felt that it is important to feel comfortable with a chosen subject and to have a general plan before I just grab my camera and run out the door.  So when I approach flower photography, I like to not only do a bit of research on the subject, but ask myself some questions:  What is it that I want to accomplish?  What is it that I would like the viewer to see and feel?  What shots am I seeing in my minds eye?  And keep in mind, these are general questions—when you arrive at you destination, try to keep an open mind to what you might find.  Sometimes the unexpected becomes a wonderful treasure.

 

So let’s think together about what makes an intriguing and wonderful flower photograph.  A great place to start your research is to view other photo artists or painters work.  How have they depicted the subject?  I don’t want to duplicate their work or take their ideas, but I want to get a new perspective on the subject and what I think they wanted me to see.  Their inspiring works of art can be a great stepping stone to your own creative ideas. 

 

When it comes to flowers, I don’t think any painter says it better than Georgia O’Keefe.  This fabulous abstract artist captured the subject brilliantly.  For examples of some of her work, visit this web site. 

 

Let me give you a few quotes from Georgia O’Keefe.
“Everyone has many associations with a flower – the idea of flowers.  You put out your hand to touch the flower – lean forward to smell it – maybe touch it with your lips almost without thinking – or give it to someone to please them.  Still – in a way – nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small – we haven’t time – and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time.” 

Then later, “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it,” she said cupping her hand and holding it close to her face, “it’s your world for the moment.  I want to give that world to someone else… I want them to see it whether they want to or not.”

 

So she took the small flowers and painted them gigantically and showed the world an everyday subject in a way they had never been seen before.  She took command and decided that they would see it her way, “…whether they wanted to or not”!

 

What did she do that we perhaps should consider doing with our photographic endeavors when we go into the garden or desert?  How do we find our own way, as she did, to share the sights that can be found in the botanical world?

 

I think when I study O’Keefe, the overwhelming feeling I get is one of sharing the intimacy of the moment – of the view – with her.   Then I feel the impact of her passion about her subject, about her art and about her life.  WOW, those big thoughts!

 

Copyright © Noella Ballenger   It was a very warm day in Canada when I saw this little bush covered in these flowers.  It was in a shady spot so I just sat down to keep it company.  The flowers are about the size of a quarter.  They looked pretty and fresh and there were so many than from just one spot, I could take a variety of views.

Copyright © Noella Ballenger   You don’t know a flower until you explore it from all angles.

Intimacy and Passion 

 

What will allow us to get the sense of intimacy and passion into our botanical imaging?  Does it mean always getting close to the subject … not necessarily, but it does mean taking away everything and anything that doesn’t contribute to the view you want to share.  And it is in the act of sharing that there is an intimate bond formed between the viewer and the creator.  When you can get the viewer to say, “Wow, I never saw the flower that way before!”, then you know that you have made that intimate connection.  You have allowed them the freedom to enter your world and share your vision and that is about as intimate as you can get.

 

Passion comes about by caring deeply for what you are doing, or in this case, your subject being photographed.  Many people treat passion rather cavalierly in that they become too casual, too blasé.  Let me tell you a little story about a meeting I attended to listen to an outstanding professional photographer talk about his stunning photographs.  Afterward his presentation, I saw and overheard a young man come up to him with a small portfolio of his work and he asked the speaker to critique it for him.  You could see that he had to draw on all of his courage to approach this professional, but he couldn’t muster the energy to believe in his own body of work… flipping through it and offering excuses.  This disparaging of his own work, diminishing his passion by his behavior and body language left an indelible impression on me.  And, this isn’t the only time that I have seen this.  In over twenty years of teaching photography, I have been approached any number of times and each time that it happens, I try to emulate that wonderful pro.  He slowed the young photographer down, began a discussion and critique of just one image (how to improve or make it stronger), and pushed him into revealing his passion for the subject of his own work.

 

If you have the passion, explore it, photograph it and then share it with others with that same passion—claim it with pride.  

 

So having said that… You have come to your chosen destination to find the flowers that spark your photographic creativity.  Let’s see if some of the following questions will help you find a way to begin--to push you into showing your passion and into creating the intimate connection between yourself, your subject and your viewer.