TECHNIQUES

Pro photographer Andy Small shows you how to get stunning artistic floral shots in your home, garden and wildflower fields

During the past year many photographers have had to resort to finding their inspiration much closer to home. This has not been an issue for me as, for the past 30 years, I have ceaselessly explored the photographic possibilities of my garden and surrounding hedgerows in the Hampshire countryside, in the UK.

As a fine-art photographer, my underlying approach has always been to use my camera as creatively as possible, exploring ideas for digital photographs that echo my appreciation for other forms of art, such as painting and drawing.

When I first started exhibiting my work in the 1990s many people couldn’t believe that they were looking at photographs. I assured them that they were, especially as this was before the days of computers and at the time I was using film and chemicals.

Using my garden and nearby countryside hedgerows as inspiration means that I am never at a loss for photographic ideas. I also knew, from the beginning, that I did not want my images to be purely descriptive, no matter how alluring the subject may be. So I was drawn to the more intimate plants, avoiding the more showy specimens. Seed heads have always fascinated me and the different ways that plants have developed to disperse their seeds.

I have used a variety of techniques and equipment over the years to help pursue my efforts to bring an artistic creativity to my images, including: wide-angle and macro lenses; panoramic views as well intimate details; infrared-converted cameras and different types of filters; and multiple-exposures and intentional camera movement. Over the next few pages I’ll explain these techniques so that you can find inspiration close to home and shoot fantastic flora in your own back garden or nearby green spaces.

Pictured Creative abstracts Shot at home or in the field, professional looking flower images can be more than just pin-sharp records

FLOWER PHOTOGRAPHY

Andy Small

Andy Small is a nature, landscape and macro flower photographer. He runs flower photography workshops for the Royal Horticultural Society at RHS Wisley and gives talks on his work to clubs and societies.

To see more of Andy’s work, visit: @andysmallphotography www.andysmall.co.uk

All images: © Andy Small

To create a memorable picture, every part of the image needs to be as carefully and well thought out as the main subject

PLANT PORTRAITS

The approach to taking plant portraits shares certain similarities with those an artist might use when creating a portrait of a person. However, trying to capture a likeness of the subject is not necessarily the only aim of the artist, and it helps to have an affinity with your subject. I am surrounded by nature in my garden and when I go walking around the fields near me. This gives me the opportunity to really get to know the different characteristics of the local flowers and plants.

Spending time looking at subjects is time well spent. As a photographic artist I try to make people aware of things they might not initially notice themselves.

Composition is key

Once I have decided on the aspects of my subject that I want to explore, my thoughts turn to how best to convey these in the final photograph. A great deal of the success of an image will be determined by the composition. This is basically the arrangement of visual elements within the frame, but its effect is so much more than this.

A successful composition can draw the viewer to what you want them to see and evoke differing emotional responses. There are a number of visual elements that we need to be aware of when composing our images and the list is subjective, but the following are what I consider to be key…