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Photographing Wildflowers

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Photographing Wildflowers in the Prairie

During October I took a workshop in Prairie Photography at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Missouri. This was my second class with photographer, Scott Avetta. During each day of the two day workshop we started our day photographing out in the prairie area. This area is a flat open area and the instructor chose the early morning hours to photograph because their is softer light, morning fog, dew and low winds. All of these components work together to make a great atmosphere for photography.

In this lens, I will share with you some of the tips that Scott shared with us and show you some of the photographs that I took during the class.

Tips for Photographing Wildflowers

Here are some of my favorite tips for photographing wildflowers that I picked up from the workshop.

Start early- We did most of our shooting from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. This way we captured the best light of the day and had calm wind conditions.
Overcast Days work well for wildflower photography. We had a sunny day so by 9:00 a.m. the sun was starting too get to bright, but the instructor mentioned that overcast days work great for wildflower photography too!
Use a tripod. Since we were shooting early in the morning in lower light using a tripod was a must in order to get a sharp image.
Get close to your subject. It is much more interesting to get a close up of the flowers. I used a 50mm lens when I could get real close and a longer 100-200 lens when the flowers were further away.
Get eye level with your subject. It will make a much better image than looking down on the flower.
Look at the entire area around the flower you are photographing. Make sure there is nothing in the background or foreground that would distract from your main focus.
Don't be afraid to break the rules !
Go slow...work the area.
Enjoy Yourself!

Purple and Yellow Wildflowers

get close to your subject.

These are some wildflowers I photographed in the prairie area at Shaw Nature Reserve at 6:30 in the morning.

Photographing Wildflowers

I enjoy reading books to get photography ideas.

Photographing Wildflowers: Techniques for the Advanced Amateur and Professional (Natural World)

by: Craig & Nadine Blacklock

Amazon Price: $13.00 (as of 06/03/2012)

Grasses make good Photographs

I enjoyed photographing these grasses in the early morning light when they still were fresh with dew.

Wildflowers of Missouri

a guide to Missouri wildflowers

Did you ever wonder what that beautiful blossom in the field was called? This guide to Missouri wildflowers will help you to identify those unknown beauties!

Missouri Wildflowers: A Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Missouri

by: Edgar Denison

Amazon Price: $145.70 (as of 06/03/2012)

Autumn Leaves and Wildflowers

photographing autumn

In these photos I captured some autumn leaves up against some purple wildflowers on the prairie area at Shaw Nature Reserve. This photo was taken early in the morning and I used a tripod to get a sharper image.

Autumn Colors by mbgphoto

Fall Shades of Orange and Blue by mbgphoto

Pink Wildflower

I love the way this pink flower stuck out among the prairie grasses. I used the Aperture setting on my camera set to f4.5 for this photo in order to make the flower sharp and the background blurred.

Pink Wildflower by mbgphoto

Prairie Wildflowers

photographing wildflowers

I love the way this cream colored flower shines out in the early morning light. I used a f5.6 aperture in order to get the background slightly blurred.

Fall on the Prairie by mbgphoto
Purple Asters and prairie grass make great combinations.

Purple Asters by mbgphoto