flower art Archives - Finding Natures Beauty

Orchids in Utah

No, orchids do not grow naturally in Utah.

But my sister, who is a florist, has more than a dozen in her home and they bloom like crazy! I took some time to photograph them indoors and stay out of the heat as well. I love photographing flowers (Fine Art by Kathleen ) and have shown my work in many different art shows around the country.

The first example is SOOC (straight out of camera) with only a few minor tweaks to color and contrast. And cropped in the square format.

I back lit the blossoms against the bright kitchen window and intentionally over exposed it. Letting the background go white and keeping the focus tight on the blossoms.

Try this at home!

It works best with a delicate bloom with not too many petals in the flower. Tulips and orchids are great subjects. Roses, not so much. They are too dense to give the delicate look this technique works best on.

In this second image I used a similar technique .

This one I did not shoot directly into the back light, but more at an angle. You can see the outdoors in the background, through a screen if you look closely. The dappled background comes from using a very shallow depth of field, again focusing tight on the main bloom to get sharp focus. In this image, I did NOT overexpose it to give that ethereal light and delicate look in the first image.

A shallow depth of field, 1.4 or 2.8 usually will give this type of look. This image I cropped to give a stronger feel using the rule of thirds:

Using a tic-tac-toe type of imaginary grid, crop so that the main points of interest fall where the grid intersects.
Also put the main horizontal lines or the main vertical lines on one of the grid lines. This usually gives the strongest composition.

Use a shallow depth of field:

Either put your camera on M (manual) and dial in the exposure or, if you are too nervous to do that, just set the camera on A (aperture), choose the smallest aperture and let the camera pick the shutter speed. (The smallest aperture is the one with the lowest number, ie: 1.8, 2.0, 3.5, 4.5 or 5.6, depending on your lens. The numbers are on the lens itself. Just turn the ring until the lowest number lines up with the white dot on the lens.)

Sometimes the most gorgeous images are indoors! Experiment and let me see your results.

One of the REALLY nice benefits of traveling is being able to visit with family and friends more often.

Thanks for reading. I hope I expand your view of the world and give you a few tips for creating your own gorgeous images.

If you would like to see more of my travels and hints for creating better travel pictures, please subscribe to this blog below.

Questions? Feel free to comment and I will answer!

Art makes us feel. That is one of its purposes.

Pink Daisy

Pink Swirls can be purchased as a wonderful gift or for yourself as a stunning example of contemporary flower art photography.

At a show recently, an art lover came in and gazed at this image of Pink Swirls and stood there for the longest time.

I could see she was immersed in the image and didn’t disturb her until she turned to me.

Colors help to enhance the natural feeling a viewer has when looking at art.

Yellow in an image brings warmth and radiates sunshine to most viewers. The image below is so different from the Pink Daisy image above and it evokes a different feeling when viewed. When choosing wall art decor for your home, be sure to take into account the feeling you want to have when looking at the image.

These yellow tulips exude a feeling of happiness and aliveness. A “good morning sunshine” type of feel, if you will. This would be good in a morning room, a kitchen area, or a breakfast nook. A “wake up and start the day with a smile” type of image.

Different colors in wall decor evoke different feelings.

Now if you take the image below, with all the cool blues you get a much different calming feeling. As you gaze at this image, you can be reminded of summer days by the lake, or at your cabin. This image evokes an entirely different feeling. Better hung in an area where you want to have a peaceful vibe, maybe to wind down at the end of the day.