HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH YOUR GARDENS
"Anyone who loves photographing gardens, Peter Atkins and Associates offered some insights on how to create better images.
Go out in early morning and late afternoon. Photography is all about light, so that is the first thing you must keep in mind, I think for gardens in general, the best time to photograph is early morning and late
afternoon. At those times, the sun is not directly above, and the light is a little softer. You can see the plants better, in a way. It is not broken by hard shadows. That will make your photography already one hundred times better, instead of photographing at midday.
Be intentional about your composition. In real life, of course, there is no frame. A photo is bound in a frame. To compose a photo, Peter recommends taking time to reflect. “Sometimes it’s not necessary to have everything in the frame, but what works best in the frame,”
“When you are walking around a garden and experiencing it, you must keep that in mind: What are you responding to? You want your photo to be that. And sometimes it is better to narrow your focus, so things become clearer.”
Tell a story. Peter is constantly thinking while photographing: What is this picture going to be about? It might be a combination of plants, or a sense of space, or both. It might be colors, or textures. Sometimes you cannot see a whole garden at all at once. Areas open and narrow in. When photographing, you can notice all those things and think about what you want to highlight.
“It’s storytelling,” “You must create a narrative: What is the story of this garden? What do I want to show people?” “Your garden could be a very small intimate space; your garden could be a large landscape. So, tell that story with your photos. It all depends on what you are trying to say.”
Seize the moment. To create the best images, be ready for opportunities to come to your immediate attention. If the light is right, and everything is right, you just must grab that moment. You must be able to think very quickly. You cannot just say, oh, I am going to get it later, or tomorrow.
Go out in early morning and late afternoon. Photography is all about light. The best time to photograph is early morning and late afternoon. At those times, the sun is not directly above, and the light is a little softer. You can see the plants better, in a way. It is not broken by hard shadows. That will make your photography already one hundred times better, instead of photographing at midday.
If the light is right, and everything is right, you just must grab that moment. You must be able to think very quickly. You cannot just say, oh, I am going to get it later, or tomorrow. You will not be able to get
it tomorrow because the shadows will not be the same, the light will be different, or the moment of excitement is lost".