Visual Wilderness
  • Get Started
  • Shop
    • SPECIAL OFFERS
    • STREAMING SERVICE
    • Browse by Topic
    • Learn To Shoot
    • Post Processing
    • Online Classes
    • eBooks
    • Landscape Photography Guide
  • Blog
    • Blog
    • Guest Photographers
  • About
  • My Account
    • My Account
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • 0Shopping Cart
Cover for flower photography composition blog post by Padma Inguva

Getting started with Progressive Flower Photography Composition

June 5, 2020/in Composition/by Padma Inguva

Photography does not have to be expensive to be enjoyable. We can scratch the itch without spending thousands of dollars to trek to Yellowstone, Yosemite, or Iceland. These are certainly fulfilling and adrenaline-pumping experiences, but thankfully I get the same rush when I drive around my neighborhood looking for magnolia blossoms with clippers in my hand! YES, I am a different kind of thrill seeker. With a full-time job and kids, I can only take one or two big trips a year for my landscape photography. But, to keep my passion alive, I need my quota of time spent behind the camera. My solution is to bring a little piece of nature home that I spend hours, sometimes days, photographing. What piece of nature is this? Flower Photography.

Today I will walk you through what went on in my head during a shoot with a bouquet of about 15 white tulips I bought at Kroger’s for 13 dollars. Welcome to Padma’s World!!

Step 1: Start with a Simple in Flower Photo

I did not overwhelm myself with all 15 at once. I selected one flower which I examined carefully to see whether it was free of blemishes. With my macro lens, I then photographed that one flower 15 different ways. Generally, I change lenses, POV, lighting, and backgrounds – different colors, textures, and depths can all be used. The possibilities are endless with flower photos.

Honestly, this exercise never gets old for me. It forces me to work the subject from every possible angle. If you really want to learn composition, I would suggest this tip to everyone. For this particular shoot, I decided to keep it simple and left my macro lens on for the duration. Here are a couple that I liked from that one single tulip.

  • Backlit Macro Photography with a Light Box by Padma Inguva

    Backlit Macro Photography with a Light Box

  • Macro flower photography with a poinsettia petal for a splash of color by Padma Inguva

    Macro photography with a Poinsettia petal for a splash of color

Step 2: Experiment with your flower photography composition

Now it’s time to add another tulip. And another and then another to experiments with progressive flower photography composition. The best way to learn about flower arrangement is to keep trying. There are infinite ways to arrange a set of flowers. I am inspired enough to spend 4 to 6 hours straight photographing them in dozens of arrangements.

Be mindful of how long the flowers are out of water, however. If left too long, they will start to look withered and will not photograph well. So treat them delicately and try to have water handy to put them into when not in use.

  • Vertical flower photography composition with 3 tulips by Padma Inguva

    Vertical Flower Photography Composition with 3 Tulips

  • Minimalistic photography composition with flowers

    Minimalistic photography composition with flowers

  • Flower photography composition by Padma Inguva

    Experimenting with photography composition flow

My flower photography compositions are inspired by Japanese Ikebana  and Western floral styles. Ikebana is a living, ancient art form in which blooms, stems, leaves, and branches are arranged in an intentional, almost sculpturesque ways. The goal of an Ikebanist is to draw out the most beautiful forms of these plants. The results are minimalistic, yet touching.

There is a certain philosophical, meditative element to it, that in Japanese culture is steeped in flower symbolism. Western style flower arrangements emphasize abundance, often placing flowers to maximize lushness, sometimes in crowded groupings. While both styles appeal to me immensely in their own ways, I try to marry them for flower photography compositions. Even my 15 tulip arrangements, the most full in this series, are simple in composition.

  • Progressive flower photography by Padma Inguva

    Progressive flower photography Example #1

  • Progressive flower photography by Padma Inguva

    Progressive flower photography Example #2

Step 3: Add color to your Flower Photography

In the beginning, work with a single color scheme for your flower photography compositions – this will be easier to edit in post-processing. For example, if you are working with a pink and red color scheme, the camera settings would have to be slightly different from pink to red.

Progressive flower photography composition with 2 colors by Padma Inguva

Adding color to your progressive flower photography composition

This may result in complicated post processing to get your exposure and colors just the way you want them. So unless you have intermediate Photoshop Layers & Masks post processing skills, it will be hard to combine the exposures to get to the final version of the image you want. Even after all these years, I still try to work with one type of flower at a time. Simplicity is the best way in this case.

Step 4: Finishing Touches

After all is said and done, when I had photographed all my tulips and they started inevitably fading, I gathered up all the petals that had fallen to the ground and made a heart out of them. How did I do it? I cut a template out of a cardboard box and used that as my guide, ensuring smooth, even borders for my shape. It reminds me of coloring books. Really, I try to stay inside the lines! And sometimes, if I do not have enough petals to make a heart, I cheat a little by taking two different shots and merge them in Photoshop using layers and masks.

Flower photography composition on a black background

Flower photography composition on a black background by Padma Inguva

Landscape photographers love to dream of their next big adventure but, as I’ve demonstrated with these lovely tulips, we don’t have to go to great lengths to get great photos. Personally, I can get just as lost in a bouquet of flowers as at a trail-side waterfall.

And the opportunity to look closely, experiment, and slow down will help you become more familiar with your lenses, camera settings, lighting setup, color theory, and post-processing in Photoshop. All for just $13 or less! So give flower photography a shot if you’re looking for inspiration. You may just find your inspiration at your local grocery store, garden, or florist.

About Author Padma Inguva

Padma Inguva is a flower photographer who first picked up a camera to capture the fruits of her labor in her New Jersey garden. Her curiosity and perfectionism have driven her to spend thousands of hours in shooting and processing floral portraits and she loves sharing her gained insights with others. Her Meetups, webinars, workshops, and mentoring sessions cover topics like equipment selection, composition, lighting, and post processing. Her hope is that through photography, others can learn to see the beauty in little things and create for themselves an oasis in this constantly demanding life.

Website | Instagram | 500px

Tags: Flower Photography
You might also like
Cover photo for flower photography Blog about photographing orchids by Anne BelmontFlower Photography: Capturing Stunning Orchid Photos
Flower Photography with Lensbaby Sweet 80 Optic by Anne BelmontFlower Photography Tips to Create Impact and Emotion
Cover photo for flower photography blog about photographing tulips by Anne BelmontFlower Photography: How to Capture Breathtaking Photos of Tulips
Cover for flower photography blog article about photo light box by Padma InguaHow to use Photo Light Box for Creative Flower Photography
Cover for flower photography blog post about crocuses and snowdrops by Padma Inguva.Backyard Flower Photography Tips to Capture Snowdrops and Crocuses
Cover for blog about backlight photography by Padma InguvaHow to use Backlight for creative Flower Photography

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY NEWSLETTER

Join 45,000+ Nature Photographers and get the free eBooks, free creativity course & discount codes right in your inbox.

loader

Note: We never share your email address with anyone. More Info.

Blog | Shop | About

 Email Policy  |  Privacy Policy  |  Terms

INFOCUS NEWSLETTER

Join 45,000+ other photographers and get the Free eBooks, Free Creativity Course & Discount Codes right in your inbox.


loader

Note: We never share your email address with anyone. More Info.

All Rights Reserved, © Copyright Visual Wilderness

5 Ideas to capture Abstract Nature Photography CompositionCover for Nature Photography article on shutter speed by Varina Patel.Landscape photography from West Thumb, Yellowstone National Park by Varina PatelHow to build a Better Mobile Photography Business Website
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OK

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
Learn More
NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY NEWSLETTERJoin 45,000+ Nature Photographers

Unlock Your Photography Potential! Get Free Webinars, Tips, eBooks, and More Delivered Straight to Your Inbox! 📸✨

We never share your email address with anyone. More Info.

Enter your email address