Spring time is one of the best seasons for adding some colour to your portfolio, and to really get in tune with nature and take advantage of the magical scenes created during this season.
Last year I took a trip to the South Island of New Zealand to photograph the spring time lupine flowers for the first time. Their colour, shape and sheer beauty was something I had wanted to photograph for a very long time, and I was not disappointed when I arrived. Fields of these flowers grow in certain parts of the south, you can find them roadside, by the rivers, and amongst the mountains. Although a pest to New Zealand (not native), they really are quite stunning and completely change the look of these places compared to visiting in other seasons.
Here are some tips for shooting in spring time, especially in relation to flower shots:
1# Golden hours
To get the best light and make the most of the colour that is presented to you, I suggest shooting during golden hour, early morning and late afternoon. Flowers and foreground can be completely transformed when it comes to light. The golden light of the sun hitting flowers can cast a beautiful light to them, bring out the colour and making them pop in your photograph.
2# Foreground
Use the foreground (in my case it was flowers) to your advantage. Incorporate them into your frame, and bring the viewer into your image with a colourful start. Get right in amongst the flowers, let them take centre stage.
3# Focus stacking
Sometimes it will be necessary to focus stack your images. My recent spring trip was the first time I had to use this technique, as I could not get both the flowers and landscape in the distance all in focus. In the image below, I have focus blended two images. One was taken focusing on the flowers at the front, then another was taken focusing on the background.
4# Using a polarizer
Using a polarizer can help with the amount of glare coming from the sun, especially when shooting during the daytime (against a blue sky). Also if you are shooting a scene that involves water, it can help bring out the reflection and colour in the scene.
#5 Sun stars and flowers
Try experiment with sunstars, especially if shooting with flowers. Set your aperture to F22 and point the camera in the direction of the sun. Sometimes incorporating the sun into the image can give it a warm feel, and casts a nice light on your foreground subject.
6# Colour
Make the most of the colour! Soon enough spring will be over and it will be time to focus shooting a different season. Spring is such a special time of the year, and I hope these tips might help you in capturing some of the essence that comes with nature in full bloom.