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PerfectfocusingWhateverlensorapproachyou
choosetotakewithfloralphotography,youneedan
accuratefocusingtechnique.Moreoftenthannot,even
witha smallaperture,a macrolensprovideslimiteddepth-
of-fieldandthisthinplaneoffocusmeansyouhave
tobebang-onwithyourfocusingtechnique.It'sa similar
scenarioif you’reusinga wideaperturewitha telephotolens
toisolatea singleflowerin a field,despitethegreater
subject-to-cameradistance.Misplacingyourfocuspointat
bestwillgetthewrongflowerordetailsharpandat worst
renderthewholeimagea blur.Chooseandplaceyourarea
ofsharpnesswiththeupmostcare– don'tuseFullAreaAF.
Everyonehasa preferredmethodtofocus,somelike
LiveViewandmanualcontrol,otherspreferback-button
focusingorthefour-waycontrol.I setmycameratoAF-S/
OneShot,lockfocususingthecentreAFpoint(asit tendsto
bethemostsensitive)andrecompose.Asmycamerais
lockedona tripodandfiredremotely,I’llswitchtomanual
focus to stop my AF from looking for focus elsewhere.8
ShootsatsunsetThegoldenhours
remainthebesttimesofdaytophotograph
landscapes,especiallyflowers.A colourful
sunsetcanfilltheskywithasmuchvibranceas
is in theforegroundandcasta warmglowover
thelandscape.Onceyou’vefoundyour
composition,stickaroundtoshootthe
momentsbeforeandaftersunsetasthelight
getsprogressivelywarmer,asyoucangetvery
differentimageswithina matterofminutes.
Sunrisestendtobemuchcoolerlightbut
equallyglorious.Coastalflowersandpoppy
fieldsworkparticularlywellaslandscapesasyou
oftengetthewarmlightforlongerat thecoast,
andthetranslucenceofthepoppies'thinpetals
lookbeautifulwhensoftlybacklit.
Somegardenflowers,suchascrocusesand
certaintypesof daisies,closewhentheyfallinto
shadesoyouhavetotimeyourshootwell,
especiallyif youlosethelightin yourgarden
earlyduetofencingortrees.Youdon’tgetthis
problemmuchwithwildflowersbutonceyou’ve
foundyourperfectlocationandviewpoint,it’sa
goodideatokeepreturningwhiletheflowersare
at theirbesttoensureyouphotographthemin
therightconditions.Whenshootingflowers,I’m
backandforthfora numberof dayswaitingfor
thatglorioussunsetbutcapturingmoody skies
and puffy clouds in the meantime.July 2019DigitalSLR Photography 81