Lesson Info
9. Learning To See Your Subject
Lessons
Introduction: Why Take Pictures Of Flowers
02:28 2Lenses For Flower Photography
16:13 3Accessories For Flower Photography
12:09 4Lighting For Flower Photography
18:10 5Exposure And Aperture Choice
18:33 6Figuring Out Where To Focus
20:27 7Flower Photography Composition
13:16 8Flower Photography Black Background
19:10Learning To See Your Subject
09:52 10Shooting Flower Life Stages And The Flower Dance
09:04 11Add Textures To Photos In Post Processing
09:19 12Tips For Choosing Flowers For Photography
10:12 13Flower Photography Tips
03:54 14Botanical Gardens Flower Photo Shoot
18:59 15Photo Critiques
48:42 16Clip Art Everyday
01:17Lesson Info
Learning To See Your Subject
Choosing a subject and learning to see. As I have been telling you, probably since the beginning today, you need to slow down and you need to really see your subjects. You need to decide what it is that has caught your interest. What's the essence of that subject, and how I am going to capture that with the tools that I have? Here it was the petal pattern that caught my eye, and I just thought it was beautiful. And there was some soft light coming in. It was pretty early in the morning. And you also want to be looking at the condition of your flowers. A pristine flower is a good thing. My husband tells me that he has a hard time buying me flowers now because I'm really fussy about my flowers, I want them in really good condition. But I have learned to enjoy them as a gift and I may not photograph them. The pristine condition is a wonderful thing. In this one, I feel like the image on the left is a very tender shot for me. I see a hand up against a face, in that little tiny curl, but it...
had just opened and the petals were in wonderful condition. And the same with the columbine, in great shape. This grew in my garden last year, a double dahlia. So here, something different. I'm gonna wanna capture it. I had never had that, that double daisy. I never had that happen before. And then I had to choose the best point of view that would show that it was actually two. I mean, if I shot from the side, it would look like there was another flower up against the background. You needed to be able to see the single stem. So I'm looking for personality. I'm looking for something different. I shot this dahlia because it looked like it had wings for me, sort of angel wings. It's something different and this point of view made those wings the main subject of the image. I had this horrible morning glory weed in my gardens and I was fighting it and pulling it out, but I've gotten some really cool pictures of the way it will twist around my subjects. And that's the case in this one. And it made it different. It's not just another coneflower. There's a bit of a story here and a little conflict and it made it more interesting. Here I am with my petals that are askew. It's something that I'm always looking for. I can look at eight different dahlias. Which one is different? That's the story that I wanna tell. That's the one that I wanna capture. And curls. Tulips are a fabulous subject as they are opening because they have just amazing, amazing curls. And I like to make that the focus of my image. The other one is that awful morning glory plant I was just talking about. But it had a beautiful leaf curled around it, so I kept it and shot it. More tulip curls. They just fascinate me. And you can see that I used very shallow depth of field with the tulip curl on the right. The tulips were further back, so I could stop down a little more for a little more detail in the tulip on the left. But both of those looked very different from the flowers that were around them. So put your camera down, take a walk, take a look. See what catches your eye. I love a curvy stem. And all the other poppies were straight. And so that's the poppy that I wanted. And another curvy center petal. And I know you know what I saw here. (laughs) Crazy petals. And it was dancing. I wanna talk about why I consider my flower images flower portraits. And yes, this is my granddaughter, my oldest granddaughter. Well, let's talk about what makes a strong portrait. You need flattering light. You need good focus. You want to emphasize the best features of your subject. And you'd want to minimize any features that weren't, although she's perfect but, you want to compose well. You want a background that's going to add to the image, no distractions. And you want a connection, and for the flower there's not gonna be eye contact or a connection, but you can capture the personality of the flower. So for me, as you can see, that I am usually shooting single flowers because they are portraits to me. I'm making a portrait of that flower. I wanna show you the best of it. I wanna show you what I saw and what I found interesting. And I don't want you to see anything I didn't like. So they are portraits for me. This is a calla portrait and a tulip portrait. I loved the simplicity of the calla, it was by itself. And the curves were interesting. There was sort of a double curve, instead of just that wraparound single curve that you usually see in a calla. And of course, curves is a running theme in anything I do and that's what attracted me to the tulip. Again, this was really interesting. It's another calla lily, but it has a very different shape than the calla lilies I usually shoot. So it caught my eye. And I certainly didn't want anything else in the frame to catch your eye. And it was at Longwood Gardens and the callas are a good distance away, so you can only shoot with a long lens, and that darkened the background quite a bit. I think I shot this at F8. And here I wanted just the opposite. I wanted just a tiny bit in focus, because for me the personality of this flower was all about those tiny little shaped petals. And that's really all I wanted for its portrait. This is another calla from Ireland. I was amazed at the size of the callas in Ireland. And in this one, not only did I see curves in the flower, but there were curves in the leaves, so I decided to include them. And it's a portrait. Here too, there was one curved petal that caught my eye. It's with the lens maybe velvet. I didn't want a whole lot in focus. I really wanted a soft, dreamy look for this portrait. Some of my classic portraits I like to do in black and white and some in color. That's still the most beautiful calla I have ever seen. Generally, if we're gonna talk about black and white for a second, when I go to black and white it's usually because the color isn't a strong factor. That the image is more about line or shape than color. And I think this is nice both ways, but I think that a calla lily can also be just beautiful in black and white because it puts an even stronger emphasis on the curves. Let's talk a little bit about conceptual images with flowers. Because I see flowers as portraits, I also see some personification at times and concepts. The coneflower and the daisies, for me, is about standing out in your field. It's about independence. It's about a rebellious spirit because it's surrounded by a totally different kind of flower and it's standing tall, so I see that in it. In the middle image, I see nurture. That the main flower is curved a little toward the younger buds and I see that. And the last one I named Lean On Me because too me it look like there's a very strong powerful flower at the top, and the one at the bottom needs a little help. So if you're really, really looking at your subjects, you'll start to see their story in this way. The tulip on the left, well both of these really, I see both of these as shy. The tulip on the right is sort of hiding behind that petal and its head is bowed down. And the other one seems to be just peeking out of, between the petals. So think about that when you're looking at flowers. Here's another independent one. That's the go-getter in the office. That's the one who's gonna get everything done, the over-achiever is gonna stand taller and stronger. And you can do that with flower subjects. Questions about this part, for me? Somebody, anybody? Sharon. I just wanna know how you get so much incredible sharpness, even with the shallower depths of field? I know it's focus, but are you using anything afterwards in software, so that's just in camera? Yeah, I rarely even add sharpening. Okay. If I do, it would be selectively. I certainly don't do global sharpening, but generally I'm not adding any sharpening at all. That's just a steady hand, and well, it's the placement too, I think, is what you're seeing, it's where I place that focus point.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
user-934e3d
What a fantastic class! Kathleen Clemons' presentation was well-organized and offered exceptional how-to advice along with actual gear and beautiful slides which demonstrated her points. I felt as though she were talking to me personally and truly wanting me to be successful. Her explanations of technique, accompanied with video of her in the gardens using the camera was very helpful. In addition, I found her critiques most enlightening, and I learned a great deal about how to improve my own images from them. In short--this was an exceptional class, and Kathleen Clemons is an amazing teacher. I have watched the class twice and plan to purchase it for continued review and reflection. Anyone who wants to photograph flowers artistically needs this class. Thank you, CreativeLive, for this wonderful presentation by Kathleen Clemons.
Julianne Carlson
Thank you Kathleen for taking the time to share your wonderful knowledge and technique's with us through this 5 star course. Your breathtaking ethereal images are a true inspiration and I can't wait to get out there and practice with my new Lensbaby velvet. Not only was this course a wonderful tutorial for photographing flower subject but much of your instruction can be used when photographing all of nature. This is the best Creative Live class I have taken yet!
Cheryl Tarr
I love the way Kathleen sees flowers and captures their essence. I watched a free Creative Live course that Kathleen taught and became an instant fan, and when I saw this course advertised I knew right away I wanted to have it in my course collection. She has so many tips and tricks for capturing soft, artistic renderings of flowers and I appreciate that she is so willing to share these with others. She is very clear in explaining what she does - an excellent teacher as well as an outstanding and original photographer. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to explore flower photography.