Most flowers are beautiful; you need special talent to take bad pictures of flowers. Roses of all hues and colours, pansies, poppies, daisies, and so many other flowers have been clicked millions of times by different photographers around the world. There is no wrong or right way of clicking pictures of flowers. Everyone has a unique perspective. A photograph reflects the photographer’s view.

The petals at the edge of the yellow flower gradually merged with the floor, and the colour of the flower softened. The green sepals with a hint of yellow create a nice effect with the help of sunlight. Bokeh has created a slight drama in the background.

I have used a shallow depth of field in this picture of a Rose. A flower photograph need not be a detailed botanical illustration depicting the anatomy of a flower. The petal has an interesting shape. Shadows have given a three-dimensional effect to the picture.

Should the flower be perfect in appearance? Should it be without a speck of dirt? It would be nice if you could find the perfect flower, but it’s not essential. What kind of flower you choose depends on your aesthetics. A flower with some petals fallen can look pretty if clicked aesthetically.

Multiple flowers in the frame create an interesting composition.

Shallow Depth of Field renders only a small part of the subject in focus; the rest of it appears blurred. You can focus on a single flower, or even a single petal of a flower and keep the rest of the flower blurred.

Contrasting colours of the background add to the beauty of the picture of the flower.

A flower in the sun gives the brightest colours, but often not all parts are equally lit.

The withered Semul flower has a story to tell, the “ephemeral nature of life”.

No distracting elements around the flower.

Close-up of a Hibiscus flower.

The image of the flower in the dew drop.

Shooting flowers that are high up in a tree or shrub is a challenge. A telephoto lens comes to your rescue in such situations.

Photos and text by Prerna Jain.