HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH YOUR GARDEN
A really satisfying part of my gardening adventure has been documenting the progress as I go. Looking back at photos of my first-year planting, I can remember my thrill at the humble petunias and cosmos blooming. I feel continually amazed at the journey my garden has gone through from then to now, and my backlog of images is a lovely reminder of just how far this obsession has taken me!
My love of photography is very much buoyed by having a garden and, as my skills at growing have increased, so has my passion for getting creative with the camera. Free of any expectations that a professional photographer might be compelled to meet, the quiet time spent snapping my flowers and garden beds has become a creative hobby in which I revel in experimentation.
This regular documentation has also aided my gardening knowledge and connection to the life cycles happening in my own backyard. Not only has every year seen a vast transformation in my garden as a whole, but each passing season has also offered visual treats to be collected and remembered, too.
When planning for the future, I can easily refer back to my library of images to gain a better understanding of how much light an area receives, which is vital for my planting combinations. I can also compare the size of trees to gain knowledge on their rate of growth, and the noticeable improvement in plants that I have moved to better positions. It is very satisfying to have these visual references at hand.
My urge has always been to capture atmosphere and a sense of place beyond a simple, straight-up snapshot. There is so much fun to be had with this! Over the years I have collected and developed my own set of basic skills to help me photograph my garden’s magic in reflection of how it feels at the time. It’s my hope the following tips will aid you in your own practice, whether you prefer to reach for your camera, phone or tablet.
FIND THE LIGHT
The softness and lower angle of the sun in the morning and late afternoon provides the garden with a glow that invites me to use this light to my advantage. I like to point my lens towards it, using it to backlight specific plants or beds. I enjoy moving my camera around to allow shafts or dots of light into the frame, without completely washing out the photo. I love nothing more than a plant specimen traced in golden lines by the sun pushing through from behind.
Up close and personal with my summer perennials and low afternoon sun highlighting their whimsical forms and colour.
My messy vegetable garden presenting some romance with just the sunflower catching the light.
The Blue House beds backlit by low summer sun.
FIND YOUR FOCUS
Before you snap your image, first be sure that your device is focused on the area you want to highlight. On a camera using autofocus, this will often be found by training and adjusting a green square to lock onto your subject with a half-press of the button. On a phone or tablet, you can tap the subject on your screen to pull it into focus. If taking a wider shot of a garden bed, tap or select a spot in its midst and take a few shots to be sure you’ll have one that works.
Get up close and personal with your plants, find your focus and be amazed at the delicious results when your device automatically reduces the depth of field. I encourage those using a phone for photography to explore the portrait mode option for this, too.
Pushing my camera into a bed to focus on this small echinacea, other flowers behind and in front blur as a result.
Focusing on the comedic alliums in the middle of a bed at the Blue House.
CHANGE YOUR POINT OF VIEW
Extend yourself from photographing only at standing height and get exploring your garden from all angles. I find myself balancing on the edges of my raised beds to shoot from above, dropping a knee to look ‘through and up’ plants, and wading into beds to find a different aspect from within their midst. I even prefer it when out of- focus greenery cuts through a shot – it pulls me further into the final image.
Photographing my own garden while balancing at a higher level on my raised bed. I love the way the cherry tree frames and pulls you to look toward the centre. My garden is small, but these angles offer a new experience.
Crouching down to photograph this trial amid the grass border at Karen Rhind’s Cromwell garden. This helps convey the secrecy you feel as you physically explore it.
USE YOUR LEGS TO ZOOM
If you are using a phone or tablet, I would suggest you resist using your fingers to zoom and instead take progressive photos as you physically move closer to your subject. Even though technology has improved in leaps and bounds, unless you are using a late-model device, a ‘zoomed in’ image is never as crisp. If you’re using an actual camera this doesn’t apply – zoom away!
It’s a lot of fun to experiment with showcasing smaller forms in your garden. These images (above and below) were used with a camera, but try playing with portrait mode on your phone, and move it close to the subject instead of zooming the screen with your fingers.
Later model phones can cope with zooming to an extent.
LOOK FOR YOUR LINES
One of the easiest ways to improve your photo-taking is by allowing time to ensure any hard line is level. This might be a fence, the horizon, or a raised planter running through the background of your frame. Don’t forget your vertical lines, too, like doorways or verandah posts – I angle my camera and body forward/back, up/ down until the line runs nicely parallel to the screen. If I find that I haven’t got it right when reviewing my images later, I use my phone’s inbuilt editing software (or an editing app) to adjust the tilt and resave it.
The strong vertical lines of our studio and vegetable garden in the background of this image are square - when off-kilter it removes the comfort for the viewer.
So many lines and angles to deal with here, but I have concentrated on the vertical lines being square - allowing the rose and her shadow to be the main focus.
CONSIDER YOUR COMPOSITION
If we never stopped to think about our shot, it would only be natural to place a subject in the middle of the frame. However, playing around with moving it off-centre can often make for a more visually appealing result.
When composing your shot, mentally break your screen into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. Aim to place your subject along the lines or at the intersection of each third instead of smack in the centre. It is very helpful to turn on the ‘grid’ option on your phone and camera to assist in getting used to composing using these zones. It will then become innate!
Placing the tall strong vertical sculpture in the right third of the image allows room for the atmosphere of the surrounding trees, the light at the end of the path and the strong clipped elements to support it.
Taken as part of my feature on beautiful Ohinetahi garden.
I could have placed Tonka in the centre of the image, but this angle feels restful by placing him on the separating line of the third. It also has nice lines leading away to him and the other third of the house which almost conveys the story of him observing his urban realm!
MY FAVOURITE GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHERS
Truly - I could make this an ongoing monthly segment as there are simply too many talented photographers that I respect!
Everything I have learned is from studying others great work and dissecting what gives an image that sense of place and elevated magic that you feel when actually within it.
The photographers below are brilliant to follow for inspiration but also to be exposed to their garden travels! They all use light and composition to create a story - something that I will forever be chasing.
This is an extended extracted feature from my book ‘A Guided Discovery of Gardening - Knowledge, Creativity & Joy Unearthed’ .
Signed copies at Koa Press and available in good stores NZ/Aus.
Northern Hemisphere release Feb. 2024.