Plant and Garden Photography by Richard Barnes

Our July Zoom meeting was hosted by Richard Barnes who is a professional garden photographer, writer and speaker on horticultural and garden design.

His photographs were stunning and he encouraged amateur photographers to ‘think outside the box’ whether using expensive equipment or simply a phone camera.

Below are some of his suggestions for better pictures:

Include some of the surrounding environment

When photographing a single flower use a piece of dark card behind it.

Think carefully about the light, the most important aspect.

Try looking into the light rather than having it behind.

Explore the rule of three.

No need to have the whole plant in the photo.

Think about framing the picture with nearby trees etc.

Using a black dish for flower heads is very effective, especially for hellebores floating in water.

Before all these tips take time to look at the instruction manual and see how it can help you.

Most importantly you must like the end result!