Two smart phone photography workshops were held on consecutive Mondays in February to learn some photography basics using member’s iPhones. Attendees sent in photographs, some taken of wildflowers and some taken of the orchids in the Orangerie at DBG.
Here are a few of the composition techniques that were discussed. You can go to the GCD Website Photography Committee section to read more about post-picture-taking ways of improving your pictures (editing, cropping filters, exposure/brightness and contrast/highlights and shadows). You can also find tips on making a Mosaic book of Colorado wildflowers for the Club Flower Show.
The BEST time to fix problems with composition (focus, foreground, background, exposure, etc.) is right when the picture is taken. Take the time to look at your photograph. Is your main subject in focus?
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| Subject out of focus |
Is the background framing your main subject or distracting from it?
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| Background framing subject | Distracting background |
Is something in the foreground taking away from the main subject?
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| Distracting foreground |
All of these can be addressed by re-framing (move around, get closer, changing the angle of your picture, using auto focus lock, etc.)
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This is digital photography! Take as many pictures as you want until you get the one you want!