Bring On The Narrow Aperture
Roses come in many sizes, colors, and varieties. Each Rose has character. So it’s important to capture that character with your photos. While I love to photograph Roses in sunlight, I also love to shoot them inside using flash. Each approach works. Part One will give strategies for photographing Roses outside. Part Two will provide strategies for photographing Roses inside using flash. Read on to see pretty Roses— and find out how you can use similar techniques to photograph your own Roses.
They say beauty is in the details. So when photographing Roses, be sure to detail the beauty. That means you must use a narrow aperture to get detail.
Rose petals are tightly wrapped around each other, creating dark shadows, which combine to form a delicate flower. Unless you use a narrow aperture to capture the contrast of these wrapping petals, your portrait will miss the details.
I tied this bouquet together so I could hold it with my left hand above me to aim the Roses into sunlight while holding the camera with my right hand. I’m using my wide angle lens, so I can focus on the Roses, which are less than an arm length away.
Take Group And Solo Portraits
If you have a bouquet of 6 or even a dozen Roses, take your “group portraits” first, but then pick out and photograph a single Rose for a powerful portrait.
After I shot the bouquet for a while, I photographed this single pink and white Rose by itself. With the blue sky behind, I created depth by showing several green leaves. I focused just on the Rose petals, which left the leaves blurred. I also made sure the petals in my foreground were in shadow, and not fully lit by the Sun. This darker foreground draws your attention to the center of the Rose.
I like to use simple backgrounds when photographing flowers. This deep blue sky surrounds the Rose with a solid— and not busy— background. That way, the Rose does the talking in your image.
Timing (And Light) Can Mean Everything
I make a point to shoot Roses in morning sunlight, to get warm colors, which aren't flushed out by mid-day Sun, or colorized by the pre-sunset Golden Hour. Certainly, the Golden Hour’s warm light can create photo opportunities for shooting Roses. But if you shoot during the Golden Hour, you won’t get the true color of your Roses.
Late afternoon light can work, too, if it’s clear and not near sunset. I took advantage of afternoon light by holding this single yellow Rose towards the Sun. This enabled me to capture the red/orange glowing shadows inside the center.
Get The Red Right
It can be tricky to capture red Roses in any light. By using a narrow aperture, you get the rich saturation of each red Rose. When you use a narrow aperture, your image might become too dark. That’s where your ISO comes in handy. Start with an aperture of f11 or f13, and an ISO of 400 or 500. You want your aperture to produce rich saturation and contrast— so you see every fold and shadow of each petal. But you need to make sure you let enough light into your camera to get a true red Rose color (ISO 400 or 500).
Favor saturation (narrow aperture) over brightness (high ISO). I got it right with these half dozen red Roses. I had plenty of sunlight, but still needed an ISO of 640 to go with my aperture of f14 taken at 1/1,000th second.
Fill Your Frame With Gorgeous Colors!
This extreme close-up really grabs your attention! Taking advantage of morning light, I filled my frame with these intense orange Roses. My aperture of f16 detailed all the folds of each petal. But my shot wasn’t too dark, because I took it at 1/1,000th second and ISO 640.
What’s not to love about Roses? They make perfect subjects. If you use the right settings, your photos will blossom!
Stay tuned for Part Two of our Roses Blog, where we explore taking Rose portraits inside using flash.
General Settings
Roses Outside In Sunlight: ISO 500 or 640, Aperture f11 or f13, Shutter Speed 1/800th Second
Photo Tips
Try to photograph your Roses in bright, direct sunlight to get maximum color saturation, plus contrast with the petal shadows.
Keep your background to a minimum, like blue sky, if possible. This enables you to dwell on the Rose or Roses without any busy backgrounds.
After you shoot a bouquet of 6 or a dozen Roses, be sure to pick a favorite Rose and shoot it solo. A photograph of a lone Rose can be powerful.
Vary your compositions to get the best shots. I especially like to take shots looking into the top of Roses, so you see the many folds/shadows of the petals. Take side shots of Roses to show off their size.
These techniques work for other flowers besides Roses. The more narrow your aperture, the more detail you get.
Review & Refine! Keep checking your shots to see if your settings are good enough. The more you’re willing to improve your settings, the better a photographer you will be!
Want To See More Roses? Check Out The Roses Gallery.
Experience Many Colors And Petals With The Roses 5 By 30 Inches Storyteller Photo.
This composite of 6 photos features a variety of colorful Roses.
Want To See More Flowers? Check Out The Flowers Gallery.
