"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow" Proverb
I am very lucky to have blossom trees in our neighbourhood, it means that every trip out I pass such lovely blossom, I am in awe of the light pastel colours and cheery flowers that the trees produce year on year....
How to photograph Cherry Blossom
Here are a couple of techniques to help you capture the
colours and delicate white and pink blossoms. You will have to be quick we only have a window of a couple of weeks now to capture these spring treats:
Tip #1 – Think about the light
On a bright sunny cloudless day (not that we have many!) you
would think it would be perfect to shoot the soft colours, well that’s not necessarily
true. It depends on the ‘look’ you are
after.
Shooting into the sun will give you high contrast and lens
flare, you may also find it hard for the camera to focus. The soft colours will not appear you will
have dark and light to contend with.
Taking photographs when it is cloudy is ideal as you will
get better depth colours in the blossom. Take a friend and try to use a reflector - a handmade reflector if necessary.
SLR users ~ pastel colours will trick your cameras metering, to compensate click your 'exposure compensation' up a couple of notches to brighten the image (overexpose), check your histogram with the outcome. Many point-and-shoots also have a setting for photographing in snow which should give you similar results.
Tip #2 – Make sure it’s not windy
If it’s a windy day forget it, it will keep your subject moving
constantly and you will not be able to gain a crisp shot of any trees and
certainly no close ups of the blossom. SLR users you may need a high ISO 1600> to make sure you capture a sharp shot.
The only alternative is to see if any branches have come
loose for you to then take home and shoot indoors, please try not to damage the
tree by picking of any flowers.
Tip #3 - Pay attention to the background
Be aware of what you can see through the trees, even if you
have a ‘blurry’ background (for SLR users that’s a wide aperture of f2-3.5). It’s not great if you get houses or people or
bright colours distracting you from the beautiful blooms
Tip#4 – Move around the tree
Take shots close up and then take a step back and fill the
frame, showing the full story of the tree. Keep an eye out for any bumble bees
who love the blossom tree, see if you can catch them at work. Get underneath the tree and look up, use the sky as a background
Tip#5 - Take props
If you do struggle with the wind or background distraction you can use the blossom within other props to show of the blooms
SHOW US HOW YOU GOT ON
email me here your photographs and I can show them off for you :)
