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Photographing OrchidsThe key to orchid photography is a love and therefore knowledge of orchids.A good field guide is essential to know the habitats and flowering times of different orchids. Since so many wild places have vanished, unfortunately many orchids have disappeared with them. The more people that enjoy photographing orchids the better so more people care about this situation. Grassland is good orchid habitat, particularly steeper slopes or undisturbed old earthworks. Permanent unimproved grasslands are best such as hay meadows and permanent pastures. Despite this, orchids may also grow in woods, which is where I found the following orchid. Are those bees?Not quite. These are the extraordinary flowers of the Bee Orchid. Lets use this Orchid species to show some points.
Clean backgrounds are vital to isolate the flower. This is created with a shallow depth of field by opening up the lens aperture. At first glance the above photo appears to have a reasonable background. Opening up the lens aperture slightly gives an even better background without losing any sharpness on the flower itself.
Light up your orchid photographyBack lighting can create a silhouette or transparent petals as the light shines through them.
It can work with some plants but here we've lost some detail on those amazing bee-like flowers. See the difference with a touch of late evening side lighting.
Close upsThough not essential, a macro lens gives you more options.You can use the magnification of a macro lens to create an image from a single flower.
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