Tips to Improve Your Garden Photography for Instagram

Gardening in an interesting combination of exercise, food growing, and phycological cleansing. There is something almost therapeutic about digging in the dirt with the sun shining on your face. Yes, there are bugs. Yes, you get dirty and sweaty. And yes, the day after you plant,  your entire body aches like you went 10 rounds with a sumo wrestler. But when you see those beautiful flowers blooming, your cucumber vines winding up the trellis, and the dew glistening on the tips of your basil plant, you will realize your hard work has paid off a hundred times over. Of course, you want to share the highs and lows of your garden adventures on Instagram so your followers will experience the journey with you…but how do you capture just the right photographs? If you want to improve your garden photography for Instagram, here are a few tips I have discovered:

Tips to Improve Your Garden Photography for Instagram

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How to Improve Your Garden Photography

1. Often, great garden photography means choosing the right time of day to take pictures. You are better off snapping your photographs when the weather is overcast. Bright sunlight will create glares and it will be next to impossible to see your iPhone screen. Early morning and late afternoon offer the best lighting of the day if you know the skies will be sunny that afternoon.

2. Choose your plants with garden photography in mind. A wide variety of colors clustered together is more attractive than a shot that includes only one color. You also want to include a variety of plants that bloom in shade and sunlight, as well as plants that will bloom throughout multiple seasons. Scatter brightly colored flowers amongst your food crops to improve your photographs AND attract pollinators! Also, look for color contrast by adding a smidge of blue sky, a brightly colored bug or even a stray weed that makes its way into your garden.

Garden Photography Flowers

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3. Garden photography can continue past your summer harvest. Depending on where you live, you may be able to plant in multiple seasons. Consider a small cold frame to start early spring plants like greens and spring onions. I once photographed a lovely head of broccoli covered in snow. It made for quite a dramatic shot! Extend the life of your garden photograph by growing food year round if possible.

4. Try shooting both horizontal and vertical images. Sometimes just changing your camera’s orientation will give you a whole new view of what you are looking at.

Garden Photography Insects

5. Close-ups can be spectacular. Don’t be afraid to really get into your garden and narrow your focus. iPhones can still produce some beautiful photos, even when you zoom in to see your subject more closely. To show how large or small something is, include a reference item like a ruler or your finger.

6. Your garden is more than just plants. Remember to include unique elements that you may have included in your garden like stepping stones, a garden gnome, or a watering can.

7. Be patient. I am fascinated by bugs in my garden but sometimes they can be skittish. If you want to photograph a butterfly you may have to sit quietly in the garden and wait for it to join you. Take a moment to smell the roses and commune with nature while you wait!

Garden Photography Editing

8. Familiarize yourself with photo editing aps. Sometimes they will really help colors ‘pop’ before sharing on Instagram. You may also want to add text or an arrow to point out something particularly small. I like A Beautiful Mess for adding these things to my garden photographs.

9. Share the good and the bad! While everyone wants to portray themselves as a master gardener, gardening can be difficult work! Don’t be afraid to show your failures. I have found that I get GREAT advice from fellow garden enthusiasts on how to cure a disease or rid my garden of a particularly pesky bug.

10. Don’t forget to protect your phone! This may seem like common sense but if you are heading into a garden full of dirt where hoses are being, used you want to protect your iPhone from damage with a protective case. Make sure it is not only shatterproof but waterproof!

 

Gardening can be hard work but it also yields some beautiful photographs if you know just how to snap that perfect shot. Take your followers along on your garden adventure by sharing your photographs on Instagram! Want more garden photography tips? Check out Digital Camera World!

 

 

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