Working it!

If you have taken one of my online photography classes or done any shooting with me, you know that I always advise photographers to work their subjects. By this I mean really looking at a subject, photographing it from different angles, using a variety of focal lengths and lenses, with different techniques, etc. I took my own advice while shooting a couple of lupine fields last week.

Lupine is a June flowering plant here in Maine, it grows wild along our roadsides and highways, as well as filling yards and gardens in many locations. My friend Zoe and I spent some time in a patch overlooking the sea here in Harpswell just before sunset. The warm light was beautiful and very flattering to the flowers.

 Another field I visited was on the side of the road in Cushing. This field had an amazing variety of colors, and the foggy overcast day was perfect for making flower photos. I started with a plain view of part of the field, nice but a little boring. So, I started playing with camera movement, and had lots of fun!

 Lupine is also a great subject for the Shooting Through technique. All you need to do is choose a long lens (I used my 70-200mm), set at the largest aperture your lens has. Position yourself so that you have plant material right up close to the end of the lens, and shoot through it, focusing on a flower in the distance. I love this technique.

I even photographed my friend Alan with this method!

So, get out there and work your subjects, and don't forget to have some fun while you are shooting! :)

Kathleen