_{^{Video: by Robert Grant. Article: by Sasha Gitin}}

^{Watch this photography tutorial video to learn how to photograph flowers outdoors using macro extension tubes..}

Photographing Flowers:

Flowers are a subject matter that is fascinating to so many people.  So there is no surprise that with one quick glance you can become captivated and inspired by their beauty. The fantastic rich array of colors seem almost surreal. The variety of flower types and sizes and shapes are too many to count, from the simple daisy to the sophisticated and fragile orchid.In this tutorial we use the Iris as our subject. It's a very beautiful flower with many colors and interesting shapes which create interesting focal points or photography.

There are a few important elements to consider when creating a beautiful photograph of flowers:

Lighting: 

Flowers are very sensitive to light.  Avoid hard, direct sunlight.  Since clouds create a natural diffusion, an overcast day might be all you need.

Getting Closer: While macro lenses are specially designed for extreme close-up photography they carry a heavy price tag.  That is why using extension tubes is an inexpensive and yet effective alternative.

Extension Tubes:

Extension tubes allow any lens to focus closer than it can naturally do so.  Extension tubes do not have any optics, they simply move the lens farther apart from the digital sensor or film plane.  Tubes come in various lengths depending on the manufacturer.  Focusing closer to your subject will result in a higher magnification.  For example 31mm tube will produce greater magnification then an 11mm tube.  Tubes can also be combined. For example the combination of a 31mm and an 11mm will produce a 42mm extension and will allow for an even closer focusing.

See our earlier tutorial: Marco photography with Extension Tubes.

Please Note that extension tubes can greatly decrease Depth of Field

Depth of Field:

When photographing flowers, it is often highly effective to separate your subject from the background. Please note that when using extension tubes your Depth of Field will become really shallow.  You might need to compensate by increasing your aperture to reach a desired focus effect.See our earlier tutorial: How to photograph using selective focus.

Focal Point:

Is the point of your focus that will draw the viewers’ eye to. When photographing people, a photographer would generally focus on the eyes.  When photographing a close up of a flower, simply focus on the most attractive element “the eyes of the flower”.

Here is one of the final Shots:

This photography technique can be used on any subject that requires close up focusing. Please give this a try and share your thought and images with us.