Garden Gear
For a garden photography kit to cover all the bases, Tom suggests:
- Four
main lenses, comprising a wideangle zoom such as a 16-35mm, a standard
zoom like a 24-105mm, a telephoto zoom such as a 70-200mm and a 100mm
macro, which together will enable you to take everything from
scene-setting wide shots to detailed close-ups and portraits - A polarising filter for boosting contrast and reducing reflections on foliage
- A portable diffuser to soften harsh light
- A pop-up reflector for fill-in light
To
guarantee rock-steady shots, play safe with a tripod and cable release.
Using a tripod also has the effect of slowing you down and making you
think more carefully about your composition. Tom recommends a
lightweight tripod of carbon construction. Just remember that when you
use a tripod you need to turn off image stabilisation on lenses that
have this feature. If you leave it on, it can end up creating unsharp
images.
For any outdoor work, you might find a screen loupe
useful, as it fits over a camera’s LCD screen to allow for clear viewing
and image review. Also, a hotshoe spirit level will help ensure
straight horizons, and can be picked up for just a couple of pounds from
a variety of websites.
Choosing the right lens
When
you’re shooting gardens, your selection of lenses will enable you to
cover different types of effects and features. The 16-35mm optic will
provide sweeping overviews and broad shots; a general-purpose 24-105mm
lens is ideal for capturing medium-wide shots and telephoto views
without having to change lenses; the 70-200mm telephoto zoom will
comfortably cover both tight portraits and distant details; and the
100mm macro lens is great for floral portraits. Just select your lens
according to the effect you’re after.
It’s a great idea to
explore different focal lengths with the same shot, too – so the main
garden view, with Great Dixter Hall in the background, would work
equally well with a short wideangle zoom for front-to-back sharpness or
with a telephoto zoom for a tight crop on foreground detail such as
topiary, using a smallish aperture to give good depth of field.
photo by Peter Goodman
‘A
telephoto zoom can enable you to isolate details in a broader garden
scene, such as an archway cut through a hedge,’ says Tom. ‘It’s also
great for compressing features, especially a long pathway with, for
example, a bench or statue at the end – you can use a telephoto to
foreshorten everything and make the bench look bigger and more impactful
in the frame.’
To lose distracting backgrounds from tight flower
portraits, Tom suggests using a macro lens or the longer end of your
telephoto zoom – but take care not to go physically closer than the
close-focus distance allows, otherwise you’ll struggle to focus. Be
prepared to step back to get the focus spot-on.
‘A fisheye can
be interesting for gardens, providing some unusual floral perspectives
and angles,’ says Tom. ‘Try shooting upwards at flowers from ground
level using a burst of fill-flash to balance the exposure of the flowers
with that of the background sky.
I’ve often photographed from a
bug’s-eye view using a fisheye or wideangle lens, setting the camera
right down in the flowers looking up to the sky – it’s great for
brightly coloured petals, especially yellow, red and orange, against the
blue of the sky.’
