Flowers are a favorite target of every camera enthusiast. How do you turn those shots of your favorite blooms into something special? Here are some tips on how to make better flower pictures knockouts.

When you photograph flowers, you have to make a couple of important decisions.

As with any photograph, your first decision is to decide: What's my subject? Is it a macro (extreme close-ups) of a stamen? A single flower closeup? A bed of hundreds of flowers? A field of thousands? Choose your topic and then proceed.

You can take macro type of picture if your lens has a macro mode. This rules out most point-and-shoots which can't focus closer than two or three feet. With a macro, you're focusing from a few inches!

When you shoot a macro, focus is all important. Your plane of focus is very shallow - just a fraction of an inch. So you have to make another decision: Exactly what part of the flower do you want to be in sharp focus? The pistil? The stamen? A petal? (If you can still remember the high-school biology terminology, you get the idea.). When you see the image that you want, snap it!

While it is possible to take a good macro handheld, it is better to use a tripod if at all possible. Since the flower is probably swaying in the wind, changing the focal point every moment, you're better off not adding the additional confusion of a swaying camera too. Use a tripod and be patient. Most often, the wind will die down from time to time and the flower will stand still and "pose" for an instant. That's the instant to shoot! 

While shooting for a single flower head, much of what has been said for the macro, applies here too. You can't get close enough for this type of picture with most point-and-shoot cameras. You're better off using a tripod. Good focus is still important, but it's not so critical as it was with the macro. The zone of good focus is now a few inches, not just a fraction of an inch. So, while you still want to focus well, you don't need to watch focus so critically.

An added decision for you to make with this type of shot is to consider the direction of light. It's possible to take a very attractive picture with the light in its "usual" position, streaming from behind you toward the flower. But give strong consideration to backlighting - that is - light coming from behind the flower, toward the camera. Since flower petals are usually translucent, backlighting can give them an iridescent glow that accentuates the flower's color and brings it to life.

There two things to be remembered here. First, when the light comes from behind you, watch your own shadow carefully. Usually, you want to avoid casting a shadow on the flower. Second, when you are shooting with the flower backlit, watch out for flare. You don't want the incoming light to shine directly into your lens producing ghostlike blobs. (You can avoid flare by either positioning your camera so that the light doesn't shine directly into your lens, or by shading the lens with your hand or a hat or any other opaque object. Just be sure that the object is kept out of the image frame).

However, don't despair if there is no sun. Gray and overcast days provide great opportunities for flower photography. The lighting is more even and there are no shadows. Rain turns colors more intense. You can even carry a spray bottle to create rain droplets on the sunniest of days. Even night photography is an option. You'll be surprised at how attractive a flower photo can be when illuminated by flash. 

From which angle to shoot the flower?

The answer is best determined by your eye. As you walk around the flower to watch the play of light from different sides, also look through the viewfinder to see how it looks from different heights. 

Try interesting angles and backgrounds. Consider getting down low on the ground or 
shooting with the wide angle setting on your lens. Don't despair if the background behind the flower is unattractive. Try replacing it with a colored piece of paper or fabric. There are lots of different ways you can experiment when photographing flowers! 

While shooting a bed of flowers...or a field of them, you can probably use a point-and-shoot as well as an SLR. A tripod is less necessary. Focus is no longer critical - it can extend for feet or even miles. And metering with your built-in meter will probably produce a good result.

The direction of light can still make a difference. If you can check how the flowers look from different sides, by all means do so. Front lighting may be all right. Backlighting - or side lighting - may be better. Camera angle - that is, height - is usually less important in this type of long shot. (You should still stoop down to see if the image is improved from a low angle that will accentuate the nearest flowers.)

What should you look out for here? Here you need to go back to the very first decision: What's your subject? A bed or field of flowers may look exquisite to your eye, but often makes an awfully dull picture. Look for something that will add interest to the picture. Something else that will draw the eye of the viewer and be the subject of your picture, with the flowers acting as swatches of color that complement it.

Flowers are colorful and can make beautiful subjects when you're close up and they fill the frame. You're better off finding another subject, and using the flowers as an "accessory," when you're shooting from farther away.