Yesterday while making clam chowder, I squeezed in a few flower photography lessons. Weird, but true. It takes a long time to get that huge stock pot to boil (it was a big batch; when we eat clam chowder, we take it seriously!), so while stirring, I was also perusing a old photography book that I bought from my library for 20 cents. (If your library happens to have these sorts of sales, don’t miss them! You can pick up gems for literal pennies.)

Anyway, the photographer had a little section about flower photography. He wrote about how he uses north-facing windows because they offer perfect, naturally diffused light.

As soon as the stew was safely stowed away in the fridge I had to grab a little glass jar of last summer’s “accidentally dried” dahlias, wildflowers and grasses off my windowsill and give the technique a try.

Does it ever work! I think I’m in love!

One of my goals this year is to set up a photography corner for my flower arrangements. I thought I’d have to track down lights and diffusers, but with this simple technique, I might not need as many extras as I’d originally thought. Wow, what a blessing to make this kind of discovery so early on in the year. I’ll have plenty of time to practice before summer comes around and the flowers start pouring in!

I just stuck a couple of old boards behind a little desk to make the backdrop. The photography book suggested buying squares of poster board in a variety of colors to use as a simple background. I’ll probably do that, and also keep an eye out for other natural material or fabric that I already have around the house to change up the look.

I also need to change up my focus. Since I just threw everything together to see if would work, I let the camera autofocus, and now I’m wishing I’d put a little more thought into the crispness of the scene. Still, I’d call it a win!

Give it a try, and let me know what you think! Also, do you have any must-know flower photography techniques? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!