How to Photograph your Home Vegetable Garden

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Not too long ago I invested in a web enabled smart phone. It allows me to send and receive emails, surf the web and has a built in camera. In today’s world of fast pace, have it now, technology, I find that I am guilty of wanting the latest, greatest electronic gizmos. Electronics ranks 3rd in my list of must haves after gardening and woodworking, so it’s up there fairly high.

With smart phone in hand with a built in camera I was in heaven. I could use technology to take instant photos of my home vegetable garden and upload them to the vegetable gardening facebook page. It is a real time snapshot of what I am growing at that moment.

Usually within seconds there are a few “likes” and some comments. Even with the latest technology, one thing I have learned is, I am not Ansel Adams. My photography skills needed some work.

I turned to Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes who is a professional photographer that specializes in landscapes and still-life photography. Perfect. Who else to get advice from than an award winning photography expert.

When is the best time to photograph the garden?

Michelle says the best time is when the sun is overhead. Choosing a soft morning or afternoon light is ideal, before 10 am if possible. The colors in your photos will be richer.

What is the best angle to photograph your garden?
“Don’t be afraid to get dirty,” says Michelle. “Kneeling, even laying down on the same level as your subject for the best detail and most interesting angle.” She continues, “If you’re shooting the entire garden in one frame, stand back and make sure your horizon line is on the one third or bottom one third of the shot.”

Both of these tips will work with any of today’s digital cameras or smart phones that are at least five megapixels. Less than 5 (which is rare today) and the pictures will look too “grainy”. Michelle also recommends that you should always take photos in color. With today’s editing software you can always go back later and make your color photos go black and white. “Black and White landscape shots can really be stunning, especially when there is a lot of contrast between light and dark, such as right after a snowfall,” says Michelle.



About the Author
Mike Podlesny is the author of Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening for the rest of us and the administrator for the largest vegetable gardening page on Facebook.

Watch the video below to learn more about Mike`s Seeds of the Month Club:

How to Take Great Photos of Your Vegetable Garden

Nothing says success as a gardener more than when the first vegetables start sprouting. All of that hard work, from cultivating the soil, adding in compost, and growing your seeds indoors has all finally come to a positive climax.

However, it doesn’t have to end there. With the many blogs, message boards and groups on vegetable gardening, why not share your results with other gardeners with some photos. With today’s digital cameras and photo editing software, you can have wonderful pictures uploaded and online in no time. Here are some tips to make sure your shots make your veggies look pristine rather than dumpy.

Take a Close Up
Even though you might have the latest and greatest super zoom camera, I have found that my best photos have come when I move in closer to the vegetable or vegetable plant I am trying to take a picture of. Make sure the plant you are photographing takes up as much space on the view lens as possible.

Sunny Day
One of the best photo opportunities is when the sun is shining and first thing in the morning. When you see the sun glistening off the morning dew that is on your vegetables, it makes for a great photograph. Next time you take a photo use this shot and you will be happy with it as well.

Level Up
Don’t be afraid to get down on the same level as the vegetable you are trying to photograph. When you take a picture on the same level it makes it look so much better than when you are higher.

Organize the Photo
Nothing looks worse then when I take a photo of something and when I see the picture on my computer it looks terrible because it looks very disorganized. In other words, besides those juicy red tomatoes I was trying to capture, I also got the dog in there, some of the fence, some of my planting pots, and of course that is when my two year old decided he was going to run by. It is best to retake this photo and get it organized so that it will look better.

Photo Editing
I took the plunge and invested in Adobe Photoshop. It is a great tool for many things I do, and one of those things is editing photos I take. On occasion I will need to remove what I call background noise (unmovable objects, bugs etc) that take away from the beauty of the vegetable I am trying to photograph. There are many photo editing pieces of software on the market and they range in price from as little as $30 all the way up to $500. Buy based on how much you are going to use it.

You work hard on your vegetable garden and there is nothing wrong with sharing your hard work with others through photographs. So go ahead and take some good shots of your vegetables and upload them online so others can get inspired by your work.

About the Author
Michael is the author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person, a practical easy to follow guide for the home vegetable gardener. You can follow him on Twitter as well as join his Facebook Fan Page.