Great Flower and Garden Photos With A Camera Phone

Not every picture speaks a thousand words, but once in a while you capture something really memorable, even with a camera phone.

Here are six photos I took with my camera phone (Samsung Galaxy J7).  These are some of my all time favorites.

I’m nowhere near being a professional photographer, but today’s amateur cameras are amazing and fairly easy.

You can find more beautiful garden photography from around the world by visiting The Propagator.

A Dark Background Can Provide Rich Contrast

 

A white zinnia blossom is pictured against a dark background
Close up of white zinnia

The dark background really makes the colors pop.  I really wasn’t even trying for dark, it’s just the way the light and shadow played out as I moved in for the close-up.

Pink daylily with yellow
Another “accidental” dark background makes this pink daylily shine.

 

A White Background Will Put the Focus on Color

White can also show off vibrant flower colors.

Daylily, hosta., campanula, cosmos, and yarrow photographed against a white board.
A white background can be effective in showing off color.

Yellows and reds are the hardest colors for me to capture.  Taking photos of these bright colors when the natural light is less intense works better than trying to photograph them mid-day.

Here, there is less light reflecting off the white board, producing more highlights and shadows.

You can see more detail in this photo, than in the one above.

a lined up display of yellow, white, and multi-colored daffodils

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Camera Phone Challenges in the Wild

Wind provides a challenge, as do wildflowers.

Close-up of bee on tiny yellow sorrel flower
Wind and wildflowers can be tricky to capture.

If you wonder why your flower pictures are often blurry, be aware of the wind.  Even the slightest breeze can create movement, causing blurring.

Another challenging aspect of photographing wildflowers is that you shouldn’t touch then, and definitely shouldn’t pick them. (It may be illegal to pick them, in fact.)

I can often be seen crouching, or in some other unflattering contortion, trying to get a good shot.

There’s a lot of poison ivy in our parks, so you might want to avoid actually get into the foliage!

…

Natural Light is Best with the Camera Phone

We do eat some flowers quite regularly, cauliflower and broccoli, for example.  I’ve found that even in the kitchen, natural light produces the best photos.

Photo of onion, radishes, cauliflower, broccoli, squash, and strawberries
Natural light comes through the window and reflects off the fruits and vegetables.

Mostly, I’ve learned about picture-taking from reading blogs, and trial and error.  My thanks to Cooking Without Limits and Cee’s Photography for inspiring my photo experiments, and for clear tips on how to take great photos.

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Author: A. JoAnn

Here is where I share the beauty I find in everyday life; and the humor, too!

6 thoughts

  1. I love your photos! What a great tutorial. Thank you!

    I never had much luck with phone camera photos until I bought an iPhone; my Samsung phones just couldn’t compete with my DSLR. Even the “cheap” iPhone I finally got is amazing, though. Do you ever add an external lens to your phone camera? I have been thinking about doing that.

  3. Thanks for those good tips. I’ll try to remember the backgrounds, not just the main event.

  4. Nice pictures! It’s not easy to focus on moving subjects like flies, bees or even flowers that move in the wind. I don’t know the Samsung J7 because I use an iPhone for all my photos even close-ups but the colors of your photos are really nice !

  6. Yes, they are great photos. That first one is a cracker. As you say, a dark background makes a huge difference.

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