It’s supposed to be cloudy all weekend. Now's the time to grab the camera and go out to shoot that (winning?) photo for the Welcome Spring Photo Contest. Here are some tips to keep in mind when framing and shooting your flora.
 
1.       When’s the best time to shoot flowers? When it’s overcast. Clouds diffuse light, so they eliminate harsh shadows, reveal details and make colors really pop. Be sure to set your White Balance to Cloudy—if you don’t, your flowers will have a blue cast to them.
 
2.       When shooting a flower close up, choose the portrait setting on your camera (or select a large aperture like f-5.6, 4.0 or 2.8 in Manual or Aperture Priority Mode). It will blur the background so your subject really stands out.
 
3.       To get a sharp photo of a flower close up, choose the Macro setting on your camera or attach a macro lens to your DSLR.  
 
4.       Don’t just stand there and shoot. Get down and dirty. Shoot at your subject’s level. Or from the ground up. Or a birds-eye view.
 
5.       Put your subject off center. Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid. Put your subject at one of the four points where the lines intersect. To make sure it’s in focus, aim your camera at the subject, press your shutter half way down, recompose your shot, then press the shutter the rest of the way down.
 

So get busy snapping. And don't forget to send us your results.