The power of a good photograph…

Carrying on from yesterdays theme (APL awards, not disintegrating gardens!) I thought it was worth flagging up the value of a decent photograph. Whether on your website or, indeed, for awards entries a series of great shots will undoubtedly help you to get your message across more powerfully.

All too often I see, well frankly rubbish images gracing otherwise decent website sites. Photographs taken on mobile phones on murky days with the clients burgeoning washing-line in the background or some unknown landscaper standing vacantly in the middle distance. With a little thought and technique these images could have been a brilliant selling point. Instead they tell the viewers subconscious that the photographer couldn’t be bothered.

When we won our APL award last year the judges made a point of praising the quality of the images we presented and said they were a major factor in helping them come to their decision. They could actually see what they were judging in clear, crisp detail.

 

Vacant landscaper in middle distance…

..and the clients burgeoning washing line…!

So how do you get a decent photograph?

 Get the right equipment. A half decent camera is an essential tool these days. Either purchase or borrow a digital SLR with a zoom lens in the range of 18-55 mm is perfect. Wider zooms offer more scope if the garden is very small but they start to get expensive.

 Use a tripod. Let me say that again. Use a tripod! And if possible pick a still day to reduce the chance of camera shake even further. You’re going to be using the camera at the widest possible aperture so it needs all the support it can get.

 Pick a clear day but avoid the middle of the day. Early morning and late afternoon light are best. Mid day light is harsh and will probably cause the image to overexpose.

 Keep the sun behind you as far as possible. So bearing this in mind decide what time of the day is best to get the shots you want. If you need to shoot in all directs (if you’ll excuse the expression) then you might need to make two visits.

 Do some gardening. Dead–head the roses, weed the borders, sweep the paths and put those kiddies toys away. Make sure that your shots are free from clutter. Tell the client in advance that you’re coming so that they don’t put the washing out or organise a garden party.

 Start taking shots at the beginning of a project so that you get more effective before-and-after shots.  Look at the design and decide on where the most effective finished shots will be. This will tell you where to shoot the ‘before’ pictures. Before-and-afters are incredibly powerful. I constructed a page on our website which allows you to pass the mouse over a ‘before’ picture to see what the ‘after’ looks like. It’s really effective! (You’ll note some classic mistakes as mentioned above – my epiphany on image quality is a recent development!)

 http://www.the-gardenmakers.co.uk/Before-&-afters.html

 Set the camera to the maximum aperture you can while maintaining a shutter speed of at least 1/60^th second (if you’re a photographer you’re going to howl that you can get away with less but for the purposes of this I’m trying to make it as fool proof as possible!) Keep the ISO reading to 400 or less and the aperture to f16 or above. Have a read of this link to get a better understanding of what you’re doing!

 http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/maximum-aperture.html

 Photograph everything and anything. Experiment with different shots, get down on your belly, climb up a ladder, shoot through the shrubbery and get some plants in the very foreground. By keeping that aperture to f16 or above you’re getting everything from the foreground to the background in sharp focus. If you want to highlight one feature – say and ornament – then adjust  the aperture down as low as possible (say F4) which will throw a certain amount of the foreground and background out of focus.

 And there you go. I bet you never thought it was so easy did you!

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