“Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words. They are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all men for the beauty of their character, though few can decypher even fragments of their meaning.”

Those words were written by U.S abolitionist, writer and editor Lydia M. Child in 1842.

Many nature lovers and gardeners echo Ms. Child’s sentiments about flowers. Some strive to capture their beauty with their cameras.

Here are some tips to shoot flowers:

• Use a macro lens or the macro setting on your lens for close-up flower portraits. Set a small f-stop for good depth-of-field, which is limited when using a macro lens or macro setting at close distances.
• Wide-angle lenses can be used for flower pictures, too. They provide greater depth of field and a wider field of view than macro lenses, making them well-suited for pictures of groups of flowers or entire gardens.
• Hold your camera steady when taking natural light pictures. Better yet, use a tripod.
• Remember that you don’t always have to shoot with the sun at your back. Backlighted flowers can look as though they are radiating color.
• For pleasing flash pictures, that is, pictures without harsh shadows, use a ringlight (a special flash unit that fits on around a macro lens).
• Be aware of the background; it can make or break a picture.
• When taking close-ups, create your own background. I use cardboard covered with a dark green material that I found in a local fabric store.