Shooting Flowers

I'm going to attempt to provide some tips that can help to create a more interesting photo of a flower, in this example a vase of tulips.

Things you'll need:

1. Flowers
2. Camera (macro capabilities preferred) - I shot in Aperture Priority with the aperture as wide open as it could be on the lens I was using (f/6.3) with pattern metering. Image stabilisation will help but not essential.
3. Neutral background - attention should be on the flower not something in the background so be aware of strong colours/shapes when composing the shot.
4. Spray bottle or some type of water delivery system (Spray bottle will give you smaller droplets)

First thing I did to get these shots was to move the vase outside and get some natural light, direct and in the shadows. Next I sprayed the flowers a few times to get some water beads on the petals and started shooting.

Right up close to the Stigma (dead in the middle of the flower) and the anther (6 towers surrounding the center)

Get some shots from different angles, ones that you usually would not see.

Include other flowers in the background.

You don't always need the whole lower in the shot, focus in on one part to bring out the detail.

The background I used was my lawn so there was a nice green natural feel to it.