Shoot Your Roses! (but not with a gun)		Got a point and shoot camera? You can take great pictures of your roses with a few helpful tips.
The most common mistake when shooting roses is taking out of focus pictures due to the camera being too close to the subject. Things look fine though the viewfinder, but you are not actually looking through the camera lens. Most auto-focus cameras vary as to how close you can get. Check your manual, distance from the subject may be somewhere between 2.5 to 3 feet. Those with a Macro function may be able to get closer. Stand back and use the zoom if you have one. Start by measuring a piece of string to the length of your closest distance your camera can focus (i.e. 30 inches). Tape one end to the top of your camera. Hold your camera at or near your eye and stretch out the string to the rose with your arm. Once you have done this a number of times, you shouldn’t need the string. Bright sunny days are NOT the ideal time to bring out the camera. Shadows cast by foliage and the petal formation will be too harsh. Perfect weather for shooting is hazy to slightly overcast, reducing shadow enough to record great detail and colour saturation. Staging is another tip that can improve the quality of your prints. If you have a perfect half-open bloom, pull in a bud and a fully open flower as well.		This may be done with string gently tied around the stems, or the blooms may need to be cut and placed into the shot, then brought into the house for enjoyment. Be sure to include plenty of foliage as a backdrop. Also, check for distracting background objects like watering cans, refuse, even other bright flowers. Finally, take your prints to a quality photo finisher. If you get prints back and are happy with everything except the colour, take them back with your negatives for reprinting with colour corrections. Check to see if the photo lab is willing to do this first. Be specific about corrections (lighter, darker, more orange, less orange) and write the instructions on the back of the print. Keep in mind that no film can reproduce colour exactly the way our eyes see it. Other factors include the quality of your camera and lens, the bran of the film and its age. If your camera spent the summer in a hot car, or if your rose shots are on the same film as Christmas, then heat and age damage may have affected colours. In these cases, colours will never look right. Now, armed with these valuable tips, go out and shoot those roses! Happy Hunting
(c) 1997 Janice Lee Used by permission