The art of capturing a great photograph often doesn’t come down to what equipment you have but rather some basic understanding of light and composition. Let’s have a look at some ‘rules’ of photography.

Composition – an essential one

This usually draws people in; things such as leading lines and the rule of thirds are two popular compositional guides. The rule of thirds works by placing the main centre of attention on both a horizontal “third” line and a vertical “third” line, which you can see in this picture below. When relating this to lawn photography, possibly by placing the horizon on one of the horizontal lines, this could achieve the rule of thirds. Another example would be to place a feature such as a shape in the lawn on one of the verticals.

“The rule of thirds” – HCT Turf archive image

Lighting

Arguably as crucial, if not more, is lighting. When lighting your lawn images, you rely on the natural light around you. As a rule of thumb, bright sunshine looks warm and inviting but creates shadows in your picture. Cloudy or overcast days give the image a cold and flat look, but shadows are reduced. When thinking about the time of the day, I love to shoot during the golden hour, or as the sun becomes much lower and gives a lovely golden glow to the image. Try taking pictures at different times of the day and see which you like best; there is no right or wrong, so try and experiment.

2021 entry

Angle

When taking your images, it’s good to think about the angle or height you might want to take your photo. The height at which you take your picture will change the depth/layering of the image. The higher you take the photo, the flatter the image will look; try getting lower and creating foreground interest. As a rule of thumb, choose either low down or from height. Taking a photo from head height is the easiest way to take a picture, but it will mean your images look very similar to all the other images we see on the internet.

2021 entry

Now you have a few tips and tricks that you can use while photographing your lawn images. If you can remember composition, lighting and angle, you will be set to capture a great shot. I look forward to seeing your entries. Good luck!

Felix Northover

For all the details of our #ILoveMyDevonGarden charity campaign click here

We are delighted to welcome Felix as one of our judges for #ILoveMyDevon Garden 2022. Here’s a bit more about him.

With a distinction in UAL Photography and a 1st in Film and TV from Exeter College, as a professional full-time photographer and filmmaker I now list the college, Exeter Chiefs, Exeter City Council, Devon County Show, ISCA Wellbeing and SWComms, among others, as key corporate clients.

 

From my base in Devon, my work takes me across the country and often beyond; opening up opportunities and experiences that both challenge and excite me on a daily basis.

 

Professionalism stands at the core of my work, allowing me to create content that captivates and engages my audience from every aspect; each and every new project offers an opportunity to grow, to learn and to exceed client expectations with the highest quality end result.

 

To find out more, visit – felixnorthoverphotography.com

For all the details of our #ILoveMyDevonGarden charity campaign click here