Specialists

It's easy for humans to be dismissive. It's an integral feature of human nature.

I am not good with plants, so I've always been happily dismissive of flower pictures. But in buying a new house I have inherited the previous owner's garden, which I have to say has been an ongoing surprise and delight throughout the whole Spring. There is always something new coming along, sometimes where you least expect it.

So naturally I have been taking pictures of it. Not because I have any deathless need to commemorate flowers, but because I tend to take pictures of whatever interests me at any moment.

And I have to say, it's not actually that easy.

Who knew? I always assumed taking flower pictures was sort of drop-dead easy. Wrong-O, tulip-bulb-head. I've actually had kind of a hard time with it.

As with anything else it requires observation. Flowers come and go. You basically get to say, "Oh, that's nice," and then a few days goes by and you forget to look at them again and that's it, they're gone.

And everything's sort of chaotic, too. But if you stay sharp-eyed, you can kind of guess that something might be about to happen.

I'm no expert, but doesn't it look like something's about to happen here? I'm keeping my eyes on these bad boys, and will keep you posted.

Specialists
I had occasion to exchange words yesterday with a reader named Tony Roberts, who is a very accomplished golf photographer. (Check out his CV—if you follow golf, you've seen his work.)

Specializing has always struck me as a smart business strategy, and one that has the potential to make your life more fun, too, because you get to spend your life around what really interests you. I've known of people who specialized in thoroughbred racehorse portraits, motorcycle racing, cars (for advertising), cars (for editorial), sailboats, weddings of course, portraits of children, portraits of babies, architecture (interiors, exteriors), all sorts of things—the list is probably very long. I probably wouldn't have made a good specialist, because I'm distracted easily and have lots of interests. But the idea has always appealed to me.

Even art photographers specialize, in a way, some of them. Amateurs too—you might know people who are passionate about landscapes or trains or animals or something else.

I wouldn't want to specialize in flowers, myself. But I have more respect lately for those who do.

Mike
(Thanks to Tony)

Original contents copyright 2016 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP's links!

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

jeffdmontgomery: "I consider myself to be a generalist as a photographer because I am a university photographer. I shoot athletics, grip and grins, theater, campus life, portraits, summer camps, architecture, food, and the list goes on and on. However when I take photos for myself I tend to point my camera in the direction of flowers. I like all kinds of flowers from wild ones growing on the side of the road to those in gardens. I really believe that being a generalist at work helps me be a better flower photographer."

Rene: "Mike, Over the years of reading your blog, I must admit that I did notice your distain for flower photography which always rankled me as I spent a solid decade doing mostly just that. I'm glad you've finally seen the light, as it were.  :-)  Shooting flowers (especially macro shots), particularly in the wild, can be devilishly hard. I've frequently spent as much as an hour and a half or longer on one flower, just waiting for the wind to die down and the light to be just right same time. After obsessing on flowers for a decade, I finally did burn out on them and couldn't shoot another one no matter how nice."

Kenneth Tanaka: "Specialization is very much essential to achieving success in many (most?) fields, particularly photography. Within what most people would call "flower snapping", for example, there are folks who specialize in photographing gardens and those who are expert in botanical documentation. I've met one of each and can tell you they are just as manic as neurosurgical specialists, particularly the botanical shooters. Then, of course, there are art photographers who shoot flowers, usually dead ones. LFI has a very nice feature on the work of such a photographer named Mike Tinney."

Steve Jacob: "To be financially successful as a photographer it's almost compulsory to specialise in one area, understand the market thoroughly and make sure you know where the commercial meat is. Only then is it possible to define a strategy and build up the competence, contacts and client base necessary to make money.

"The problem is that it becomes very hard to do anything else. You become type-cast, you are constantly competing for work, and if the market turns down, you can't reinvent yourself easily.

"Moreover, constant repetition of the same routines can become boring, and it gets increasingly hard for some to maintain any enthusiasm. A well established market is generally conservative. Taking risks is, well, risky.

"If you are one of those at the top of your game, you have some scope for taking the odd risk, in which case everyone else will soon follow, but in the main your paycheck still depends on giving customers what they want. I think many well known photographers are in that very rut—Steve McCurry included.

"Being an artist by nature makes it even harder. The market for 'art photography' is predominantly one of well worn stereotypical clichés of the kind you see on the walls of coffee bars and new apartments. The main market is interior decorators.

"To be a successful artist on one's own terms requires an extraordinary level of integration with the art establishment itself, which creates a market for you through its contacts with wealthy patrons. It is very seldom something you do in isolation, and in its own way, it is just as prescriptive. 'Be different' is just as tedious as 'be the same.'

"Hobbyists have no such concerns. Much of the time, hobby photography is just an extension of another consuming interest (or set of interests) such as your kids, travel, ornithology, motor racing, trains, horticulture, etc. It's a way to be involved in an activity you love, as is blogging or writing books.

"It just so happens that some hobbyists are also exceptional artisans and artists, and having complete freedom to do whatever they want, they sometimes come up with ideas and styles that are truly interesting. Not often perhaps, a very small minority possibly, but it does happen all the same. You just have to do a lot of trawling to find them."

JOHN GILLOOLY (partial comment): "I believe in most cases the type of job you end up in is a direct reflection of your personality type. For me specializing would not work as I need to be doing something different all the time. I would assume I first chose photography as a profession because it satisfied many of my needs as a person. Then once a photographer, you gravitate to certain areas of the business based upon what is suitable for your personality."

Comments

[cfw]

They look like a kind of Daylilly about to bloom. Here in Virginia (further south of NY), they are about spent.

[Richard]

Like food photography, which on the face of it seems easy ( I'm looking at you, Instagram) - but is actually really really difficult (depending on the intent of course)

[Herman]

Garden of Edith-

[Yonatan K]

Does this mean that you will reassess your position on cat pictures too?

[Moose]

Finally, some respect! -(;~)>

Not that I seem to have a choice. I see flowers, I take photos of them; just the way it is.

Our garden is as you describe, beautiful things coming and fading in endless parade. Where I live, that's almost year round, but esp. Feb through October.

". . . you can kind of guess that something might be about to happen." This is what's about to happen:

Although much more appealing at a larger size.

Or perhaps this:

Or some other extravagant color!

These are, BTW, simple snaps with an Olympus TG-4 P&S. It isn't that hard, with some practice and learning how your tools work for the subjects. (And shot RAW with a dash of post.)

Now, you need a maintenance gardener, so all that work that you are now enjoying doesn't fall apart.

[Aaron Welton]

I find in some of my work I become a sub-specialist. I discover this when viewing my work and recognize a portfolio in the making or a new direction I've taken. It always comes as a surprise and is unpredictable. For example, I like using a 4x5 camera for landscapes, but I've found myself exploring abstract scenes of ice and snow on river banks with the 4x5. Check out "Laughing Man" on my blog for an example. 35mm would have been my guess for this kind of work. I also found myself taking portraits and group portraits of trees in the snow, with 35mm! I would have guessed 4x5 for that one, but 35mm ended up working naturally for those ones. Then there are the jellyfish. These are so much about the quality of light for me and I think of them in black and white, but image stabilization in my digital camera made them possible. I hadn't brought a tripod to the aquarium, nor would I have had an easy time using it with the crowds and those pesky jellies keep moving constantly anyway. Usually, I shoot with what's available if I'm not on a photography specific trip, but in these instances I had a choice of what to use and I became surprised later by my choices. A wonderful thing photography is.

[Dennis]

I've dabbled just enough in flower photography to agree with you. I don't think I've ever taken a flower photograph that I really like. Same with (posed) portraits. Candids, sure, I love candids. Maybe if I just hung around a flower garden with a camera, I could catch them doing something interesting, instead of trying to pose them.

[marcin wuu]

Remember the "one camera one lens" challenge? Well, if you're a specialist, it's not a challenge. It's just another day at the office :-)

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Write what you know, someone once said-- and that turns out to be very good advice for the fledgling writer. Same advice is pretty good for photographers starting out, too.

I'd offer the caveat that one has to be more than a little careful if one sticks to this regimen a lifetime. At at the risk of seeming (or actually being) pedantic, it's easy to get stuck in a groove of knowing a subject so thoroughly that you can no longer see it with fresh eyes.

[Dave]

Flower photos are the bane of my existence! Too often, I know there's a photo in there, but damned if I get them!

[Manuel]

Mike, I'll never come here again if you start posting off-topic entries on gardening!

[Bob Rosinsky]

When we lived in Boston, my wife and I used to get a kick out of planting perennials and annuals in our little gardens. It took a fair amount of trial and error, gardening guides, seed catalogs, and guesswork to figure out how to cultivate an ever-changing garden. The garden went through several transitions throughout a single day and over the course of spring, summer, and fall. When we moved to Florida, we bought a house on a large lot. It took us four or five years to put together a lush tropical garden. It looked lovely, but it required constant attention. Then there was a February when the temperatures dipped below 30 degrees for five or six consecutive nights. That was the end of our tropical garden. After that, we planted indigenous perennials. We lost our enthusiasm for gardening. The ratio of mulch to flora gradually increased. By the time we sold the house, the garden wasn't particularly interesting. I've noticed the new owners are now heading down the tropical garden path. They're from Minnesota.

[Michael H]

Be careful ... flowers are a photographer's heroin ... you start by just taking a few casual shots and without realizing it ... it becomes a summer long habit and daily craving. You will suffer withdrawals all winter and you will be hooked for life!

[anthony]

Of course now you're probably going to get inundated with flower shots.

Here's a page of 10 flower images from my website which coincidentally has two of my favorites: "Backlit Tulips" and "Monkshood and Bumblebee",  http://www.anthonyreczek.com/tag/flowers/page/6/

I usually use a 100mm macro, but didn't on these two. Other useful tips:  overcast skies make for a good backdrop, and shooting during or immediately after a rain or in mist usually proves interesting. A tripod helps and just recently I bought a portable camping stool for leaning in with greater comfort.

I think flower photography is really portrait photography. And you're absolutely right - things can come and go pretty quickly out there in flower land.

[Peter Williams]

Sonny Carter has been doing "Friday flowers" for many years. Check 'em out here:
http://www.sonc.com/friday/index.html

[Kefyn Moss]

I went through a flower phase (and even had a complete exhibition on just flower close-ups/abstracts) about a decade ago. I still like and occasionally take the odd flower photo but seem to have got the obsession out of my system mostly. Living in a tropical paradise loaded with flowers and a good botanic garden doesn't help either!

All of the photos in the above mentioned exhibition were taken using the no-longer-produced Nikon 70-180 micro zoom lens which is highly prized on the used market and as rare as the proverbial... I really miss that lens sometimes.

[Darlene]

My career in photography was products, portraiture and special events. Since retiring, I photograph what I enjoy looking for the most: the abstract in ordinary objects, and flowers fit this challenge well.

[Glenn Allenspach]

I think CFW nailed it with the Day Lillies ID. Watch them every day and you might get a surprise like this:
https://flic.kr/p/p1X4we

[MikeR]

Lilium lancifolium, aka, Tiger Lily

[John Krumm]

I took this a few Easters ago and was happy, all except for the white dog hair. Put a sheet behind it on a cloudy day on the back deck. I'm more of a dabbler, definitely not a specialist, but it's fun to dabble.

[Jim Allen]

Even backyard weeds can grab your attention if you look closely. I took this photo with a lens used for video inspection, which I modified for use on my m4/3 camera...

https://flic.kr/p/rqRcGF

I was just wandering in my backyard looking for interesting things to try.

[MJFerron]

As many other photographers did (do) I started out dabbling in nature photography, which of course included flowers. I guess I landed few ok shots but when I saw some artsy flower photos in Lenswork magazine I realized I was just a rookie.

I am free as an amateur to photograph what I want but agree that if one really wants to be impressive in any given photographic category they need to specialize and work that subject matter hard. (BTW though I am more of an urban photographer now I still take the camera out of the bag when the Hibiscus flowers bloom)

[Joe B]

And don't forget to get a bee or some other insect in your flower pix. Adds interest. Next thing you will be using a micro lens and start taking insect pictures. Please don't do that.

[Sarge]

Flowers don't do anything but they do attract bees, er, flies!

Mimic bees pollinating basil flowers

[Peter]

I understand the idea that one needs to specialize if professional success is what you're after, but success in terms of being free to pursue varied interests and being happy in what you do might lead you to doing all sorts of stuff. Flowers are an example for me, shot with my phone because it's the only camera I have that focuses close and because I like the vignetting of the app I use.

http://www.hookstrapped.com/album/phoney-diana-flowers#1

[Michael Ellis]

Hi Mike-

It makes sense when you realize that flowers are the sexual organs of plants. I have been gardening at least as long as I have been making photographs and both endeavors are meaningful and necessary parts of my life. Your plants are lilies, by the way.

Michael Ellis

[JOHN GILLOOLY]

I believe in most cases the type of job you end up in is a direct reflection of your personality type. For me specializing would not work as I need to be doing something different all the time. I would assume I first chose photography as a profession because it satisfied many of my needs as a person. Then once a photographer, you gravitate to certain areas of the business based upon what is suitable for your personality.

As a business-person, I believe it is very important to go in a direction where you have a competitive advantage. I am very comfortable and good at working with people - events, portraits and general dealings with people are a big part of my business. The photography profession happens to be loaded with people who are not comfortable working with people - as clients or subjects.

I made a great trip to the Galapagos in 1999. While it was a great trip, I learned that I really prefer to photograph people.

In addition to the gravitation towards people as subjects, I also gravitate away from areas that require incredible patience and long work for single outcomes. I have no desire to work in photoshop on a single image for hours. I am not the type of person to seek out a particular spot and wait weeks the way a successful landscape photographer must.

In the end I think it's important to recognize who you are as a person and not necessarily try and be something else. It's usually much easier to be yourself.

[Tim]

Let us know when you've mastered hand-held closeups with a close-focussing manual-focus fast-ish nifty-fifty on a m4/3rds 2* crop. In the breeze...

I had a significant phase of that kind of thing - woodland more than flowers, but even so - after a couple of years away doing landscape vistas it's surprisingly difficult to get back into the swing of it.

[David Bennett]

@Mike,
They could be triffids.

[Struan]

The problem with pretty flowers is that it's easy to get carried away:

http://struangray.com/sheepsbit/

We've lost the variety of Victorian and medieval associations that flowers once had, just as we've lost the connotations of hard work and winter survival once implied by a meadow. We're left with unquestioned, conventional loveliness. Technically, a context-free close up of a flower tells you only what it looks like, which can be expressive, but for the most part, only over a limited range. Add the limited selection offered by most commercial garden and cut flower outlets, and the inevitable urge to recycle tripod holes among photographers of all types (Calla lily, anyone?), and you end up with a dull genre. A very dull genre.

I photograph weeds. The more despised and commonplace the better. It's an effective cure for sublimity.