Woefully, not enough time in my very hectic seasonal schedule to get out and take necessary photos. Ironically, the prime time to take "after" photos - like now - is when I have the least amount of available time (like none) to do so. If my budget would allow it, I'd hire it done in a heartbeat. The garden photographer of choice in this area is Lynne Harrison, a lady of incredible talent and photographic skill.

Ok gardengal, I understand but...
I'm going to nudge you in a slightly irritating ( when am I not ? ) but friendly way with this reply ; " You can't afford a pro photographer but you can't afford to not document your creative endeavors either for your Marketing Portfolio.

The way I look at it, a picture speaks a thousand words, and a couple of well displayed, well composed and beautifully shot garden photographs can sell your skills as a talented designer to a potential big buck client.

Think of it as pure salesmanship and marketing for your business.
Also consider the potential depth of return of this marketing value if the photograph / project goes national , or even local for that matter.

That's why I feel that designers can't not afford to take the time to seize the moment and document their craft in the best light ( pun intended ) possible.

Ok, whiney lecture is over, but I meant well.

... and another time of day that garden photography can be saturated with deep rich color is when it is bright but cloudy. ... and Gardengal, we KNOW, you got those conditions often in your part of the woirld, so no more excuses girlfriend, ... go shooting and bring back some bacon, .. I wanna see you armed and dangerous.

: ~ )

My tips:

- Keep the sun behind you

- Remember the "rule of thirds". Take a peice of paper and fold it in thirds along one direction, then the other. unfold it and it should be divided into a tic-tac-toe pattern. A viewer's eyes are naturally drawn tot he parts of the image along hte lines, inparticular the intersections and then the parts of the lines connecting the points of that inner square. Frame your shot so that the hig points are as close as you can get to one of those "hot spots". The same rule applies when cropping, so if you know you are going to crop an image keep the final arrangement in mind when shooting a larger field.

- If shooting film, use the lowest speed of the more expensive but commmon films. If you are not well practiced with film, don't try slide film, especially in tricky lighting conditions.

- For water features, if you have a manual or programmable camera, try the slowest shutter speed you can so the film can "catch" the appearance of movement in the running water. Reflecting pools benefit from the oposite approach.

- Tripod and/or monopod and a shutter release cable. Also some rope to lash a tripod with attached camera to shoot from an odd location.

- Don't forget shooting under a full moon in open garden areas on a slow. slow shutter speed. You could use a flash to illuminate a foreground seating area. With a slow enough shutter speed and low-speed film you can even experiment walking around with a flash and using it to light up particular foreground features as long as you kept the flash out of the field of view. Try it several ways and take notes on each shot, including length of exposure, then develop and see what worked best. On a long exposure, a tealamp withthe flame shielded from the lens will light up the surrounding area quite well. Also try some shots with a "starlight filter". Could be impressive paired with a daylight shot from the same location.

-A UV/haze filter cuts glare from the sky, etc.

However, know when to break the rules:
- Exception to the morning / evening rule: In a garden with lots of shade, sometimes late morning or midafternon will allow some streaming sunbeam effects you won't get early in the morning or late in the day. Try locations like that both ways.

- If trying to take a picture of water or glass, a UV/haze filter will soften the reflection. Not necessarily a good thing if trying to capture clear water in a stream from a water feature, try those shots with and without.

Thanks for the tips, Mich & Ray.
I have been shooting my gardens this spring mainly for record keeping ( see taking pics works for us plain ol' gardeners as well). I want to change the bulb gardens around next fall and even with things written down, it's hard to remember the color combos. I am hoping my digital photos will help out.
The bulbs were popping up and looking spiffy until a late snow / freeze this past weekend...errrrrr! Luckily the snow did some good and insulated some of the tulips. oh well maybe next spring!!! lol

Besides using a ladder for height, getting down low will also give some good shots.

Always run your eye around the periphery of the viewfinder- checking for things you may not want in the picture. I often find a pole or part of a tree trunk I didn't notice while concentrating on the subject.

If you use an automatic camera, pre-focus on the main object, then move the camera if you don't want that directly in the center, half holding the button down. This helps with the 'rule of thirds' mentioned above. If your focal point is not in the middle of the shot, the auto focus will not use it and it may come out blurry.

Mich, your advice is well taken, however the effectiveness of photographing completed projects after 7 pm is extremely limited and I'd have a hard time explaining why I need to leave work at the nursery early to go take pictures :-) Days not at the nursery are typically filled with client appointments. This is just not a great time of year for me to complete this task. A pro, or at the very least a photographic assistant, would definitely come in handy. I do get out and photograph when I can but late summer and winter - when things slow down at the nursery - are not the ideal times.

Gardengal don't dispair! Some of my best pix are taken in the fall when the gardens resemble 'une femme de certain age'. You should have time then!

If you use a high-resolution digital camera, make sure you have lots of storage space. I'm taking about 3,000 photos a month right now (mostly as backup for a new book), and that adds up -- as in some one to two gigabytes per month.