How to take beautiful pictures of your garden

PRINCE GEORGE Mark Ragland waited patiently for a butterfly to perch on top of a purple coneflower before pressing the shutter button on his camera.

With a "snap," he captured the perfect image -- a close-up shot taken on a slightly overcast morning after an evening rain.

"In the early morning and late afternoon, the sun is at an angle and you get really deep shadows that add more interest," Ragland said. "Direct sunlight can be so intense that it fades everything out."

Ragland, a home-based employee of Diebold self-service and security company, is a self-taught garden photography expert. He has held seminars for Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Maymont and the Old Dominion Herb Society and presented slide shows of his images for numerous area garden clubs and other groups.

He directs his talks at the "point-and-shoot" crowd -- no knowledge of aperture or shutter speed necessary.

"A lot of people think if you don't own a really expensive camera, you can't take good pictures," said Ragland, who uses a Nikon D80. "They think it's the expensive camera that takes the great picture, but it's you that takes the good picture."

To prove his point, he shares ahh-inspiring images that he took with a $15 Kodak.

For inspiration, Ragland simply steps outside his door. Ragland, his partner, Scott Norton, and three cats share a home on six lusciously landscaped acres in a heavily wooded country setting in Prince George County.

Two acres are dedicated to gardens -- a kitchen garden, formal herb garden, water garden, tranquility garden, cottage garden, a "cat" garden, even a tea garden planted with herbs and camellia sinensis, a plant whose leaves and buds he uses to make tea.

"I always tell people not to expect every picture to be great," Ragland said. "Professionals take thousands of pictures and may only get a few they love. Sometimes you just get lucky, but it pays to know the basics so you get the shot as well as you can."

What follows are Ragland's best tips for preserving your gardens with a camera: Try to avoid distractions, such as plant labels and spent blooms. Layer the photo to create depth and interest. Have a foreground and a background. Try to get closer. More detail equals more interest. Look for a camera with a "macro" feature, which allows a digital camera to capture sharp close-up pictures of petite objects. Eliminate dead zones, such as extra sky, grass or anything boring. Try a different perspective. Look at your subject from on the ground, atop a ladder or a bug's-eye view. Frame the picture to add interest around the edges. Don't always center the subject. Add balance with opposing objects or subjects. Shoot in low-angled light -- early morning or late afternoon -- to add shadows and avoid harsh midday sun. TRICK: If your light isn't ideal, use a white foam board or a piece of cardboard covered in foil to reflect light back up under the plant. Rain droplets catch light and add a sparkle to flower photos. TRICK: Carry a misting bottle with you and generously spritz your flowers before shooting. Mist, fog, dark clouds and reflections from puddles and wet leaves also add interest. Walk around and get a feel for your garden before taking an overall shot. Find its best angle and what makes it special. Take a good overall shot, pictures of each main feature and close-ups of plants. TRICK: Shoot your "oops." Ragland uses photos to guide his planting for the following spring. "Take pictures of things you should've staked earlier, things that need to be moved," he said. "It's a no-cost way to keep tabs on your garden." Children, pets and people can add a personal touch to garden shots. "Just be careful," Ragland said. "Humans make strong subjects and can also distract from the garden if that's what you want a picture of." Don't expect every picture to be great. Take many shots to get the one you want. Shoot the same location at different times of the year, in different seasons and in different weather conditions. Ragland said the best resource on the subject is the book that came with the camera.

Contact Julie Young at (804) 649-6732 or .