Gardens are in full bloom, and when we have our phones, we have a camera in hand. Use our lovely weather to shoot some amazing pictures of the foliage you see daily or visit Pineland Gardens, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens or anywhere else on your travels. Here are 12 tips for experimenting with flower photography. Have fun!

• Help your flower image pop by blurring the background. Most cell phone cameras allow you to choose where in the image the sharpest focus will be. Everything else will be fuzzy or slightly out of focus. Just touch the screen with your finger to highlight the spot you want to be emphasized.

• Fill the frame. Focus on just one blossom so that it completely takes up the image. You will see wonderful details and different colors. Often, the center of a blossom is made of tiny, individual parts you don’t notice when standing back. It’s cool when you can also capture a pollinator hard at work.

• Choose a different perspective. Instead of shooting down at a flower, try holding your phone’s camera under the flower with the selfie lens activated. The image becomes more abstract, and the viewer has to think about what they are seeing. This strategy works well with plants that are feathery like a fern or allium.

• Create an exotic image by shooting at night. Again, focus on one bloom and activate your flash. The image will almost seem luminescent in its appearance. You might want to turn on the porch light first to make sure there aren’t any black-and-white critters lurking in your greenery.

• Choose the golden hour. Professional photographers will often say the best light for taking pictures is one hour after sunrise and the hour just before sunset. The light is more even and thus over- or under-exposing a picture is less likely. Right now, sunset is about 8:20 p.m., which is a lovely time of day. However, sunrise is about 5:15 am, so you best set your alarm.

• Simulate dawn’s dew with a water bottle. If you are not a fan of getting up at the crack of dawn, carry a spray bottle full of water as you take pictures in your garden. Spritz a little water on the petals and leaves and create artificial dew. Your viewer won’t be able to tell the difference if the picture is a close-up of the plant.

• Create a marvelous ambiance with your iPhone by using the portrait option on the camera. Choose the “stage light” setting. The result is a darkened background with a stage light focused on the bloom. It is a lovely and unique image.

• Utilize colorful pasteboard to provide a backdrop that isolates your chosen subject. Your flower and/or foliage will be showcased because there is no surrounding floral competition.

• Experiment with high dynamic range. Using this setting provides more detail in both shadows and bright light conditions. Most cameras allow you to manually turn HDR on and off, so experiment to see which image you like best. The wonder of digital photography is that you can immediately trash photos you do not want.

• Don’t let your shadow ruin an image. When the sun is behind you and casting shadows, step back and use your zoom option. That way, the wonderful colors of the bloom will not be obscured.

• Think about the rule of thirds when composing your photographs. Imagine your frame has a grid with two vertical and two horizontal lines. Instead of placing the main object of your image smack-dab in the middle, place it where a horizontal and vertical line intersect. Professional photographers often use this strategy in their compositions. You probably can turn a grid on in your camera settings, which makes composing stellar photographs a bit easier.

• Don’t forget to focus occasionally on the foliage. Think of hostas with their various color combinations and patterns etched into the leaves. Ornamental grasses are another interesting subject full of subtle colors and textures.

Of course, after taking your pictures, you have many options in your editing app/program to improve or alter your images.

BoomerTECH Adventures offers several online courses related to photography:

• Taking Awesome Pictures With Your iPhone/iPad Camera
• Take Fabulous Photos of the Flora and Fauna in Your World
• Fantastic Photo Finishes – Organize & Edit Images With Your iPhone/iPad Photos App
• Conquer Your Mac Photos App – Edit Your Images

All are available on our website and many are offered through local adult education programs. Visit boomertechadventures.com/courses/ or tinyurl.com/4k67926t.

BoomerTECH Adventures (boomertechadventures.com) helps boomers and older adults navigate the digital world with confidence and competence. Active boomers themselves, they use their backgrounds as teachers to support individuals and groups with online courses, articles, videos and presentations to organizations upon request.