How to photograph woodland wildflowers

Spring wildflowers are eternal and fleeting.

April 9, 2025 :: Close Ups / Wildflowers

Hepaticas say it's Springtime at last. But they won't last long.

It's in their nature to make a short, spectacular appearance after the vernal equinox. They come and go before the forest canopy wakes up. That strategy assures they gather enough sunlight and spring rain to survive the shady days of summer.

Our seasonal strategy is to plant native spring wildflowers in a woodland garden under our big maple. That way we get to see our favorite flowers push through the cold earth and leaf mulch in our own backyard. Today, a dozen species say there’s no stopping them now. That means the same is likely happening in the nearby eastern deciduous forests, too.

Sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) is one of many ephemeral spring wildflowers we’ll watch for on our woodland walk this week. As the term “ephemeral” implies, these flowers are fleeting. That’s why it’s gratifying to see them, but sad to say farewell at the same time.

The eternal thing about spring wildflowers is that they reliably return when winter departs. It's been this way since the last ice-age glaciers retreated 10,000 years ago. So our anticipation of their reemergence after the vernal equinox is geologically justified. It's the nature of these ephemeral flowers.

MAKING THE PHOTOGRAPH

SUBJECT: Sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba)

CONDITIONS: Calm, lightly overcast, mid-50s F; early Spring.

EQUIPMENT and SETTINGS: Nikon D850 body, micro-Nikkor 200mm f/4D IF-ED lens, Gitzo tripod, Really Right Stuff ball head; Matrix metering, Aperture Priority exposure mode, manual focusing, electronic cable release.

EXPOSURE: 1/60 sec @ f/11, ISO 400; natural light

Composing a close up photograph is a lot making a landscape image just on a smaller scale. You still need to consider the important elements like subject choice, light, background, foreground, and weather conditions.

Just like when I compose a landscape photo, I think about all of those elements before I open my camera bag. I look for the best subject, if there's more than one. I consider distractions in the background and foreground. I choose the best perspective -- high, low, close or closer. I anticipate conditions like wind that I may have to outlast. And most importantly, I study the light.

Light and its quality is the most important of the elements for a close up. Front light, back light, or sidelight; too much light or not enough; warm light or cool; hot spots or shadows -- these qualities all matter. They can matter as much or more than the subject. Because even an average subject can look remarkable in the right light.

My equipment choices were easy. The 200mm macro lens is an old friend that is the first and only one I reach for for close ups. Any good camera body will do, but why not choose your best one with the most megapixels?

Now I hand hold the camera and lens up to my eye and move around until I get a composition I'd like to work on. I reach for my tripod, adjust the legs to get close to that position. I attach the lens' tripod collar quick-release plate to the ball head, make some adjustments to the position and do the fine tuning of the framing.

I attach the electronic shutter release that I still affectionately call my cable release. Then I make my metering and exposure choices as seen above, fine-tune the focus, take a final look for distractions at the corners, along the edges, in the foreground and in the background.

Finally, I'm ready to click the shutter... as long as there's no breeze or the flowers haven't faded and the seasons haven't changed in the meantime. Then I check the image and make any adjustments before I make another photograph.

Before I pack up and move on, I stand up, take a deep breath, walk away for a minute, then come back and look through the viewfinder again. Since I have a good subject and situation, I wonder if I can make another composition that's different, but just as pleasing as the first.

What about closer or farther away, horizontal or vertical, a little higher perspective or a bit lower, more depth of field or less? I'd like to know now after I've made all this effort to get what I initially imagined. Can I make something better? If I don't try it now, I may regret it later. And I don't want to spoil the memory of this beautiful moment with wildflowers.