Naked Herbs:
A Botanical Photo Workshop
with Steven Foster

We admire them, we love them, we use them. Do we really know them? A great way to consciously spend more time with plants is to photograph them. With photography, what you see is not necessarily what you get. There are a few things to know about what makes a good photograph, and how to capture it. It doesn't matter if you are using an iPhone or hauling around 20 pounds of camera equipment. How do we see plants in a way that helps us to better understand them? There's plenty of information to learn from books, but spending time with plants is a great way to gain more knowledge and understanding of plants and how to see them. Photography is only a tool that allows us to slow down to spend time with plants. Ultimately you photograph what you feel, not just what you see.

The great American photographer, Ansel Adams wrote, “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” The objective of this workshop is to give you confidence with your ability to see the plant world through the eye of the camera to produce good photographs.

Photography is about understanding simple concepts such as light and timing — being in the right place at the right time, and patience. Like anything worth doing, photographing plants requires practice, and that gives us the opportunity to learn more about plants at the same time. Learning to keep your photography simple and understanding the equipment you have will enhance the quality of your photography and the intrinsic value of your time with plants.


Topics Covered:

The focus will be on techniques and ideas for improving photographic skills with practical hands-on fieldwork. It’s more about understanding simple concepts — lighting, being in the right place at the right time, and patience. And like anything worth doing, practice, practice, practice.

We will explore working with ambient natural light and making the most of the equipment you have. Nature presents special conditions for photographing in the environment.

One key to successfully capturing images is to know and understand your equipment. I'm an equipment geek, so I would recommend a decent digital camera body, close-up lens (macro lens or a diopter for a fixed lens). When people ask me what “my secret” is to getting great plant photographs, I can attribute it to one piece of equipment – my tripod. Photographing plants may require relatively long exposures, so besides the camera itself, a decent sturdy tripod and cable release is very helpful for plant photography. One other very essential piece of equipment is the camera manual. Read, re-read it and read it again until you begin to understand all of the features available and understand your camera's basic operation. If you don't have an array of equipment, don't worry. You can take great photographs with your mobile phone.

Photography is about light. As George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak put it, "Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography."

We will cover essentials helping to understand photographic concepts such as depth of field, focus, exposure, composition, making the most of ambient light, and macro techniques. This is a hand-on experience. A personal camera is required.


Follow the 5 Ps

• Practice — Shoot often, any subject; compose in the viewfinder/camera.
• Politeness — Ask permission from the subject, manager, stage or whoever is responsible in a given situation (including a plant).
• Patience — Watch and wait; don’t follow or be in the crowd.
• Persistence — If you don’t get the results you wish, try again.
• Preparation — Make sure all equipment is in good working order BEFORE you need it. Have extra batteries, memory cards, etc.

Register by calling the American Botanical Council at 512-926-4900 or toll free at 800-373-7105; or send an email here. Only 12 slots are available for this course; tuition is $100** per person.