Jason Ingram shoots some of the world’s most beautiful gardens, including those belonging to King Charles III at his private residence, Highgrove near Tetbury in the Cotswolds. He works for garden magazines, designers, and private clients all around the world, and now he is divulging his secrets in his new book, How to Photograph Gardens, letting us all in on the process behind capturing transportive garden images.
As an obsessive photographer of my own garden, I was intrigued to delve in and glean some useful tips to up my game. I’m not ever likely to invest in macro lenses, tripods, diffusers and other techy gadgets that Ingram outlines in his opening chapter, “What’s in my bag?” For those who are more technically inclined, Ingram shares lots of his personal preferences for equipment, apps, editing processes, and software. For the rest of us, his advice on when, how, and why to take images is easy to apply—even with a smart phone.
Photography by Jason Ingram, from How to Photograph Gardens.
Get up at dawn.
The best light is in the golden hour of sunrise, and in the British summer, when most gardens are peaking in June, this can mean around 4:30 am. If you’re traveling to a site, this can sound quite unappealing, but you’ll be rewarded with the best possible light that is “golden, soft and full of detail,” says Ingram. At this time of day, the light and views will change minute by minute so you need to know, ideally in advance, what you want to photograph. The long shadows and a golden glow enhance colors and textures and add depth. Ingram also suggests shooting directly into light for dramatic and dreamy images, using trees, branches, or foliage to gently diffuse the light and control the amount of flare.
Maximize your phone’s potential.
“The best camera is the one you have with you” is a truism beloved by photographers and for so many, that camera is your smart phone. Ingram has tips to maximize its potential as a camera. Always capture in the highest resolution possible and in RAW format, and keep the lenses clean; cell phones that tend to spend their lives in pockets and bags are likely to have dirty lenses smeared with finger prints, too. Use a soft cloth to carefully clean lenses before taking photos. The beauty of mobile phone images is that they are quick and easy to edit either in Instagram or other apps; a couple of Ingram’s favorites are Snapseed and Hipstamatic.
