Angle your shots

The angle of a shot can make all the difference. If you are trying to capture the personality of a flower, try it from one side or the other, from the top down--even if you have to get a chair to stand on, and even try it from the ground up.

I know it's hard to tell, but in the above picture I was trying to capture the Blonde Ambition ornamental grass with its little eyelash ruff held above the wiry green. But the busy background of the overly mature beebalm, crowding Cosmos foliage, the out-of-control pink gaura, and the too-bright sun defeated my purpose.

Instead, I found a downward looking angle and got this fun shot.

Here is a nice standard shot of the Bloodgood Japanese maple against the side of my house. Uninspiring and uninteresting.

The same tree but in closeup, backlit with the red leaves glowing translucent against the evening sun. A much more dramatic and interesting shot.