Shooting Sunflowers Full of Energy — Why They Look Plain, and Using Blue Sky

Sunflowers are the icon of summer. Such an energetic subject, yet your shots look “just taken” and plain. What makes sunflowers fall short mostly comes down to four things: light, exposure, subject and composition.

Seasonal subject. Sunflowers bloom in summer, at different times by region, so use this when they’re in season near you.

Change the light direction for dimension

Strong front sun erases the shadows in the petals and looks flat. Choosing light from the side or diagonal (semi-backlight) brings shadow into the petals for dimension. Slightly backlit, the petals glow translucent and lively.

Brighten the flower with exposure compensation

Shooting with blue sky included, the camera meters for the bright sky and the flower tends to sink dark. Tap the flower to set focus and raise the brightness a little for vivid yellow (→ Exposure compensation basics). The contrast of the sky’s blue and the flower’s yellow makes that sunflower energy.

Decide one star bloom and move in

Fit a whole field in and it’s unclear where to look. Moving in on a single bloom in front to make a subject is the basic. Running a row of flowers receding into the distance on a slant leads the eye inward, so breadth and depth both come through (→ Leading lines).

Composition guideLeading linesSee the full guide for this composition →

Shift to an intersection for openness

Because sunflowers have a clear shape, a center composition suits them well (→ Center composition). With petals spreading outward from the center, placing it in the middle also borrows the strength of radial composition (→ Radial composition). But always centering tends to go monotonous. Shift the subject slightly to an intersection and leave blue-sky space on the open side for openness (→ Rule of thirds). Switch as the scene calls for it. Incidentally, a sunflower’s seed pattern is a famous real-world example of the golden ratio (the Fibonacci spiral). When moving in close, placing the flower’s center at the eye of the spiral works too (→ Golden ratio).

Composition guideCenter compositionSee the full guide for this composition → Composition guideRule of thirdsSee the full guide for this composition →

Start with just this

Choose side-to-diagonal light, set brightness for the flower to bring out yellow. Make a bloom in front the star, with blue sky behind, looking up a little. To show breadth, run a receding row on a slant. That turns sunflower “plain” into an energetic shot. The thinking is shared with flowers in general and seasonal subjects (→ Photographing flowers / Landscape photography).