In addition to tips on how to take pictures of landscapes with flowers and people with flowers, as well as how to take pictures with an iPhone, we also have some techniques for using hidden gem cameras. Please use these as a reference when you come across beautiful flowers during your travels.
Photographer who will teach us: Nanako Araie
Born in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1998. She began taking photographs during high school to record her student life. She held a solo exhibition, "live in the light," in 2022. After working at a studio in Tokyo, she is now based in Tokyo and is active in a variety of media, mainly shooting photos for websites and live performances by artists.
Instagram: @1998.1oo4
(1) Tips for taking photos of flowers with your smartphone
If you come across flowers in full bloom while traveling, you'll want to take a photo right away, even if you don't have a camera with you. First, let's look at some tips for taking easy photos with your smartphone.
Take a vertical shot so that it fills the entire screen of your smartphone.
I often post photos I take with my smartphone on Instagram Stories. If you look at the Stories archive, you can see what you took on which day, so it also serves as a record. In terms of posting to Stories, I recommend taking photos with a vertical composition.
Vertically composed photos fill the entire screen of a smartphone, making them look powerful and beautiful. Also, smartphone cameras have wide-angle lenses, so I like to take advantage of this and take photos with a wide-angle composition.
This is a photo of a friend standing in the middle of a cherry tree. If you are unsure about the composition, try placing the object you want to include in the center of the frame to make it look well-balanced. Also, when taking a photo of a cherry tree, it will look nice if you include the shadow cast on the ground.
Using the Live Photos feature
The good thing about taking photos with a smartphone is that you can take a photo at any moment. When taking photos at a cherry blossom viewing party or with seasonal flowers, you tend to pose and take a commemorative photo, but if you take a photo while talking or moving, the photo will be even more endearing.
The Live Photos feature on the iPhone camera allows you to capture the moment better by allowing you to later select the best photo.
My friend was making salted cherry blossoms and explaining to me that these cherry blossoms are edible, so I quickly took this photo (lol).
Friends putting flower petals on their heads
Recommended apps for adjusting color
If you want to make photos taken with your smartphone or digital camera look more like film or change the tone, we recommend the app VSCO. There are several film modes, so you can choose one of them, or you can make fine adjustments such as exposure and contrast.
Shot on iPhone, edited with VSCO
Shot on iPhone, edited with VSCO
Shot on iPhone, edited with VSCO
Shot on iPhone, edited with VSCO
Shot on iPhone, edited with VSCO
(2) Tips for getting up close and taking photos of flowers
Find your favorite flower
When there are many flowers blooming on a single tree, such as a cherry tree, it is very difficult to capture them all beautifully, so I think it's a good idea to find one flower that you like. When you find a flower you like, focus on that flower and take a picture. This time, I took a picture of a cherry tree that was blooming alone, as if it had gotten separated from the rest.
Include something in the composition that will remind you of that day.
The premise for me to take photos is that I want to leave a record of the time I spent. When I look back at the photos, I want to capture them in a way that will remind me of the scene at the time, even if it's just a photo of a flower. So I try to include my hands and feet in the photo.
Taken with iPhone
taken with a film camera
taken with a film camera
If you look down at your feet, you will see petals falling, creating a photo that is unique to that season. It is wonderful to be able to feel the season even at your feet.
taken with a film camera
If you come across a flower while out for a walk, it might be a good idea to include your shadow in the photo.
Immerse yourself in flowers
When taking pictures of people with flowers, you want to include as many flowers in the background as possible, so try to be immersed in the flowers. If it's a flower field, have the person crouch down in front of it, or if there's a flowering tree, have them bring their face close to the branches. I think it will have a stronger impact if you fill the frame with the flower field or flowering trees, so that as little things as possible other than the flowers and people are in the picture.
taken with a film camera
taken with a film camera
Taken with iPhone
If you point the camera through the gaps in the cherry trees, you can take a photo that looks as if you are buried in the cherry blossoms in full bloom.
(3) Tips for taking long-distance photos of flower scenes
Aim for the spot where the light is coming in
The thing I pay the most attention to when taking photos is the light. Try pressing the shutter at the moment when you think the way the light is entering the subject is beautiful. Taking photos of flowers against the light is very beautiful, as it looks as if they are bathed in light. If there is too much light, it may be a good idea to lower the angle of view a little and reduce the amount of light entering the lens.
taken with a film camera
taken with a film camera
taken with a film camera
I also love this photo, bathed in the warm light of the evening.
Taken with a disposable camera
Taken with a disposable camera
Photo opportunities on the move
I hope you will keep the scenery you see while traveling by car or train as a precious memory. By including not only flowers but also the steering wheel and mirror of your car, you will be able to remember the time when you saw the cherry blossoms from your car.
taken with a film camera
(4) Find a camera that you can use for fun. Find a hidden gem in your home.
Smartphones are great, but I'd like to try taking pictures with a camera! Even if you think this, you may be hesitant to take the plunge because you think to get a good camera if possible.
But in fact, if you look around your house, you may find cameras used by your parents or grandparents lying around. Perhaps they used that camera to take pictures of you. If you find a camera full of memories like that, I would encourage you to try using it.
Compact film camera
The number of shots is limited, and you can't see the photos until they are returned after being developed. I think that the excitement of that time can't be replaced by anything. The memories of various days are captured on a single film, and the preciousness of the moment when it is opened. And the photos taken with film can feel the temperature of that moment. It feels like the very air of that day is trapped in the photo, so I would definitely recommend giving it a try.
In addition to the readily available "Utsurundesu," there are cameras with zoom functions, flashes, and more; each camera has its own unique features, so try and find one that you like.
My favorite compact film cameras are the Minolta Panorama Zoom and the Olympus μ-Zoom. The Minolta camera is the first one I bought when I was in high school, so I'm most attached to it. I like Olympus cameras because they take beautiful pictures when zoomed, and they have a unique character that other cameras don't have.
Compact digital camera
If you are concerned about the cost of film, we recommend a compact digital camera. There are high-end compact digital cameras that can take beautiful photos like SLRs, as well as retro compact digital cameras that were sold in large quantities in the early 2000s. The functionality varies more than film cameras, so you should decide based on what is important to you, such as the ability to transfer photos to your smartphone or take videos.
I often use a camera with a low pixel count that can also shoot videos. I recommend it because it makes it easy to shoot film-like videos like those used in music videos.
This was taken with a Sony Cyber-shot digital camera. I bought it cheaply online, and it's light and small, so I often carry it around with me. I recently stuck a sticker that a friend gave me on it (lol).
Toy Camera
You can take four of the same photos together, or take a photo of your friends jumping in rapid succession. Toy cameras are really fun because they allow you to preserve the memories of playing. They are inexpensive and easy to get compared to other cameras, so be sure to check them out.
From the top, the photos were taken with Lomography's Super Sampler, Babylon 4. The Super Sampler winds the film by pulling a string, so it looks like a handcrafted camera, but it's my favorite camera out of all the ones I own because I feel like it captures the atmosphere of the moment the photo is taken.
From film cameras to digital cameras, compact cameras, SLR cameras, and toy cameras, there are so many different types of cameras out there, so which one should you use? I think it's a matter of encounter. Before you go to a camera shop, why not try looking around your house?
Every year, when the cherry blossoms start to bloom, I feel like the wind is pushing my back, telling me that another year is beginning. I love this season when I can go outside as many times as I want, calling out to my friends, "Let's go see the cherry blossoms." Even though they should bloom every year and I should be looking at them, I feel like the excitement I get when I see the cherry blossoms in full bloom is renewed every year (laughs).
Under the cherry trees, many people spread out picnic sheets and have picnics, some people desperately trying to capture the cherry blossoms and their dogs on their phones, and children running around with cherry blossom petals in their hands. These scenes themselves are memories for me, and I feel like they are things I want to take pictures of and keep them. I hope everyone will find a scene that they would like to keep and take a photo of it.
There may be many beautiful photos of flowers, but the photos you take of flowers are your own scenery, memories, and recollections. Take photos as your heart desires. Have a good trip!
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