A. All images on Flower of the Day are copyright Frances Brown 2013-2014. You are allowed to make one copy for personal use, (e.g. as a screen saver or desktop) but not to make multiple copies, or display, sell or distribute any of the images on this site.
Q. Why are the flowers in your photos sometimes arranged in vases or on plates etc instead of being photographed growing naturally?
A. The idea of "Flower of the Day" was for me to create some artistic images rather than present natural botannical photos. I do take photos of flowers in the wild - particularly the beautiful Australian native flora. Some of these photos are posted on my gallery on the National Geographic "Your Shot" website
Q. Why are some of your images "cut off" at the sides, while others have extra space around them?
A. This aspect of my work is influenced by the asymmetric compositions of Chinese Brush Painting, where brush strokes may continue over the page edge, giving the feeling of an extension of the image beyond the page. "Negative space" is also an important consideration in my composition.
Q. Do you use a macro lens?
A. Yes
Q. Do you use Photoshop?
Yes. As a professional photographer I like to have my images presented in the best possible manner. This means making adjustments in Photoshop such as cropping, colour balance and resizing photos. Having said that, the photos must be of sufficient quality to begin with. If the general composition, exposure and focus is not adequate then no amount of photoshopping will fix these issues.
Q. Do you use artificial lighting?
A. Generally no, I prefer photos taken in natural daylight - usually the softer early morning light in Summer and mid morning in Winter. While studio lighting can produce crisper images, the look is more contrived. Also, the heat generated from studio lights wilts the flowers pretty quickly.
Q. Where do you get the flower messages from?
A. The "messages" are an emotion or feeling I get from particular image. Sometimes they correspond to the traditional flower meaning (such as red roses and romantic love), but not always.
Q. Do you have any tips for photographing flowers?
A. My tip is that flowers look best when the "face" of the flower is facing the camera, no matter what angle you're shooting from.
