| A photographer’s guide to The Netherlands
7 tips to get the most out of photographing the famous Dutch tulips
While we faithfully follow our navigation on muddy country roads, we fantasise about what we hope to encounter today. It motivates and inspires me to imagine the picture I would love to make that day. Sometimes this is a realistic image, sometimes not. It remains fun to dream.
It’s the weekend and we are staying in a cottage in a holiday park in the Netherlands. Away from home, away from the city, into nature.
The plan is to drive to the Oostvaardersplassen. The sun breaks through and suddenly we see the sun illuminating a tulip field on our right. There are cars on the verge and people walking along the field. “Shouldn’t we stop?” asks Sam. This is not what we had in mind, but it was too beautiful to pass up.
Tip 1: Go for it, but be respectful
I feel a bit burdened when we walk onto the farmer’s land, but try to let go of this feeling quickly. Sometimes, as a photographer, you have to be a little bit cheeky. Provided you treat others and their property with respect, of course.
Where couples walk through the field and only seem to have an eye for taking pictures that feature themselves in the field, I’m looking for another image, preferring to concentrate on making my own perfect picture.
Tip 2: Find the right perspective
Crouched beside the field, I am looking to find the right position for the most beautiful frame. Carrying three kilos of camera and lens, combined with a sore back, make it difficult to keep my balance. For a moment, I look around and decide to accept that my clothes are going to get dirty today; I sit down.
From this position, I am much better able to hold the camera steady. Sitting this low to the ground has the advantage that you can get to eye level with your chosen subject. In this case: a red tulip.
If I’d photographed this red tulip from a standing position, it would have resulted in a totally different image. Less exciting, in my opinion. After shooting the first photos, I look at my camera and know, “this is the perspective I’m after”.
Tip 3: Look for interesting contrasts
This red tulip was not chosen at random. This red tulip stands out. More than a head taller than its pink cousins, this red tulip stands head and shoulders above the pink ground.
From the right angle, with sufficient zoom, I can make the horizon disappear and let the pink tulip field do its work as a beautiful soft haze.
By using a low aperture, I create little sharpness in the depth of field. What this means is that the tulip is in focus, and everything around it looks blurred.
Enlarged, this is actually how the human eye works. When you look at one object, another object that is not nearby can also be out of focus.
Tip 4: Experiment with using a zoom lens
For a long time, this was the reason why my telephoto lens, the Tamron 150-600mm f5-6.3 di vc sp usd g2, was my favourite.
This is a lens that allows you to zoom in quite a lot.
Many photographers start with so-called wide-angle lenses (<50mm). These often also have the possibility to zoom, but they do not zoom as far and do not compress the image as a telephoto lens does.
With a wide-angle lens, the image you shoot is often larger than the human eye can see at most in one glance. When you use a telephoto lens, you zoom in on a specific object or person and literally put the focus on that.
Tip 5: Play with your aperture
Of course, it is also possible to bring your chosen subject into sharp focus, including part of the surroundings. In that case, you choose a higher aperture. The focus is still on your chosen subject, if you choose so, but its surroundings become more visible and thus a larger part of the picture.
By playing with the aperture, you as a photographer can determine for the viewer from where to where the focus lies. This allows you to emphasize a specific part of your story or photo very clearly for others.
Tip 6: Follow the rule of thirds
While photographing this red tulip, I had several options. This tulip was so beautiful. The question was, which composition works best?
When I started photographing in 2017, I noticed that I sometimes chose, without being able to theoretically substantiate this, to place my subject to the left or right of centre in my photo. I later learned that I was applying the so-called rule of thirds here.
Tip 7: Dare to be different, and deviate from the rule of thirds
Placing the subject in the middle, however, can also be very beautiful. For example, when you are trying to create a symmetrical image, or when your subject is literally allowed to be the centre of attention. Artistic freedom!
The fact is that not everything works according to fixed rules. Deviating from certain rules is the freedom you have as a photographer and this can produce surprising results.
As I said, one of these rules is the rule of thirds. In this rule, you divide your image (not so much in three but) in nine equal areas, with two horizontal and two vertical lines. When making the composition, you take into account that the subject is located on the so-called outer lines.
For example, a subject on the right-hand side of the picture, where the horizon is located on the bottom line, horizontally of course.
This is a much used rule and I think it is very good if every photographer finds out for themselves what they personally like better.
In the case of the red tulip, I went for several options. I have looked at these photos more than once now and I still don’t know which one I like better.
It can be fun to deviate from certain rules when the situation lends itself to it. But looking for deviations in what you see can also be fun.
The red tulip in the pink field is a good example. The same applies when you come across a stray yellow tulip in a purple field. Because the contrast between purple and yellow is greater than the contrast between pink and red, I chose to vary my focus here as well.
Conclusion
None of the photos taken on this day matched the image I was trying to picture earlier in the car. Our outing to the Oostvaardersplassen was interrupted with a satisfactory result.