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Get snap happy in the garden with help from photographer Rosie Nixon

Want to take better pictures of your garden in all its glory? Expert flower photographer Rosie Nixon shows you how.

If you’ve never been too good at taking pictures of your beautiful blooms to share on Instagram, now’s the time to brush up on your skills.

Fuchsia fun. #plantsofinstagram #fuchsia #plantoftheday #summershere

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As the garden bursts into life and spring progresses towards summer, you don’t need a sophisticated camera or tons of equipment to get those ‘gram-worthy pictures, just pick up your phone or digital camera and get out there.

Fresh from an appearance on the BBC’s The Beechgrove Garden, Rosie Nixon, flower photographer and Dobbies plant expert, knows exactly how to bring a garden to life through the lens.

Rosie Nixon (Rosie Nixon/Leavesnbloom/PA)

Rosie Nixon

Recognised as a top Scottish gardening blogger by plant and seed company Thompson & Morgan and with a lifetime of both horticultural and photography experience, Nixon explains: “I’d always recommend that gardeners take pictures of their garden – it’s a great way to track progress and helps you become more aware of what’s actually going on in your garden.

“Green fingers or not, I’d encourage anyone to grab whatever camera you have, get outside and start capturing your garden coming to life. There’s so much going on and things can change so quickly that they’re easily missed. After you press that shutter button, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you’ve captured.”

Nixon offers the following tips to get snap happy in the garden this spring:

Rise and shine

Poached egg plant (Rosie Nixon/PA)

Poached egg plant

Early mornings, evenings and hazy or cloudy days are the best times to take your garden photos.

Move closer

Camera angles are important (Rosie Nixon/PA)

Camera angles are important

Get closer by kneeling or lying down and looking at your garden on the screen of your camera phone or camera viewfinder.

Consider your subject

Take your time and let your eyes roam until you see something that interests you. Look at a few of the buds, flowers, seedheads or leaves and try to find one that is in the best condition, or has a slightly different character that stands out from the rest.

Avoid distractions in your picture

Camassias about to reach their peak @rhswisley. #plantoftheday #garden #instaplant

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Remove distracting elements like random blades of grass, or if you can’t remove the distraction, change the angle you are photographing it at.

Check the light is right

Notice how the light might fall on a flower or leaf, making it glow, highlighting the texture and enhancing its colour. Try to capture that.

Make the subject stand out

Focus on something which catches your eye (Rosie Nixon/PA)

Focus on something which catches your eye

Look for patterns, shapes, petal edges, curves, colours or textures – something that grabs your attention and stands out.

So get out there and start clicking.

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