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Andrew Williams - Says it with flowers

by Andrew Williams

In order to round out the feature we asked Andrew Williams ba (hons) lbppa to talk about the approach he teaches on his flower photography courses. Andrew will be presenting a Masterclass on Creative Flower Photography at the SWPP Convention in January 2008

In researching this article I visited the website of the Society of Botanical Artists and found the following quotation featured on the home page. "The art of botanical painting continues even in the face of enhanced photographic technology and the digital revolution, for there is simply no substitute for the discerning talents of the artist capturing the essence of plant form."

Professor Peter R Crane FRS, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: excerpt from his foreword to The Art of Botanical Painting by Margaret Stevens fsba

As an avid photographer of plants and flowers, I find this quote highly thought provoking. To me, botanical painting occupies a unique space between the science of recording the details of a specimen in analytical detail and the world of fine art.

My own work, in particular, concentrates on the forms, colours and textures of plants and flowers. The botanist would be hard pressed to identify the genus of the subject, let alone the species so this photographer at least is no threat!

I do, however, see photography as a useful tool for the artist for capturing reference images to record details for future use, for example spring foliage.

So what advice can I offer to the botanical artist (or any other photographer) wishing to use their camera as a sketchbook for future artwork? Here are a few tips based upon my practical experience and feedback from my Creative Flower Photography courses.

Say NO to 'AUTO'. Artists need to be in control of the images they produce, whether they use paints, pencil or a camera to create them. For record shots you need the flower, leaf, etc to be in sharp focus from front to back and this needs a small aperture to give a large depth of field (DOF).

Some advanced compact cameras and all SLR (interchangeable lens) cameras have controls (often labelled AP) to allow you to choose the aperture you wish. Dust off your camera manual for more information!

You should decide how much of the scene should be in focus using the computer between your ears rather than the one in your camera.

Use a tripod, monopod or some other support for your camera. I know they can be heavy, unwieldy and basically a pain but they are guaranteed to improve your images. Using a tripod will:

Ensure your images are sharp so you can see the fine detail.

Allow slow shutter speeds that give the depth of field you need.

Slow you down! Taking your time to frame a shot will improve your composition and help you check what is in the shot and what shouldn't be there (bugs, dirt, stray twigs, etc)

Be aware of the light. A bright sunny day can be used to back-light a flower head for creative reasons but is not ideal for record shots. Deep shadows can hide important details. You can improve things by using a reflector (made from some cooking foil on card) or a flash gun to fill the shadows, or by standing so you cast a shadow over the area (another tripod plus!) but a bright, overcast day is better for this purpose.

Don't forget to document your images. As a non-botanist it's all too easy for me to come home with a beautiful set of plant portraits and to forget the names. Trying to identify them later using reference books is very timeconsuming so, if the plants are labelled, make sure you shoot the label as well.

The Artists Featured

Lukman Sinclair painted as a young child and discovered photography through his father's interest at the age of 12. He went through the usual stages of the young, hobby photographer, photographing anything and everything, and processing in the bathroom on top of a temporary work surface. At the age of 20 he approached Liverpool Art School with a view to obtaining a place but was directed, by them, to the London College of Printing. He eventually studied creative photography for three years alongside fellow students, Homer Sykes, and Cherry and Bryan Alexander. This was followed by two years' freelance assisting in London, but a growing family and commitments caused him to return to Merseyside, working for HM Customs and Excise. By now, we have reached 1972, and the work started to involve more photography as it became admissible as court evidence. While on holiday in the Highlands, Lukman ran out of film, watching a spectacular sunset, grabbed some spare paints and suddenly rekindled his interest in the medium. His work with the Excise often required long waits at the docks for ships to arrive, and he began to sketch the ships and scenes around him.

He took early retirement in 2001 to concentrate on self-publishing and painting to commission. His clientele included both ex-mariners and the children of ex-mariners, usually with requests to paint vessels that they had sailed on. Starting with an Epson 2000P, he began to print his own editions but soon the word got around and other artists began making approaches. After three years he was printing so much that he invested in an Epson 4000 to cope with the demand and to service the needs of the botanical artists who had found their way to his door. Scientific, botanical illustrations are some of the most demanding forms of reproduction, as the specialised depiction of specimens for establishments such as Kew Gardens and the Royal Botanical Society demand supreme fidelity to the, often delicately shaded, originals. To assist still further with this aim, Lukman invested in the X-Rite Pulse system for colour management in 2005. He now has a following of eight to 10 specialist botanical illustrators, some of the best in the world, along with an assortment of around 40 other regular clients.

The development of the business is quite interesting as printing now occupies 85% of the working day and Lukman's own painting has taken a back seat. The turnover has grown steadily, to £28,000 last year, and they are looking to investing in the larger Epson 7880 along with, possibly the Epson 3800 to service the lucrative card-printing side of the venture. Clients typically spend around £200 per order; the most common sizes are A3 and A2. Originals are scanned on calibrated scanners but the demands of colour fidelity frequently require skilled intervention in Photoshop to extract the maximum detail for the final prints (usually onto Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, 308gsm).

The wheel still seems to be turning within Sinclair Fine Art but Lukman is currently revelling in the technical and intellectual challenge of extracting the maximum information from an original and getting it out to a giclee print. Painting has taken a back seat but no doubt a Scottish sunset or its equivalent will one day re-ignite the touch paper!

Margaret Stevens FBSA.

Margaret Stevens is the president of the Society of Botanical Artists and a leading authority on botanical painting. Her book The Art of Botanical Painting is regarded by many as one of the best books on the subject. It comprises a collection of work and progress sketches from many of the members of the society and is used as essential reading for the SBA's distancelearning programme. The lily painting which heads our feature is illustrated during its creation in her forthcoming book The Botanical Palette to be published by Harper Collins in October 2007. If you are interested in painting or simply like to admire the skills of these botanical artists visit www.soc-botanical-artists.org

Kay Rees-Davies ALCM, SBA, CPGFS.

Kay lives on the North Wales coast, and is a freelance botanical artist. Her work has been shown in group exhibitions and galleries all over the UK and is in many private collections. It is also in permanent collections, including the Lindley Library of the Royal Horticultural Society; the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie- Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA; and the Shirley Sherwood Collection. Her work has been selected for inclusion in the Highgrove Florilegium. This is presently being created under the umbrella of The Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation and will celebrate and record in a permanent way the flora in the garden at Highgrove.

She has been awarded seven medals from the RHS including three gold medals, and is a tutor at Ness Botanic Garden; for the Distance-Learning Diploma, run by the Society of Botanical Artists; at the Field Studies Council, and at Alston Hall College. She runs classes and workshops on a regular basis.

Linda McCann

Linda McCann studied art at A level and as part of her degree but then spent her working life in education, ultimately as an inspector/advisor of schools. She returned to painting on retirement and six years ago began to concentrate on botanical art, having been attracted by the demand for accuracy and detail. She is a member of the Ness Gardens Artists Group and has exhibited with them in various exhibitions.

Caroline Holley

Caroline Holley has been painting and exhibiting for 25 years, mostly landscape and still-life in watercolour. She also has an FAETC qualification and has been teaching adults painting for 20 years. In 2001 she undertook a two-year certificate course in Botanical Illustration, at Sheffield University and has been specialising in that art since. In 2005 she was awarded a gold medal from the Royal Horticultural Society and has been teaching and exhibiting botanical illustration extensively.



Updated 27/04/2026 16:44:22 Last Modified: Monday, 27 April 2026