The flower button

There are times when I'd rather not lug around my dSLR camera (most recently a weekend trip to Kansas City). On these occasions I just don't want to be weighed down with a bulky camera but still want the option of capturing memories or interesting scenery. And that's where my trusty point and shoot comes in handy. I have learned a few tricks along the way to help these photos seem like higher quality photos than they truly are. Of course, composition plays a large role in a successful photo, no matter how fancy your camera is. And learning to find the best lighting can take any photo to another level. But often, my favorite tool is the "flower button". On my camera, this button is a small flower icon on the back of my camera right next to a mountain icon. I would imagine my camera's manual would tell me the precise name for this function, but I prefer to call it the "flower button". Its job is to act as sort of a macro lens by focusing on something in the foreground while providing a very shallow depth of field. It's great for flowers, but I have also used it for portraits or architectural details, such as an iron fence. Most newer model point and shoot cameras will have a similar function, but it may have a different icon or be called "macro". I am always surprised at how quickly that nice shallow depth of field can instantly transform a boring snapshot into a more striking image.

Do you have any tricks for having more control over the quality of your point and shoot photos? I'd love to add to my bag of tricks.

Comments

[Erin Julian]

The point-and-shoot I started on had this button too, and it was definitely my favorite trick. I used to love to put the camera into flower mode and then get as close to what I was shooting as the focus would let me. (And, for the record, I'm pretty sure the technical name for it was "macro mode," so you aren't far off. :))

[N'tash- F[o]cus on big city life]

I like to play with white balance and even colors. I can choose a "natural", "vivid", etc, but "vivid" is my favorite one. It makes my shoots full of color and life right away.
PS. It's funny but I took almost the same picture the other day and I live in Sweden. It's pretty far from Arkansas, but the idea was the same. What do they say "Great minds think alike" ? ;)

[Marcie]

This image (I think) says it all:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1150

[Jen at Cabin Fever]

The flower button is my favorite too on my point and shoot! The "face" button will do the shallow depth of field thing too, but not as drastic. For something in low light the sports aka "running man" setting actually works well because it tries to get the aperture as low (wide open) an the shutter speed as fast as it can.

I've taken some wonderful photos with my point and shoot :)

http://www.nekphotography.blogspot.com

[melissa]

Great DOF with a point and shoot!

[Megan]

The flower button is my best friend on my Kodak Easyshare! I have captured amazing pictures of flowers and pets with that foolproof function :)

[CherryPie]

The flower button is my favourite too. I also use the manual aperture setting to play with the DoF.

All my photos are taken with a point and shoot camera.

[Juju]

My point-and-shoot has some manual capability, so I like to use the aperture priority setting, and I also like to fool around with the color settings. I get some pretty striking photos with that little devil!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juju-b/4545043182/

[Reez]

First of all, I love this post! When I first bought my DSLR, I thought I would never use point-and-shoot again. I was wrong. I still love my point-and-shoot and appreciate all its portable qualities.

I like the flower button, too! My other favorite on my Canon point-and-shoot is the Color Accent feature. See it used in the first photo here: http://withlove-reez.blogspot.com/2010/04/shutter-sisters-point-and-shoot.html

[claudia]

I starting into digital with a point & shoot, it served me well, but it never occurred to me to use the flower button! Wow! I figured out that if I zoomed all the way out and moved myself into position I could get a shallow depth of field. I guess I should have read my manual ;) Then again, I haven't read my dslr manual yet either!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/4546747914/

[cynthia]

I like the flower mode too for the same reasons but also like to use the beach/snow mode on my point and shoot when I take my kids to the ... uhm ... beach or out to play in the snow. I've also used the beach/snow setting on very bright days when they boys are surrounded by reflective surfaces like water or on a steel slide at the playground. I find that the images are better exposed.

[damiec]

While I save for a big girl camera, I try milk my super p&s for all it's worth. My Fuji Finepix 200 exr is a really versatile compact, but every now and then I am still surprised by the quality I can coax from her. I, too, love flower mode and shoot in it quite a bit. If I've got great light I'll double up on flower mode and one of the modes in which I can shoot in "velvia" - that option isn't available at every setting. Then there's always the option of a little work in post-process to clean things up a bit.

Here's one of my more recent shots that really surprised me:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22487105@N06/4417263961/in/set-72157622418015954/

[Kate.S @ Little House]

I'm exlusivly a P&S girl ....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30297021@N02/

Not sure I have any secret tips, except to experiment with all the settings you can! Changing the ISO on the very cheep point and shoot has been a revelation in low light shooting... And get to know some basic post processing tools.

[student aid]

I am still surprised by the quality I can coax from her. I, too, love flower mode and shoot in it quite a bit. I've also used the beach/snow setting on very bright days when they boys are surrounded by reflective surfaces like water or on a steel slide.
http://www.estudentaid.com/
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