Camera Phones are Cameras: Something from Nothing
Contributor
- Topics: PH Photo Tips
Pacific Horticulture’s monthly photo series by renowned garden photographer and Pacific Horticulture Board Member, Saxon Holt of PhotoBotanic and Summer-Dry
Spring 2026
One of the most frustrating things in trying to make a decent photograph with your camera phone is dealing with bright sun. You are having a wonderful time; the garden is inspiring. But all you can do is make a less than satisfying photograph which will not remind you of the thrill of being there.
In an earlier episode of the series, Finding the Light, I wrote: “Learning how to read the quality of light is the single most important skill in garden photography. Even good composition will fail if the light is bad.”
The best photos need a bit of planning, such as not going into the garden to take pictures when you know the light is going to be bright and contrasty.
However; sometimes you just cannot go back when the light is better, you are visiting, perhaps on a tour, maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity. You need to make something from nothing, something that will remind you of that thrill.
Here Is a magnificent Coast live oak tree (Quercus agrifolia) at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. It is an inspiring specimen, well-maintained, and in a signature part of the garden.
I knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted a picture to remind me of its importance to the garden. Oak trees are a keystone species in nature and seeing one incorporated into a garden is not to be forgotten.
But this picture does not create a significant thrill. I needed to make something out of nothing. Looking back at my camera roll days or months from now would not inspire a second look at this photo. The thrill would be gone.
As I stood in the morning sun admiring the oak’s majesty, I began walking around the tree looking for a photo angle and pretty quickly realized I should go behind it (there is a path). In the tree’s shade there would be no contrast light, the statuesque branch structure would be evenly lit.
In this photo we see almost no detail in the tree because the camera phone (and any camera) does not know back light and that I want to see into the shadows. Technically this is a perfect exposure showing a range of tones from the brightest to the darkest, an average, which is what any camera meter is designed to do. If I pre-visualize and know I want to see more detail in the shadows I can either overexpose the original to brighten the entire scene, or I can adjust the shadows after the photo is taken.
Either way requires a little bit of extra work on your part, an understanding of your camera phone’s controls. Many camera phones allow you to overexpose or add exposure or have a “shadows” tool in the photo adjustments option after the picture is in your camera roll.
I prefer to start with a darker exposure and open the shadows in the adjustment tool because that tends to leave more detail in the bright areas after I have made the adjustment. In the adjusted photo above, you can tell that I brightened everything overall and still lightened the shadows additionally, and it is now a very memorable photo.
I made it even more memorable by finding the sun and creating a sunburst coming through the branches.
I simply stepped a tiny bit to the right to find the sun and as I stood there, I moved the camera around to find just the right spot where the sun would break up behind a branch and create the sunburst effect.
In the end I spent 10-minutes after I first saw the tree looking for this photo, making something out of nothing. That was ten very enjoyable minutes getting acquainted with the tree, creating a photo I am sure to remember whenever I see it on my camera roll.
About the Series
I began Camera Phones Are Cameras with this full disclosure: I have been a professional garden photographer for 40 years and do not take any of my professional photos with a camera phone. However, almost all the tips I give in my workshops apply to any camera, recognizing the camera is only a tool to capture an image.
It is up to you to take the picture, and if used with intention and consciousness any camera or camera phone can take wonderful pictures; especially if you learn a few techniques.
Read the Full Series Here
Pacific Horticulture Photo Tips Series
We have created a new Landing Page for all of Saxon Holt’s ‘Camera Phones are Cameras’ series of wonderful iPhone tips and tricks.
Resources
For more tips, visit Saxon’s Garden Photography Workshop on PhotoBotanic.com
Visit The Learning Center at PhotoBotanic.com for great books about Garden Photography
Visit PhotoBotanic for more inspiring photographs by Saxon Holt
Learn More About Summer-Dry and Celebrate Plants in Summer-Dry Climates
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