I've had mixed experiences with camera clubs. I did belong to a really good one which had a sensible balance of social, practical, competition and lecture elements. Sadly that was attached to the social club of a company which closed down. I tried a few after that but none had the right mix for me. At one, my mate and I were totally ignored to the point of being blanked when we tried to start conversations during a break. Another was totally competition oriented with everybody leaving immediately the competition ended.
I'm not saying not to try camera clubs, but just accept that not all are very welcoming.
A great site I can recommend for garden photography inspiration is https://photobotanic.com You should also check the Professional Garden Photographers’ Association Website at https://www.professionalgardenphotographers.com I concur with all the various pieces of advice given by fellow members so far, especially that it's extremely difficult to make a living out of photography. On the other hand it can yield a lot of satisfaction as a hobby (see http://www.rezeau.org/wp-photo/)
There's a few bits of kit that really help with flower photography (and other outdoor close up stuff as well). You're likely to be working in less than ideal circumstances with the weather causing all kinds of problems with the shot you're trying to take. Things like clamps to stop flowers moving in the wind, diffusers to shade harsh sunlight, reflectors to increase light on dull days, circular polarising filters to adjust the reflection coming off the leaves and water and of course a good tripod.
Once you get into it you can work out what you need but there are a lot of DIY tutorials on Youtube to help you make some of the above much more cheaply than buying them. Proper plant clamps are expensive http://https//www.uttings.co.uk/p118006-wimberley-plamp-2-pp-200/ but you can make something similar that will do the job almost as well from stuff you can find in the pound shop.
Most of your work though will be done in post editing of the photos you've taken so if you're not familiar with photoshop or similar programs then see if you can get a trial package and follow some of the tutorials on Youtube to learn the basics.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Something I don't think has been mentioned is that to learn how to copyright your work, at least in such a way that it would deter most people from stealing your photos, or think twice about doing so.... a lot of people especially in Britain I think, don't appreciate that it's illegal to copy and paste photos belonging to others, especially from places like Getty Images or Alamy, and private photographers without permission... some people are very protective, they are more professional and use expensive equipment.. so understandably do not take kindly to seeing their photos purloined.. .. and I know some people who would jump down your throat if you did, including garden writers too where you quote something they've written without their permission..
Personally I couldn't care less about mine, I'm an amateur photographer and always pleased to share photos, but I do admit to being a little peeved when I noticed a nursery in France - Petales des Roses - was using one of my photos to sell a rose... and a nursery in Scotland used a photo of a Lavatera shrub in my garden to sell it... it's a bit of a cheek but I thought that if it sells plants, then good for them, especially roses... but others might not feel so charitable..
Something I don't think has been mentioned is that to learn how to copyright your work, at least in such a way that it would deter most people from stealing your photos, or think twice about doing so.... a lot of people especially in Britain I think, don't appreciate that it's illegal to copy and paste photos belonging to others, especially from places like Getty Images or Alamy, and private photographers without permission... some people are very protective, they are more professional and use expensive equipment.. so understandably do not take kindly to seeing their photos purloined.. .. and I know some people who would jump down your throat if you did, including garden writers too where you quote something they've written without their permission..
Personally I couldn't care less about mine, I'm an amateur photographer and always pleased to share photos, but I do admit to being a little peeved when I noticed a nursery in France - Petales des Roses - was using one of my photos to sell a rose... and a nursery in Scotland used a photo of a Lavatera shrub in my garden to sell it... it's a bit of a cheek but I thought that if it sells plants, then good for them, especially roses... but others might not feel so charitable..
Oh, Marlorena, you must be a successful photographer if your photos spread out like this!! Do you advertise them? Perhaps, you have your website?
@Microagent … not really, no.. nothing like that at all... my photos are really very ordinary and using a basic digital camera... what makes a difference sometimes is that I grow some unusual roses, and occasionally a rarer type of shrub or perennial, and these nurseries don't have their own photos so they search Google images for them, come across some of mine - because mine are all over the place.. and snatch them...
People do it on internet forums too... I had to laugh one time because on another British forum they were discussing a rose and somebody copied and pasted one of mine from Google search to show what they were talking about... thing is, it was not the rose they were discussing...lol... that did crack me up I have to say...
Marlorena, so if you know now that your work could be used without your permission, do you protect your images? I did see some ''sofia's garden'' type markings on some photos on a gardening forum somewhere. it all makes sense now!
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You should also check the Professional Garden Photographers’ Association Website at https://www.professionalgardenphotographers.com
I concur with all the various pieces of advice given by fellow members so far, especially that it's extremely difficult to make a living out of photography. On the other hand it can yield a lot of satisfaction as a hobby (see http://www.rezeau.org/wp-photo/)
.. and I know some people who would jump down your throat if you did, including garden writers too where you quote something they've written without their permission..
Personally I couldn't care less about mine, I'm an amateur photographer and always pleased to share photos, but I do admit to being a little peeved when I noticed a nursery in France - Petales des Roses - was using one of my photos to sell a rose... and a nursery in Scotland used a photo of a Lavatera shrub in my garden to sell it... it's a bit of a cheek but I thought that if it sells plants, then good for them, especially roses... but others might not feel so charitable..
People do it on internet forums too... I had to laugh one time because on another British forum they were discussing a rose and somebody copied and pasted one of mine from Google search to show what they were talking about... thing is, it was not the rose they were discussing...lol... that did crack me up I have to say...
so if you know now that your work could be used without your permission, do you protect your images?
I did see some ''sofia's garden'' type markings on some photos on a gardening forum somewhere.
it all makes sense now!
... perhaps we have a more relaxed attitude here generally, I'm not sure... anything seems to go in the UK these days for better or worse, but we do need to bear this in mind, that photos on google search, which may come from people in other countries, may not be permissible for copying and pasting onto forums without permission...