Cactus Photography
I enjoy photographing cactus and the flowers they grow because there are so many different spices and they are simple to photograph. In spring and a little bit in late summer they produce some of the most beautiful flowers. There are different angles that can be done on the same subject and get a completely different kind of photograph. Flowers come in many sizes from the ones tiny to others that can be larger and usually more than one on a cactus.
What I Do
When planning my day to photograph cactus and their flowers, I will go out early in the morning or late in the day. The lighting brings out a lot of color. Once the sun is high enough in the sky, shadows start to be a problem, so I carry a reflector to help shine light to the darker areas. The best time is just around sunrise where there is enough light but no shadows. I have found out that photographing when it is cloudy allows shooting all day and the colors come out very well.
Most of the time I will use a tripod so I can take my time to create the composition I want. I used a full frame camera and rarely use a flash system. Since I am on a tripod, I have the time for longer exposures, however, when wind is around, I need to use a high ISO setting. I mostly use the Canon 28-70 F/2.8 lens but sometimes need to use my wider Canon 11-24 F/4 lens. When the flower is too far away, I will use my telephoto 100-400 F/4-5.6 lens.