Getting a nice photo of a daylily clump is something that eludes me. So I am starting this thread with the hopes of everyone submitting their clump photos. I intend to try and take a lot of clump photos as the season progresses, and I am hoping others will too.Then I plan to add my best ones to the database at the close of the season.
What I would really love to have happen is for the progression of photos over the season to improve and be really great by season's end. So if anyone has camera tips for taking good clump shots feel free to submit them here.
Don't hesitate to add your clump shots, they may not look great to you, very few of them will look good at the start. As the weather heats up and the flowers become more profuse hopefully our photography ability will grow better also.
Here is my largest clump in the garden, a clump of 'Royal Eventide'. I just moved it to this location in the fall and it never skipped a beat.


Edited: Well I see I should have waited for at least a cloud to come over and help prevent the glare on the flowers. Bight sun is not ideal I see for nice clump shots.

Great thread idea, @seedfork!

I am not an expert on taking photos, but I do enjoy it and am improving over time by watching what others do and looking through tons of pictures. One thing I have learned to do is to put yourself on eye level or slightly higher (I know this isn't always possible!) from the plant you are trying to capture.

I have been using my iPad for a while now to take pics, and while it lacks the features of fancier cameras, it does allow me to lower it to the level I like without having to have my body do the same (or where my body will not comfortably fit or where I have things planted too close).

As an example, here is a photo of Siloam Double Classic that I took yesterday. It should begin to bloom next week.


And here's a close up of a dianthus that is blooming here. I took it by kneeling down and moving the iPad close to eye level.


Just my two cents, of course!

The clouds came out late this afternoon, so I went back out. You can definitely get more definition in the blooms because they are not so glossy looking, then I learned I need to have the photo be a little darker than I am used to with just the blooms, that also helps with the detail being retained in the bloom. I really love this photo of a 'Crimson Pirate' clump. with the exception of not getting all the blooms in the photo. I needed a wider angle, but then I found it hard to keep the nice cluster of blooms highlighted.

I did find it hard to get a perspective of scape height when I got directly over a clump, but it did show the bloom detail much better.
Here is more of a side view and it is easier for me to determine scape height in relation to foliage. I think this is a pretty good representation of what I consider a decent clump shot, I just wish more of the blooms had been facing in the same direction.


I need more tips and more practice.

I took another photo of the 'Royal Eventide' Clump with the cloud cover and a little darker exposure I do like this one much better than the first one.

Those are both gorgeous clumps, Larry!

Regina, your Siloam Double Classic is loaded with buds. Looking forward to the opened blooms. Nice details in the Dianthus photo, too.

Wow! You both have some very nice clumps.

So THAT is what a real clump looks like!

CAMEROONS TWISTER


ALMOST PARADISE


EL DESPERADO

@hillbilly,
Those are all beautiful shots, and the cluster of blooms on El Desperado is exceptional. But those are not what I consider "clump" shots. So I guess we need to come to a definition of what an actual clump shot is. To me it is a photo showing not only the blooms but the foliage as well all in the same photo.
Getting a photo of the foliage is pretty easy and getting the blooms is a little harder, getting them both together to show how the plant actually looks overall so the scape height is discernible and detail in the bloom is maintained is what I consider to be a clump shot, compared to (this is my term ) a "cluster shot"...showing a beautiful cluster of blooms.
Here is a clump shot that shows how short this cultivar grows in my garden and how the blooms are down in the foliage, and the clump does not have a nice uniform shape. Not a pretty clump to me.
Here
'Siloam Double Classic'


Here is another one I don't care too much for. Once again the scapes are not tall enough to clear the foliage and the blooms are prevented from fully opening. The very short scapes just don't appeal to me much anymore. Back when all I had were older plants they all had fairly short scapes and I did not notice this trait so much. Now with more cultivars to judge by, I am becoming more selective in what I like in a clump. To me this angle does not provide a good perspective to judge the scape height in relation to the foliage height, so not a good "clump shot" in my opinion.
'Jedi Brenda Spann'

Great idea Larry. I too, will be making an effort to capture clump shots of my CVs this year. When I can remember to that is.

Here is a recent shot of my 'Crimson Pirate'. The scapes are short this year and may be lacking something. Last year it was potted in the spring and set in this location last August I think.

Beautiful!!!

I decided to take some practice clump shots today. I took quite a few, no new revelations came to me, but I did try different angles. I think for the really low clumps like Jolyene Nichole getting down low works pretty well. I really like having an open area in front of the clump photos. it makes getting the shot much easier, and I discovered that when the plants have filled in and are really growing close together it makes it hard to get a definitive separation between the crowded clumps. So I need to work on spreading out my spacing on some of my plants. My little cages are not very appealing in photos but they do make it much easier to walk between plants and they help keep the clumps separated in the photos. I had originally planned to remove the cages when taking the photos, but that was not as easy as I expected.The main purpose of the cages are to keep the critters from digging. It must be working, so far this year not even a sign of a critter. Some of the foliage on a few of the clumps are to congested in the cages ('Look Here Mary') for example. Of course it is huge, but a few more are also needing the cage removed. So I will do that soon being no critters have shown up so far.
'Filled With Joy'

'Jolyene Nichole'

'Paper Butterfly' a small clump still, but three nice blooms.


'Half Moon Key' another clump still forming.

'Nagasaki' this plant has done well and formed a nice clump. The foliage is not looking all that great.

'Debbie Durio' with her first blooms of the season.

'Elizabeth Salter' a nice clump.

In this photo you can see a clump of 'Crimson Pirate' in the left rear, 'Sherry Lane Carr' in the front with the tall scapes, and 'Filled With Joy' in the right rear of the photo.

Larry, your photos are looking better & better! Nice clumps and beautiful blooms

Good stuff, Larry!

I shot all these today manual mode I was surprised how much the settings had to vary from shot to shot. I want to try a tripod tomorrow, I think it will help with the framing of the shots and allow me to do a better job on the back grounds...we'll see.

Your clump shots are looking very nice Larry. I try to remember to take clump shots while walking the garden. Time is a factor, some days there just aren't enough hours in a day to get everything done during bloom season.

I agree that your pics are getting better, Larry!

An interesting Thread, Larry. My Daylily clumps only show 2 to 3 inches of leaf growth right now. The 3 or 4 feet of snow we had, left less than a month ago, but I'd like to show a few of last years clumps. These plants have only been in the ground for 2 or 3 years, and in our sandy soil, they are a bit sparse in growth.
Wineberry Candy and Indian Giver.

Raspberry Pixie with Siloam Tee Tiny - and Heidi Edelweiss

Cisty: 2nd year in the ground and 3 flower stalks. Cisty, 1 week later: Blossoms hold their heads well above the spreading foliage.

Larry, echoing what everyone else has said, great shots!
I think you will like the tripod. I have one and find that it really helps, when taking the time to find the right angle focus etc...
It is amazing what a picture will reveal. I find a lot of things I should do better when I look at some of mine, and I find a few shots that I should probably waited on, and took over before posting.