Tips For Photographing Rapeseed Fields

Image by David Pritchard

If you live near the countryside, the chances are that you've seen the vast yellow fields of rapeseed on your travels. These fields make great subjects for photos with a summery feel when the sun's shining on them. 

These fields can be vast, so depending on the type of photo you want to shoot, a few different Tamron lenses might be necessary. 

Wide angle lens - A wide lens such as the SP AF 11-18mm will be great for capturing the field and the horizon in its entirety. Try to pick out an interesting focal point, such as a lone tree or a picturesque farmhouse, to add interest to the shot. If the sky is clear, and you're after a more abstract look, the contrast between the yellow and blue tones will work well on their own. 

Mid range zoom - A lens such as the SP 24-70mm f/2.8 VC USD will be great for photographing a certain aspect of the field, or zooming in on it if there's no public access close-up to the field. Make sure you keep the horizon line straight. If there's something distracting in the background, this lens will enable you to crop it out by zooming in slightly, or your could always use a shallow depth of field to blur out the distraction. 

Macro lens - If you want to capture stems of flowers on their own, a macro lens like the SP 90mm macro will work well. Shoot upwards from below the stem, so that you capture the flower in contrast with the sky. Using a shallow depth of field will enable you to isolate the flower head, giving a pleasing yellow blur to the background of the shot.

As well as the bright, sunny skies, dark, grey overcast and stormy skies can also make a great backdrop as they also contrast with the yellow flowers well. Packa polarising filter too if you really want the colours to pop.