To succeed at flower photography, you won't need any fancy equipment, but you will need to pay attention to detail. If you want to take beautiful flower pictures, like the ones in magazines, this article will help show you how you can do that with a digital compact camera.

Many of us have taken a picture of a flower and thought it was perfect - that is until we saw it enlarged or on a computer screen.

Another problem many new flower photographers encounter is getting pictures that are out of focus or downright blurry.

Blurry or poorly composed pictures are all things that are easy to avoid if you know what to do.

You should first always plan to take flower pictures when the lighting is good and the air is still (no wind). Even the most gentle breeze can cause enough of a quiver in the stem to create blur in a close up. Usually the calmest time of day is around dawn. Dawn is also the time when you can usually find the best lighting.

But if you're not an early bird, you can still catch that perfect flower shot. You can also get good lighting the hour before sunset and anytime when there is bright overcast light. These times offer soft light without the dark, harsh shadows. The times just after dawn and before sunset add a warm glow. And if it's always breezy, set up a blind or makeshift windbreak.

The other big reason for out of focus flower pictures is from using improper camera settings. Depending on how close of a shot you want, set your camera to Portrait or Macro. The macro setting lets you shoot from within an inch up to a foot depending upon your camera (check your camera's manual). If using manual settings, choose a wide aperture (small F-stop number). All of the settings just discussed will make the flower more sharply focused but will make the background more fuzzy.

Let's look now at turning that pretty flower into the perfect subject for your photo.

• Look for a flower with pristine undamaged petals. You can also "pretty" up a flower that may have 1 or 2 ragged petals, by simplying removing the petals. If doing so will leave a noticeable space, look for another flower.

• Look for anything on the flower than could distract from the picture like tiny bugs or pieces of dirt and gently remove them with a soft paintbrush or makeup brush.

• For a moist look, gently spray or mist the petals with a little water.

Next it's time to compose your picture.

• Look at the flower from different positions to see what angle looks best in your viewfinder or preview LCD. You might see a shadow that is pleasing – or not so pleasing. Notice how the light plays from different angles. Also look at the flower from various vantage points. Try lying on the ground for a bug's eye view or holding the camera high above the flower for a bird's eye view.

• Make sure that if you're leaning over the flower you don't cast a shadow on it. If the flower is backlit, you can avoid lens flare by wearing a broad brim hat or by using a lens shade to block light from entering the lens.

• You also want to look at the background tones. Contrasting tones will add depth and make your flower stand out.

Whenever you see an image you want to capture, fill the frame with the flower or use a classic composition method such as the "rule of thirds" where maybe the flower is two thirds of the image and the sky is one third.

Once you have your picture composed how you want, focus on the part of the flower that you want to be the most focused. Then keeping super steady, press the shutter down.

As you can see from the tips in this article, flower photography is all about paying attention to detail. And how you display your flower photo also makes a difference so make sure to display it in a picture frame that compliments it.