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 had the experience of taking a picture of a pretty flower that seemed picture perfect.

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

These are all things that are easy to avoid.

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 dawn is the best time of day when the wind is the calmest. This is also a time when you'll often find the best lighting.

But if you're not an early bird, you can still catch that perfect flower shot. Other good times for lighting are the hour before sunset and anytime there is high overcast (bright overcast). 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 main cause of blurry or out of focus flower pictures is the camera, more specifically taking a close up without the proper setting. Depending upon how close you want to get to the flower, set your camera to either 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 you're using a camera with manual settings, choose a wide aperture (a small F Stop number). All of the above settings sharpen the subject and put the background out of focus, even blur it.

Once you find a pretty flower, now it's time to turn it into the perfect flower photo.

* Look for a flower with undamaged petals. Or if you find a flower that's almost perfect, except for a ragged petal or two, simply remove them. 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 dewy look, gently sprinkle or spay the petals with a few drops of water.

Next it's time to compose your picture.

* Look at the flower from various angles 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. You should also look at taking your picture from different angles or vantage points. Try standing directly above the flower and then try lying on the ground to see which angle looks best.

* Make sure that if you're leaning over the flower you don't cast a shadow on it. And if the flower is back lit (which can create a nice, iridescent effect), avoid lens flare by using a lens shade or wearing a broad brim hat to prevent light from entering the lens.

* Also look at the tones in the background. Contrasting tones will make your image pop.

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.

Then focus on the part of the image you want to be the sharpest – this could be the stamen, a ladybug, etc. Then keeping super steady, press the shutter down.

As you can see, flower photography is all about 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.