I learned to take better photos by studying the ones here. Back then digital SLRs didn't exist and people were mostly using $400-$500 Nikon, Canon, Olympus and Sony. Nowadays some of the best pictures come from Iphones and digital SLRs. Borrow your family/friends' cameras. Some cameras lean towards red, others to blues. Look at the same flower on the LCD panel while you change the white balance (sunny day, cloudy day, florescent, etc.) if your camera does that. I often use 'florescent warm' to capture accurate color. A friend uses his Canon SLR on automatic. A good camera is important.

Time of day is essential. Or rather, certain light. In my area I capture the best pictures in late afternoon. Unfortunately when visiting a grower it's often mid-day (strong Calif. sun) and then editing can help. I use the freeware program called IrfanView. Or Photoshop Elements if a fly on the bloom needs removing.

Take pictures throughout the day to find the sweet time. Try different crops. Try sharpening to see how that affects the image. Darken the image. In other words play, play, play. If one image out of 20 is a keeper, congratulations!

That is great, thank you. I was mostly taking pictures of large areas, rather than focusing on a single flower, and I don't know why. I have been studying, and loving the photos here, and vow to get my own. I do notice the Iris look different with different light. It's funny, I remember my grandmother saying a long time ago, "the sign of a good photographer is a full garbage can". And that was in film days. Thanks for advice, will keep this.

You're welcome :-))