Every spring, people travel from near and far to walk among the cherry blossoms in D.C. And while you’re not allowed to take any blooms, you can take as many photos as you’d like.

We met Washington Post photojournalists Marvin Joseph and Matt McClain down by the Tidal Basin one morning during peak bloom. They’re no strangers to the season. They’ve each spent countless hours getting the lighting just right from the water to the trees, navigating the crowds winding around the basin and using their surroundings to make a great photo. We filmed them as they worked and asked them to share a few tips with us.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Marvin: My favorite time of the day to take cherry blossom photos is actually in the afternoon. I love how that warm glow seeps through the cherry blossom petals. So I’m a huge fan of afternoon light, and not just any afternoon light — almost evening afternoon light.

Matt: I think my favorite part about photographing the cherry blossoms is getting out here early in the morning. That way, I can take advantage of the nice light, morning light. And I can also kind of navigate the crowds, which in the morning is far less of what you’ll see like later on, later in the day.

I think there’s something about the pre-dawn light where you get a little bit of color in the sky, and then you see the sun come up. There’s a different quality of light. It feels a little bluer.

Marvin: Look for where the sunlight is. Photograph a person next to the tree trunk of the blossoms. What you’ll get is illumination on a tree bark texture, and you’ll also get the illumination of the face and of the cherry blossom petals. It’s a beautiful picture. You get a nice warm glow from the sun.

Matt: I like doing a combination of using my own lights, using some flash and then also just taking advantage of available sunlight. And my favorite time to come out, so early in the morning when you get like the first rays — low directional rays of the light of sunlight hitting the blossoms — it just makes everything come to life. It’s almost otherworldly.

Marvin: I would say I’m trying to create a postcard. I think of some of the most beautiful postcards in my head, and I try to re-create that — some with people, some without people.

Matt: The blossoms have a natural framing, the way the trees are shaped. There’s very much a tunnel effect that you’ll see along the Tidal Basin here, and it just provides almost natural composition.

Marvin: If I was doing a fashion shoot here on the Tidal Basin, man, I would do a variety of things. For example, the sidewalk along the Tidal Basin would become a de facto runway. I would have the model sashay down the Tidal Basin runway, and her gown [would be] preferably pink, you know, to pay homage to the blossom.

Strangely enough, you can’t go wrong with, like, pastel colors — so baby blues and other pinks. But then you have colors like a bright red or a bright canary yellow, and they look great as a contrast with the very light pink cherry blossom petals.

Marvin: I try to find a giant canopy of the blossoms. I love having a framing device, and I feel like the cherry blossoms canopy framing the people kind of gives it this cushion. … I like to get down low and shoot upward at the person. And of course, when you shoot up, you see that you’re surrounded by all the blossoms.

Marvin: Just kind of have an idea where you’re trying to go and try to make yourself as thin as possible.

Matt: Don’t be afraid to take a different path. A lot of times you’ll see people kind of go the same direction on the walkways. Don’t be afraid to kind of go off and get away from people. Don’t be drawn to what other people are photographing. Follow your own sort of direction, follow your own instincts of what you want to do. If you go away from people, you’re going to find something more unique, probably, than what everybody else is congregating around.

Marvin: The general rule is we are not allowed to really pluck and touch and pull at and tug at the cherry blossoms. They are something that we cherish here in Washington, D.C.

Marvin: Human interaction does a lot for me in my pictures. It’s a big deal for me even right now. … Dozens of people can’t help themselves. They stand close to the trees, or they’ll bring the branch close to their face. You know, that’s human interaction. It’s this connection between man and plant.

Matt: I think it’s important to capture that feeling of what these mean to people. I want to impart that to people because why do people keep coming here? I think it’s important to capture their excitement when they see the cherry blossoms because they bring a lot of joy to people. And I think that’s a good thing.

Matt: I think a good photo can be any that you have any kind of reaction to a positive reaction. If it makes you feel something and it elicits some kind of feeling, I think that’s what makes a good photo.

Marvin: I do not think the cherry blossoms are overrated. I think that a case in point is right now: It’s a chilly day, and people are out here. They are not overrated. They make people smile. They give people joy.

Matt: I feel an excitement every year to come out here and capture it. I think the reason why a lot of people really gravitate toward them is because they’re so fleeting. You know, they’re here for a moment in time each year, and there’s something really special about that.

Edited by Tara McCarty and Jessica Koscielniak. Additional support by Amber Ferguson. Copy edited by Allison Cho.