One of my favorite things in life is beautiful plants and flowers, I usually share them over on instagram. I love to visit botanical parks, and I love to keep fresh cut flowers on my table at home. I’m not always gifted when it comes to arranging them, but I love to photograph them so today I’m sharing my 5 best tips to photograph flowers with you.
1. Choose your flowers wisely.
You will want to start with flowers that are already pretty, and well taken care of. These are easiest to photograph because they need less work to look beautiful. If you choose flowers that are wilted or beyond their prime you will need to work harder to get the perfect photo.
My favorite flowers to photograph are Peonies (all of them in this post), tulips, roses, alstroemeria, babies breath, and other delicate flowers that are available in lighter colors. I tend to stay away from flowers like daisies and sunflowers which feel less romantic.
2. Set the scene.
Find a space that provides lots of natural light, like a windowsill or a surface near a window. It should be uncluttered and clean in color and appearance. I prefer to photograph my flowers in lighter backgrounds and scenes, but darker areas can also provide for a more moody photo.
3. Lighting is everything.
I can’t emphasize this enough. Lighting is almost everything in a photograph. I prefer natural lighting 99.9% of the time that is even and bright. In the very rare instances when I don’t it, I like artificial lighting in more moody photos. Natural lighting is also more flattering most of the time.
4. Change the view or angle.
Flowers don’t always have to go in a vase. You can tie them together and stand them up, or one of my favorite things to do is lay them down for a photo and take the photo from above. It gives a slightly unconventional angle to the photo and more options as far as arranging the flowers.
5. Get in close.
Most of the flowers I choose to photograph are delicate and have very tiny details that you can only see if you get in close. I love to come in close and different angles to show those little details off. Experiment with different angles and distance from your flowers to find the most flattering photo.
I hope these tips are helpful for you, if you’d tag me in any floral photos you post I’d love to see what you’re doing! I also keep an inspirational florals board on Pinterest with all of my favorite floral photos.
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