You create floral arrangements that look gorgeous in person, but how do they look in your photographs? In today’s digital age, every florist needs professional-looking photos to sell your flowers. You could pay a photographer for photos, but a few simple tips will help you take quality photos yourself. Here’s how to photograph flower arrangements and get stunning images.
Start with the Right Backdrop
Selling wedding flowers? Photograph them held by a model or in a wedding venue.
You don’t want anything in the background to detract from your flowers. A simple, plain backdrop is enough. This can be a blank wall, sheet, or photo light box. A neutral color like white or gray works best for colorful flowers.
Sometimes, it makes sense to photograph flowers in context. For instance, shoot a floral centerpiece on a wedding table or a bouquet in a bride’s hands. Even for these shots, you can keep things simple to highlight the flowers.
Use Proper Lighting
Most unsuccessful photos are a result of poor lighting. Soft natural light works best for photographing flowers. Take pictures near a large window with plenty of sunlight. You’ll want the light to shine on the side of your arrangement to illuminate it without creating glare on the front. You can shine an electric light on the other side to balance things out. Pay attention to shadows. You don’t want an awkward shadow cutting across your photo.
Invest in some studio lights if sunlight proves too unreliable for good photos. These bright lights will give you consistent results, and you can move them around to get a good angle. Whatever you do, avoid camera flashes. They are too bright for flower photography.
Keep It Steady
Hold your phone or camera steady as you shoot, or use a tripod to achieve crisp images. Pay attention to the position of the arrangement and how it fills the shot. You can crop and edit photos later, but it will save you time to snap pictures right the first time.
Experiment with Smartphone Camera Settings
Experiment with smartphone camera settings to get sharp close-up shots of floral arrangements.
If you think you need a professional camera for photographing flowers, don’t worry. You won’t get better photos with a traditional camera if you don’t have the skills to use one. Most florists will do just fine with their smartphones. It’s just a matter of using the correct settings. Here are a few to try:
- Use Portrait Mode to focus on your flowers and slightly blur the background.
- Use the Spot Focus mode to select which parts of arrangements you want to look sharpest. Or touch the image on your screen to tell your phone what area you want as the focal point.
- Crop photos to remove unnecessary space and emphasize your arrangement.
Take Multiple Photos
A photoshoot is never one-and-done. Take multiple photos of the same arrangement from different angles. You’re more likely to get a few great ones, and your customers will appreciate seeing the many sides of your creations. It might not feel intuitive at first, but shots from lower angles rather than higher can beautifully show the blooms, foliage, and vase.