Photography of products using flowers as props.
Floral styling: Turning delicate blooms into product magic
When you see stunning product photos with a beautifully arranged floral backdrop, it almost looks effortless. But behind the scenes, working with flowers is a whole different ball game. In this post, I’m sharing the art—and the challenges—of floral styling in product photography, and why these delicate details make all the difference.
The allure of flowers…
… paired with your products.
Flowers bring a natural elegance and depth that can elevate any product photo. They add texture, colour, and a sense of vibrancy that resonates with your audience, and are especially popular on social media. For skincare and beauty brands, a well executed floral setup can transform a simple image into something truly eye-catching. When paired with natural light, flowers not only enhance your product but can help tell your brand’s story.
The challenges of working with flowers.
It might seem like a breeze, but working with flowers is anything but simple. They’re small, delicate, and often unpredictable. Sometimes you need tweezers instead of your fingers just to place a single bloom in the perfect spot! They can fall off, blow away, or simply refuse to balance as intended. The perfect setup for high quality product photography takes time and patience!
Once cut, flowers begin their rapid countdown. Remove them from water, and they start to wilt in minutes. To add to the challenge, many styling setups require you to chop off the stems, which means the blooms fade even faster. Every moment counts when you’re trying to capture that perfect shot.
Techniques for successful floral styling
After years of honing my craft, I’ve learned that patience, precision, and a little bit of creative flair are key to making floral styling work.
Here are a few techniques that have helped me turn chaos into beauty in my product photography:
- Plan ahead: Know what you want to achieve with your shoot. Whether it’s a softer light, romantic vibe or a bold, energetic look, plan your floral arrangement accordingly. Opting to use direct sunlight to create harsh shadows means planning the product photography shoot for the perfect time of day. Opting for multiple styles or also taking lifestyle photos can create scheduling challenges.
- Use the right tools: Sometimes, delicate flowers require delicate handling. Small tools like tweezers or fine brushes can help position blooms exactly where you need them. You may also need to reflect light or use fill light to shoot from different angles. Have all these items set up and ready to go to save time when shooting.
- Make sure you have great lighting, and get the tech right: Shoot on manual mode and in raw format, ensuring you capture high quality images. Use a tripod if needed to reduce camera shake, and experiment with post production to enhance images. *I use Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom for all my photo post processing and CapCut for video. Natural window light is my preference over artificial light and I love to balance softer shadows with harsh shadows to give a variety of images. Additional variety in your product photography can come from alternating between white background and alternate colours, along with lifestyle shots. Showcasing the skincare products where you might find them in your home is always a great idea and makes an engaging product photo.
- Work quickly: Once a flower is removed from water or cut, the clock starts ticking to capture that fresh vibrant look. Start with test shots to check camera settings before getting the flowers styled, especially the more delicate or expensive ones. Ensure you are taking multiple shots (including closer up, detailed shots) from multiple angles, balancing complex setups with multiple products and single product only images. Working quickly if you are utilising natural lighting will also keep the white balance as consistent as possible. This gives you a nice series of product only shots for product pages on an ecommerce store.
- Embrace imperfection: Not every arrangement will be perfect! Sometimes a slightly off-kilter placement adds character and authenticity to the shot. One of my biggest product photography tips is to just keep shooting multiple products, adding different groupings in as you go and capture as many intricate details as you can. There are generally no do-overs when it comes to fresh flowers when shooting products with natural lighting so you want to get as many product images as you can, even if they wont all be used.
- Shoot B-roll: Set up a smartphone cameras to capture behind the scenes content if you have any (multiple angles are great!). These are a great addition to the professional camera shots and are great visual content for use in various marketing channels. B-roll and bts content is a great way to attract prospective customers on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Depth of field is also great to experiment with in product photography – it allows you to shift the focus towards (or away from) the flowers as required.
- Budget wisely: Flowers can add a lot to the product photography shoot budget. Factor in the cost of adding high-quality blooms and any extra tools or time required for styling when planning your professional product photos.
The beauty in the process
Despite the challenges, there’s something incredibly rewarding about floral styling. Each shoot is a reminder that creativity is as much about the process as it is about the final image. The meticulous care, the little adjustments, and even the occasional mishap all contribute to a final product that feels real and engaging.
I’ve spent years perfecting this craft and mastering product photography. Every time I work with flowers, I’m reminded of how these delicate beauties can bring a burst of life to a product image. It’s all part of the creative journey, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
GET A QUOTE
Let’s talk flowers and product photography
Do you have questions about how I use flowers in styling? Perhaps you’re curious about professional product photography techniques, tools, or how to plan a shoot around delicate blooms. Drop your questions in the comments or send me an email. I’d love to share more about the art of turning floral chaos into product magic.