It started with a polka dot cup I found in a charity shop. That will look good with flowers in I thought. I went in to the garden and wandered about snipping here and there with the scissors. Came indoors and arranged them as best as I could. Then spent an age going round the house trying to find the best light for taking a few photographs. What I needed were a few props. Now due to my recent de-cluttering activities I don’t have much in the way of nick-nacks or store cupboards full of items to make photo-styling an easy task. It is harder than I thought to get the right items together for a photo shoot. So in the end I used a couple of sheets of thin card in roughly the same colourway as the cup and decided to let the flowers speak for themselves and to leave the rest of the faffing about to the professionals.
I started with a yellow tea towel for a base, but didn’t like the shineyness of the table behind – and you couldn’t even see the cup. Take One.
The tea towel made the blue cup look green – that won’t do. Take Two.
I put the cup of flowers on a shelf, added a polka dot piece of card and a spotty hen into the mix – but the flower colour looked too cold. Drat. Take Three.
That’s better, the flower colour is a little warmer and the light isn’t bad, but not keen on the water marks on the pine surface. Needs a re-think. Take Four.
Different background this time but the shot isn’t very sharp – this is getting a bit frustrating. Take Five.
Okay – let’s try a different approach, come in close and use soft focus – not bad, but you can’t really see much of the flowers. I’m on the verge of giving it up as a bad job. Take Six.
In the end, after most of a morning wasted poncing about, I came up with this. The dark background shows the flower off pretty well – the light is just about right – all it needed was to be kept simple. It took twenty different locations around the house using various objects along the way, none of which were satisfactory. Take Seven hits the spot for me – what do you say.
This was last year’s first flower posy – so I think I have made a bit of improvement this year – there’s always something you can improve upon.
‘Til next time – happy gardening, and remember
Very nice. This post made me smile.
ReplyDeleteYes I like the last one best. I do just the same and have occasionally ended up using the first picture . Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteLol...what a palavar. I use to have the same problem photographing my cards. In the end I opted for white and, like you said, let the flowers speak. Beautiful posy Elaine :-)
ReplyDeleteHahahaha....you have me wanting to rush out a pick myself a posy!!! Wonderful post and the last shot is perfection of course, well worth the palaver! Oh yes!xxx
ReplyDeleteI empathise with you dilemma! I have concluded that there is only one place in my house where I can get decent light conditions for a photo (and then not always, because it gets direct sunkight in the afternoon) - the top of the cooker, under the lights of the extractor!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, all your experimenting will stand you in good stead for next time, since you will be able to straight to Take Seven.
And furthermore you have given us a good look at a really colourful posy! Thanks.
Lovely posy. I like the last one too. I often end up taking things outside or into the porch, Must pay more attention to dressing my shots as they tend to be au naturel.
ReplyDeleteI like the one with the watermark on the table I would have erased it out, I faff about too Elaine it just gets you that way frankly I like them all as it`s the lovely posy that counts.
ReplyDeleteSuch a pretty posy... I also like the last one best :o)
ReplyDeleteYour spring flower posy is lovely and also the mug. You made me smile with all your photographs, that is so like me sometimes! I won't have noticed the water mark until you mentioned it! The last picture is wonderful! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteI love this post Elaine maybe because I can identify with struggling to get that perfect shot. It is funny that they cup looks so varied in color depending on the shot: blue in one and green in another. Doesn't matter though. It is a really cute cup no matter what shade it is. I love the flowers too. So cheery! It is sunny here, but still so darn cold. Thanks for adding a bit of spring to my afternoon!
ReplyDeleteYou sound as though you needed some patience to take the photo you wanted! It is lovely photo, too - well worth it! The posy is beautiful; it also makes me want to bring my own spring posy into the house with plenty of yellow-gold flowers.
ReplyDeleteYour first flower posy of this year is wonderful, I love the colours and the combinations. I love your styling and can imagine how you are pottering around with backgrounds, tea towels and so on. I sometimes try something like that too, but I am not good in it.
ReplyDeleteI think if I tried to make a similar arrangement, I'd have just the daffs, plus one or two cowslips. Not much else in flower here, which is probably my own fault.
ReplyDeleteoh so lovely. I am inspired to pick a posy, but I'm not sure if I'll have the same dedication to it's photography x
ReplyDeleteSo spring-ish!! I love it. I like the last one the best :)
ReplyDeleteYour photos are always so beautiful, so I am glad to see that you go through some of the same challenges that the rest of us do.
ReplyDeleteIt's why I like taking pictures of plants out-doors!
ReplyDeleteIf at first you don't succeed......... I really like take four inspite of the watermarks, the lighting and colours look natural to me. Your posy is very pretty:)
ReplyDeleteGreat post Elaine which did make me laugh! I know what you mean about styling and setting the scene but I have the same trouble so in the end I just take pot luck. I think your flowers are beautiful anyway and they look great in the spotty cup!
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely flower bouquets! Very pretty.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers. It's true donuts are happiness. Especially when you are on diet and you eat one after 3 days of starving :)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I'm impressed by the lovely range of flowers that you have managed to pick from your garden, then I'm in awe of your tenacity! I like image number five as well as the final shot - you've tempted me to go picking for a posy tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI like to faff about, my husband is perplexed by it. I liked image two and the final one. Anything that combines polka dots and turquoise is going to attract my attention.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful posy, and I agree with your choice :-)
ReplyDeleteI feel for your struggle to find the best spot, I have a very dark ground floor with few windows and those I have are east/west facing. I try to take photos outside in the garden when I can, but sometimes that’s not possible. Unless I drag photo equipment and everything upstairs I usually take photos indoors on my cooker if I want dark red background, or on my kitchen table if I want white background.
Oh it sounds like a lot of work and thought went into your photographic efforts Elaine. I think that your last shot really does your spring posy justice. By the way the narcissus you asked about in my last blog post is 'Elka' :)
ReplyDeleteI would like to take a whiff of the fragrance of your lovely spring posy|!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try taking a photo under the lights over my stovetop after reading that idea!
Goodness friend!!!! This arrangement is gorgeous! I must say that your work was worth it because that photo is stunning! And I love that quote up there! You have a great week!! Nicole xo
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine, first of all I love your posy! How nice that you can go through your garden and pick such a variety of beautiful little flowers at this time of the year. I really can relate to your experience how difficult it is to photograph a flower arrangement inside the house. I tried it a couple of times and it took for ages to get some satisfying photos. I think you got some wonderful shots at the end, well worth all your efforts! Happy spring!
ReplyDeleteChristina
Beautiful flowers and pictures! I like them all! You can't go wrong with your beautiful bouquet!
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