Flower Photography at Green & Gorgeous
I recently attended a flower photography course at the beautiful cutting gardens at Green & Gorgeous in Little Stoke, Oxfordshire. The course was run by professional wedding photographer and flower enthusiast Clare West who has spent the last year documenting the cutting gardens and styling shoots at the flower farm.
The purpose of the day was to offer flower growers and florists the unique opportunity to learn how to take better photographs of their work in a natural flower-filled environment.
Clare kick started the day teaching us the basics of photography, and importantly making sure we all understood the settings on our cameras. After the technical introduction it was time to break for lunch, which consisted of a delicious home cooked vegetarian dhal with sweet potatoes and a coconut chutney, all lovingly prepared by owners Rachel & Ashley using home grown produce from the farm. After mopping up every last morsel from our plates, it was then time to check out the beautiful cutting fields, which I had been eagerly awaiting.
Rows and rows of brightly coloured ranunculus, anemones and tulips provided plenty of inspiration in which to practice our new photography skills. We then finished the day photographing a selection of spring bouquets and floral accessories created by professional gardener and flower farm owner Rachel Siegfried. We were taught how best to position our floral displays and how to make the most of limited indoor light.
Beautiful photographs that showcase your work at its best are crucial to all flower growers and florists, so its important to invest in a DSLR or decent bridge camera and take the time to understand the relationship between the aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings... and remember practice makes perfect!
For all you gardening enthusiasts out there, check out the Green & Gorgeous Open Day & Plant Sale in conjunction with British Flower Week on Wednesday 15th June.