Flower Photoshoot Ideas (tulips, sunflowers, lavender fields, spring photoshoot, and more)

Looking for inspiration pictures for a flower photoshoot? This blog post will help you figure out flower photoshoot ideas and how to take unique pictures of flowers!

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Flower photoshoot ideas

Flowers have so much variety between their color, texture, and beauty. This makes them the perfect background for any photoshoot or the main subject.

Whether you’re a hobbyist, have some photography experience, or just looking for some cute flower photoshoot ideas, this post is meant to inspire everyone.

Why flowers are perfect for photography

If you love flowers and photography like me, you probably don’t need convincing why flowers are lovely to use in photos (but here’s a few reasons).

• The colors of flowers breathe life into your photos.
• The lighting and colors of spring/summer add their own atmosphere to your photos (think about how the sunlight shifts during each season, more on lighting down below!).
• You can pose with flowers in many ways to showoff their beauty (and your beauty).
• Flowers are perfect for conveying a story or romantic feeling.
• Makes great backgrounds for selfies, graduation photos, senior picture ideas, special announcements, weddings, or just because you love flowers.

Props

Props can elevate your photos! It doesn’t have to be anything expensive or big, it’s in the little details that create a story in your photo.

• Less is more! Holding or putting a couple of flowers in your back pocket can make for a pretty and simple photo.
• You can use things around your home you already own!
  • Use a bedsheet as a picnic blanket and lay a bouquet next to your picnic.
  • Find a gathering basket to fill with flowers (also useful if you have a vegetable garden!).
  • Use a cute tote bag that you can take to the farmers market to hold a bouquet.
• Buy a bouquet to hold in your photos. The bonus is that now you have a flower bouquet for your home 🙂

Camera tips

If you’re a hobbyist or want to get into photography, these are my beginner tips.

You don’t have to have expensive equipment to take pretty photos. However, photos on your phone versus a professional camera will come out differently (doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing!).

1. You don’t need expensive camera equipment, you can use your phone. Some phones have an expert RAW mode to shoot it!
2. If you are interested in photography, I currently use an (old but trusty) Canon EOS 70D slr with a EF 50 mm f/1.8 lens. I’m upgrading my camera equipment but this has lasted me years and years. Upgrading my lens is what really improved my photos! Lenses are super important!
3. Composition matters. When you take a photo, you are deciding what you’re including or excluding in the shot. What you choose to include and the angles in which you shoot will tell a visual story. It’s a little more detailed than that, but that’s a start.

Backlight vs. front-light

Lighting is so important! Some of my favorite times are just before sunrise, the minutes during sunrise, early morning, and golden hour (the time before the sun sets when the light is golden and warm).

You can shoot during the day, but keep in the mind the sunlight will be harsher since it’s directly above. I try to use backlighting when shooting in the middle of the day.

Light from a sunrise can highlight colors. If it’s cloudy/foggy, don’t fear, the diffused light can create a mood or that dreamy hazy feeling.

What to wear

Clothing in portraits is important because it sets the atmosphere.

I prefer light and airy photography, so I tend to wear solid colors because patterns can distract from the flowers. Although patterns can work if you plan ahead!

Think about the color palette of the photo. For example, if you’re shooting in a lavender field, wearing whites, soft purples, or pale colors would look great against the greens and purples to create a softer aesthetic.

Clothing also helps tells a story. Imagine you’re shooting on a windy day and you’re wearing a long flowy dress. The flowy dress creates movement and adds a whimsical feeling in your shots.

Use the clothing to your advantage! You can twirl, hold your dress/skirt, or let it fluff out around you if you sit on the ground.

Hats can really add another fun element! You can pose with them, they add a whimsical element, and they elevate a simple outfit (plus they protect you from the sun when photographing outside).

This hat is similar to my boater hat featured in these photos. I’ve upgraded to this firm brim boater linked above, which has an charming shape and it’s great quality!

Flower photoshoot ideas

This blog post will be updated as I get to explore and go on more flower adventures! Check back for meadow ideas, a picnic flower aesthetic, and more!

Tulip fields

Tulips welcome spring with their simplistic but elegant shapes and large array of colors. When you see tulips shooting up through the ground, you know spring is truly here.

There’s lots of fun ways to take photos with tulips to create dreamy pictures. I had the joy of visiting Holland, Michigan and taking photos in their tulip fields.

Get low and squat or sit in-between the rows of tulips for a dramatic photo surrounded by flowers.

You can also play around with focusing the camera on the tulips to make the subject blurry. The subject doesn’t always have to be the main attention of the photo! I find that a blurry subject can make for a dreamy photo. You’re still in the photo but the flowers are the main focal point.

Place you phone low into the flowers and snap pictures of yourself from this vantage point! It creates a cute selfie!

Tip: Take multiple shots and don’t be afraid to angle your head and look away from the camera.

Whether you have a tulip field or not, the angle matters. Shoot lower so that the flowers look fuller.

Try looking away from the camera or taking a shot from far away! When you don’t show your face directly, the viewer can draw their own conclusion about the emotion being conveyed.

Taking pictures of flowers can be tough depending on what you’re trying to portray. I like dramatic photos like shooting directly overhead, straight down a row, or up close.

You can also shoot flowers up close and depending on your camera, this can create a bokeh effect (out of focus blur in the background that can look like bubbles or circles) of the flowers that are behind and out of focus.

Lavender fields

Lavender is a soothing flower that is associated with peace, calm, and a relaxed nervous system and it also makes for a great photoshoot! We visited this lavender field in Michigan during the middle of July and it was beautiful!

The beautiful purples and greens create dreamy landscapes especially with the warm lighting from the summer sun. Remember lighting plays a huge role in the feeling of your photos!

These photos have both backlight and front-light, which create different vibes. If you missed it, read my tips above under backlight vs. front-light.

This lavender photoshoot really brings together a bunch of my tips! The flowy outfit (to twirl in the field), a prop (cut lavender), and a big hat (for protection and to add a romantic whimsy).

Tip: If you’re ever not sure how to pose, try to throw a hand up in the air!

Take a photo of you in action! I got to cut fresh lavender stems at this lavender field. It’s aesthetic but also it’s a fun way to capture memories.

Don’t be afraid to take horizontal photos. Depending on what you purpose is for the photo, horizontal photos can be really nice to help capture a beautiful background.

To take “Pinterest” style photos, make sure to capture the little details!

Sunflowers and sunflower fields

There’s no flower quite so happy as a sunflower with it’s bright yellows, large flowering heads, and not to mention how tall they are! Here in Illinois, sunflowers are at their peak in late August to early September.

For me they symbolize a last grand display of summer. While for some it can feel a little bittersweet to part with those long summer days, sunflowers are just too beautiful to stay feeling down!

My favorite tip is to use the flowers as a prop. It gives something for your hands to do, but they’re also pretty hold! If there’s an option to cut your own flowers, I always do it for the photos and to take home! I love fresh flowers in the house.

Instead of posing your body right at the camera like a selfie, try looking back at the camera, or look away on an angle.

Flowering trees and bushes

My favorite time of year in the Midwest! April comes around and suddenly the trees are in full bloom that wake up the grey landscape we’ve looked at all winter. We have stunning crabapples, magnolias, cherry blossoms, dogwood, and redbuds just to name a few!

Posing with trees can be a little tricky but here’s a few tips. Don’t be afraid to get right up to the tree and admire each little blossom or throw your hands up in excitement for spring!

Practice the rule of thirds, which is a popular technique in photo composition.

Imagine dividing a photo into nine zones using horizontal and vertical lines to form a grid. Most cell phones have a grid setting you can turn on.

Place the subject in the right or left third of the image, leaving the other two thirds open. This technique creates a well composed image that is pleasing to the eye. See the two images above, one horizontal and one vertical.

Flower photo ideas

Taking photos of flowers seems simple enough. Everyone has their unique eye for photos they like to take, and I’m sharing mine below. Here’s a few ideas of how to take pictures of flowers that are dreamy, Pinterest-esque, and capture the viewers attention.

Focus your camera lens on the flowers nearest you for a creamy bokeh background.

Get low! Crouch down and shot the flowers from the low vantage point. The lower you shoot, the fuller the flowers can look.

This also works for blooming trees. I like to crouch down and point the camera up into the branches to create a photo that feels like we could live inside the gorgeous tree (like little fairies).

Shoot right overhead. Let the flowers fill up the whole screen in a dramatic way.

If flowers aren’t the main focus of the photo, that’s okay! Add flowers for extra pretty touches that add a layer to the photo that makes it interesting.

Bring a simple bouquet to a picnic for your Pinterest picture photo.

Find patches of flowers that have an interesting pattern or arrangement.

Go out during golden hour and focus on using backlight to shoot flowers in a warm, golden light.

Candid photos

Sometimes you might come across pretty flowering trees, bushes, or find flowers in unexpected places. These unplanned, candid photos are lots of fun! It’s okay whether or not the photos turn out well because it’s great practice.

I often carry this tripod for my phone in the car or with me for random photos (just in case I don’t have my DSLR camera), or if you’re with someone ask them to take a photo for you.

Not everyone is a pro at taking a photo and that’s okay! When asking someone to take my photo, sometimes I have them pose, I take the photo, and then show them what I’m looking for. Plus, sometimes the candid photos can turn out really well!

I hope this blog post on flower photoshoot ideas was helpful! I plan to update it as my flower adventures continue.