Floral Portrait Photo Shoot | Silent Scream Project
Floral photo session
with real flowers
by YULIYA PANCHENKO
Visual representation of a brand is crucial and as a commercial and portait photographer I often being hired by brands to help them stand out visually from a crowd, especially in today’s oversaturated market. I was hired by a local florist Iryna Schulzenko, the owner of a floral boutique, Floral IS Art, to do a commercial shoot for her brand and together we created amazing images that she can use for her website and social media. Iryna specializes in beautiful bouquets, stunning floral arrangements for events, and another unique and unexplored service that she does are wearable flowers (floral accessories such as earnings, necklaces, rings etc) that I personally found a cute addition to any outfit for any type of event. With Marina, our makeup artist, and Liza, our stunning model, we worked to create engaging images to highlight what Iryna is naturally good at and draw people in by displaying her talent – digitally and physically, on a promotional banner.
Floral Portrait Photography
We attempted two looks with this shoot. Iryna started with a simple floral composition on Liza's neck and face, and we ended up using lash glue to attach the flowers to her skin. – Model's skin can be sensitive to different types of applications, so I always make sure to test a small area, like her hand (somewhere not in the shot) to make sure there's no reaction before committing to it. The first look was more of a portrait, focusing on our model's face and the floral arrangement. Our goal here is to highlight the contrast and colors that contribute to the mood of the shot. To create this look, I used a purple gel, attached to my Elinchrom Quadra Head Flash, to help the color of the flowers stand out.
Floral Portrait Photography
I positioned the flash to backlight our model by facing it towards the backdrop. My key light was another Elinchrom Quadra Flash head and Elinchrom Strip Softbox with a Rotagrid which helped me to control the direction of the light and limit the spill of light on the backdrop.
From more of a portrait perspective, I also added reflectors. This not only helped to minimize the shadows around her neck but added a touch of the 'Rembrandt triangle' by slightly highlighting her cheek on the far side. In the middle of the shoot, I added another light with a blue gel to add some additional highlight on her hair.
Floral Portrait Photography
The second look was more challenging but certainly more ambitious in terms of the floral composition. When it comes to photography for marketing purposes, you really want to find an 'aesthetic' that will capture people's attention. Irina is very talented and wanted to show that you can do more with flowers than just a simple bouquet (though her bouquets are also very beautiful).
Floral Portrait Photography
So while the flowers were being integrated into Liza’s hair, we secured it to a stand to showcase her long hair completely covered with beautiful flowers. This was simply done with a lighting stand and a few well-placed clamps, so-as not to damage her hair.
Floral Portrait Photography
My key light was a giant Elinchrom Litemotiv Indirect Modifier which I positioned sideways facing my model, feathering the light to achieve beautiful soft light on her face and avoid any spill on my backdrop. My Elinchrom Strip Softbox with Rotogrid was positioned on the opposite side towards floral arrangement to add some highlights to it. I was still using a backlight with a purple gel on it to create a purple backdrop that would add some mood to my shots.
Floral Portrait Photography
CHALLENGES:
As with any shoot, there are always some challenges to be expected when so many elements need to work together.
Our first challenge was the fact we were using real flowers in these arrangements, and out of water, they only look fresh for so long. So we needed to be mindful of how much time we used setting up because that would dictate how much time we had to shoot afterward.
Our second challenge was the amount of time needed to arrange the flowers into Liza's hair. Everyone knows the feeling when you have to sit for an extended period, especially if you are in a certain position. And Liza was a trooper. So timing was a big factor.
Lastly, as with any shoot of this kind, is just the creativity and adaptability necessary to get these things completed. If the glue was irritating, or the flowers didn't last so long, or the light gel wasn't the right hue, adaptability is necessary.
But ultimately, everyone was very pleased with how the photo shoot turned out. Liza, our model, is still beautiful. Marina's makeup work was magic. And Iryna is incorporating these into her website and promotional materials as we speak.
My photography equipment:
Camera: https://amzn.to/2MdZ1e3
Lens 70-200mm: https://amzn.to/3eEslXv
Lens 24-70mm: https://amzn.to/2XDzIaw Lens 50mm: https://amzn.to/3dilbHX
Soft-box: https://amzn.to/2TV5ejh
Light Stand: https://amzn.to/2Al6ci6
My Team:
Photographer: Yuliya Panchenko
Videographer: Eliar Tabrizi
Florist: Iryna Schulzhenko
Makeup Artist: Marina
Model: Liza