How to Take Flower Photography for Instagram Like a PRO

A Guide for Posting Your Best Pictures

There’s nothing like holding a big bouquet of farm-fresh flowers in real life. Staging the flowers on your table, arranging them in your favorite vase, or leaning in to experience that delightfully soft fragrance – it can be magical! And the urge to share this feeling – or to simply brag about your bouquet – is irresistible.

Though you can’t share the sweet scent of a rose online (not yet anyways!), you can post a picture to show off the visual beauty of your flowers. Instagram is brimming with flower photos that almost appear surreal. Check out @rosaholics and #rosaholics to see some examples of amazing flower photography. People have mad talent out there!

Whether you struggle with finding the right angle or you’re already an Instagram pro looking to get an edge for your flower photos, here are some easy – but important – tips and tricks to follow for capturing a rose in all its beauty.

1. Freshen Up the Flowers

It’s true! Get your roses ready for their close-up by giving them the essential care they need. If you haven’t already seen our Flower Care Tutorial, now’s the time to check it out and learn the industry secrets for sprucing up thirsty flowers.

Even with farm-direct flowers that go straight from the greenhouse to your door, providing the right care straight out of the box can help the fresh-cut roses look their best. It’s amazing what a little TLC can do! And the results will definitely show in your photos.

2. Natural Light

Any professional photographer or Instagrammer will tell you – proper lighting is essential! That’s why many of the best Instagram photos are taken with an LED ring light positioned behind the camera. LED ring lights can be great for providing super bright, focused lighting, but roses can actually benefit from a much simpler solution: natural light.

Photographing flowers in an abundance of natural light is best for showing their authentic color tone and the subtleties found in the petals and stems.

Have you heard of the golden hour? That refers to the last hour before sunset and the first hour after sunrise. The golden hour is known to be a fantastic window of time with natural lighting positioned low and close to the horizon, which can bring exceptional clarity and tone to outdoor flower photos.

If you’re photographing your roses indoors, forget about the golden hour and use the ‘doorway trick’. This is a way to focus natural lighting – well, naturally! By positioning the flowers in a doorway or window that streams natural light in, you can funnel that light onto the flowers for a more focused effect against the dim indoor lighting.

Lighting is particularly important for dark-colored roses, like the Black Mamba Rose Bouquet or the Blue Lagoon Rose Bouquet. Because these roses have such strongly saturated petal colors, lighting becomes even that much more important. Otherwise, the photo can lose definition and the dark-colored roses end up looking like an inky splotch in the frame. Do your dark-colored roses justice by really paying attention to the lighting!

3. Play with the Angles

Sometimes the real location of your flowers – in a vase on the entryway table, dining table, or mantle – may not be best suited for a photograph. Instead of just taking a snapshot from the natural eye-line, play with the angles a bit. Try an aerial shot taken from above. Or, hold the roses in your hand and tilt the bouquet a bit to create a fun angle. Another idea is to lay the bouquet flat on a table, as if it’s spilled out of the vase, for an artistic approach.

4. Color Coordinate the Surroundings

Color coordination is key on Instagram. The best social media photos are those that catch the eye with striking pops of color against contrasting backgrounds. For close-ups, choose a contrasting background, like a white-washed tabletop for red roses or a dark wood surface for white roses. For full scene photography, choose one other piece of home décor, like a blanket throw or cloth napkins, to match the flowers and make the flower photo pop.

5. Focus on Petals

Focus. No, seriously, focus! Adjust your camera lens to focus on a single rose within the bouquet and let the background blur. This can also be done on most smartphones by accessing the settings within the camera app.

6. Use Instagram Filters Sparingly

Filters are fun, filters are great, but don’t overdo it! It’s clear to see when Instagram photos have been altered so much that you can’t really trust the quality of them. The best flower photos on Instagram have been slightly enhanced with minimal filters. We recommend playing with the sharpening feature as well as the color saturation and temperature features.

But remember, don’t go overboard! Rosaholics flowers are so gorgeous in real life that you want to be sure the photo captures the authenticity and natural beauty that’s present in every one of our roses. Of course, you can have fun and play around with the filters a little bit! But try and let the fresh flowers speak for themselves once you’ve found the right balance.

Ready to snap a pic of your fresh flowers? Post your photo online and tag @rosaholics to show off your skills!

Have You Tried the Crown of Roses filter yet?!

After posting the perfect photo of your roses, why not have a little selfie fun? Rosaholics has its own filter called the Crown of Roses. And YES, it's as fun as it sounds. Go to our Instagram page (@rosaholics) and click the filter setting to give yourself an instant crown of fresh flowers in your favorite color. Let's see what you've got!

If you need a top-up on fresh flowers or want to try a new color, order a fresh bouquet from us! Rosaholics has the most grammable flowers around! Order Farm-Direct Flowers for Delivery

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