If you’ve been following me at @izzysden, you’ll know that flowers are a staple for my tea flatlay photography. I’ve picked up some tips and tricks over the years when it comes to styling flatlays and I thought I’d share them with you.
The best flowers for flatlays typically lay flat and are visually beautiful from the side. A daisy, for example, won’t show the yellow centre and full white petals unless you pluck it off the stem and lay the flowerhead flat.
In this brief article, I’ll give you some of the best flower varieties and a few bouquet ideas if you want to buy some fresh flowers for your next Instagram photography session. Many of these flowers can be purchased year-round, but I love to recommend growing your own too. I just recently wrote an article about growing peonies!
You can find all of the flowers I mention in bouquets at Flower Station, my affiliate for this article. It’s my go-to place for buying blooms for photography and gifts.
1. Roses
Roses are great flowers for a flatlay as, before they’ve fully bloomed, they lay perfectly flat. They’re also very uniform in shape and form, so if you’re going for a sleek and clean look in your photography, you can use bunches of them.
Another reason roses are a must is that you can gently pry open the petals for a fuller look, if you decide to photograph them in a vase instead. You’ve also got a huge range of colour options from red and pink to white and yellow.
Tip: gently bend or remove leaves on one side of the stem, so when they lay flat you can get the lush dark green tops of the leaves in your shot rather than the paler undersides.
2. Lilies
Lily flowers are, like roses, available in a huge range of colours and offer some additional green foliage to your flatlay photography. Depending on the colour, they can add a touch of elegance (think white lilies) or a touch of the exotic (think red Peruvian lilies).
Once you’ve finished your flatlay photography, lilies can be kept in a vase so you can really enjoy the fragrance they release as they come into full bloom.
Tip: gently tap the flowers to shake off any excess pollen before you lay them down or have a makeup brush handy to brush away any that falls off once placed.
3. Lavender
Lavender is a really great cost-effective flower to feature in your flatlay photography. Available in dusty shades of purple and blue (with some rarer varieties available in pink and white), lavender can be used to create a French chic style, or a more rustic farmhouse style.
Cut the stems long, if possible, so you can shorten as needed when you’re arranging your items.
Tip: Save any buds and leaves that fall off for scattering around. You can also use the lavender in your wardrobe to repel moths, if you don’t want to put them on display after photographing them.
4. Hydrangea
If you want to get a huge mass of petals for your photography without buying a million flowers, hydrangea is a good option. Available in colours that range from hot pink to soft pastel shades, hydrangea flowers add bulk to your photography.
If you want less brightness, you can even find green hydrangea flowers.
This flower variety for photography is easily available, as the plants can flower from late spring to early autumn, giving you plenty of time to buy a bunch over the summer months.
Tip: Use one or two hydrangeas on stems, then pluck the flowers off other stems and strategically place them around your flatlay to create the look of fuller clusters.
5. Carnations
Another super affordable flower is the carnation. You can find packs of very simple ones at the supermarket but for the best quality and colour options, check out Flower Station. As a bonus, you can buy bouquets that feature complimentary blooms and foliage to make your carnation flatlay look even more impressive.
Try pairing soft coloured carnations with branches of eucalyptus, or rich red and vivid pink carnations with dark sprigs of boxwood (which you might even have in your garden already).
Tip: To get custom-coloured carnations, you can do the old food colouring trick. Place white carnations in water mixed with a drop or two of food colouring and wait patiently for the petals to change colour.
Tips for Flower Flatlay Photography
When it comes to actually placing the flowers into your flatlay frame, here are my top tips:
- Add texture behind the flowers to add some variation. A tablecloth, tea towel, any piece of textural fabric can be draped or bunched up over some (or all) of your base, to create a totally different vibe.
- Take photographs as you go. It’s the best way to figure out if the placement works with your lighting before you commit.
- Be playful with colour. Using all shades of one colour with a simple green foliage is always classy, but you can come up with some eye-catching photos by contrasting. Lavender with sunflowers creates a summer field vibe, or blue forget-me-knots with pink hydrangeas is pastel sweetness.
- Use odd numbers for statement flowers. Place your foliage and “background” florals like baby’s breath in bunches or however looks good, but when it comes to statement flowers, use odd numbers. 3 or 5 roses always looks better than 2 or 4. It often looks more natural to use odd numbers, while even numbers create purposeful symmetry.
- Pull off petals. I started with rose petals but really, any flower petal will work. If your flowers are drooping or you don’t have enough stems to create a really full photo, pluck off the petals and scatter them instead.
Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram so I can see your beautiful flower photography! You can find me at @izzysden for tea flatlays, recipes, life updates and more.
