no filter needed.
You have a gorgeous pin-worthy bouquet on your counter that you just picked up from your favorite farmer’s market (bonus points if the flowers are local!). And now you, too, want people swooning over your flowers. But your camera roll just isn’t showing off what you’re seeing! Keep in mind … instagram isn’t real. Even without filters, people are using angles, lighting, perspective, and depth to make their photos look incredible—incredibly unattainable!
Here are some of my favorite tips for taking that perfect insta photo of your flowers—while still keeping reality in check. I promise, it’s not rocket science (though it is a little bit of science). I am not a professional. At all. I’ve just found what works for where I live and what I like, with lots of practice!
Hint: Nature doesn’t need filters.
1. Move the mail. (Don’t let your clutter ruin your picture!)
It’s easy to do. You want to snap a quick photo of your new vase and blooms. You fiddle with the stems until they’re perfectly placed. Snap.
Oops, now everyone knows you haven’t done dishes and you’ve got junk mail coming out of your eyeballs. If you just clean up and clear out the area you’re shooting before snapping that photo, you’ll thank yourself.
Pro Tip: Want to know what will ruin a picture without even trying? Fingerprints on your lens! When you grab your phone from your pocket or purse, give the lens a quick swipe clean with your (hopefully clean) shirt.
2. Be besties with your flowers (up close and personal)
Nature’s beauty is in the details. Yes, it’s glorious to get to the top of a mountain and see the view. But overall, a picture is never going to match the beauty of a landscape as though you’re standing there. The opposite is true of flowers! The closer you get, the more you realize nature really is incredible.
Fight the urge to use your zoom, just get closer! If you start zooming, you’re going to lose quality. Find your flower, find the stem, find the coolest looking leaf, play with the light, and start there!
3. Find the light.
Smartphone cameras don’t do well in the dark. You need to follow and find the light!
Winter? Use the snow to your advantage and use it to create brighter and cool-toned photos.
Summer? Dusk and dawn create amazing backdrops and can make your photos feel cozy and warm.
Cloudy? There’s still great light on a cloudy day (some might say the best!), and you can use it to capture sharp details, or cast a moody and broody vibe.
4. Keep it simple, smarty.
My biggest piece of advice? You don’t need your entire house to be perfectly pristine to get a great picture. And this goes for enjoying your flowers, too!
I read something not too long ago (probably a meme, honestly) that said, “Devour your nicest things.” Do it. Light the fancy candle. Drink the bottle of wine you’ve been saving. Buy the flowers and stare at them as long as they last!
If we wait until the perfect time to enjoy these things in life … we may never do it!