Photographing High Key Flowers in the Studio

by Mickey Rountree

Here are two quick high key setups for photographing translucent flowers in the studio. I used irises from my yard, but any delicate, translucent flower would work. First, a quick definition of “high key” is an image that is almost entirely very bright with very little or no dark shadows present. Each of these setups took less than five minutes to create, yet they give a very unique look. I’ve said it before, but I am not really a flower photographer, so if I can do this anyone can.

My first setup had the flower positioned in front of a softbox. This was both the background, and a strong backlight which showed off the delicate transparency of the flower. To add some light to the front of the flower I brought in a silver reflector close to the flower and as close as possible to my camera. I used a Canon 5D Mark IV and a 100mm macro lens and shot at f/16 for depth of field. I misted the flower with a small spray bottle for extra texture and interest.

If you don’t have a softbox, you could hang a white shower curtain liner and light it with a speedlite or even place it over a window. You could use a white card as a reflector, or cover it with crumpled tin foil for a brighter fill. If you use the window, be sure to use a tripod since your shutter speed will be much longer than the duration of the flash that I used.

And below are the results I achieved with this simple setup.