4 Tips to Get Beautiful Social Media Images on the Tight Budget of a New Floral Designer

When you are just starting your floral business, getting photos for your portfolio, to use on your website, and for social media can be hard—especially when you are on a tight budget.

You know you need pictures of your work and a presence on social media to help get your name out, but what do you post when you don’t have a steady stream of work yet? A few months ago, I set aside a weekend to create and get as many pictures of my work as possible—all while spending the least amount of money possible.

Here are four tips I learned from my experience:

1. Acquire Flowers (and look for them in unusual places!)

2. Try to Think Outside the Box

3. Make a Plan for Your Flowers

4. Create a Schedule for Photos

Acquire Flowers

First, you’ll need flowers! I purchased a couple of different varieties of roses and some gorgeous antique carnations from my wholesaler, then reached out to local flower farmers to get a few special seasonal blooms. Adding just a few unique flowers can really elevate standard roses and carnations and turn something ordinary into something really beautiful!

However, for this project, foraging is really helpful—look for unique foliage, grasses, and wildflowers. Brainstorm other unique or unusual places you could get flowers (just be sure to have permission to forage!). Does a friend or family member have a garden you could cut from? You don’t necessarily need enough stems to create everything you’d like to make because you can reuse your flowers over and over.

Try to Think Outside the Box

Think outside of the box for other props/supplies. I wanted to have some shots that looked like a bride with flowers but getting a dress can be expensive. Does a friend have a simple white dress in their closet? Consider thrift stores, Amazon, or online boutiques. You’ll be surprised what you can find!

I found the dress I used at an online boutique, and it was on sale for only $30! Ask a friend to come over and model for a couple of hours. (Bonus points if they recently got married and could wear their own wedding dress!) Brainstorm ahead of time which shots you want to have with a “bride” holding your designs.

For vessels, Goodwill, Target and Hobby Lobby can be great places to source inexpensive ones. Also, just look around your home! There are likely many different things you already have around the house—old planters, bowls, mugs, etc. As far as ribbon goes, we all love silk ribbon, but I found some chiffon ribbon on Amazon that was so pretty for a fraction of the cost.

Make a Plan for Your Flowers

Stay organized to get the most out of your flowers! Put together a schedule, a list of things you’d like to make, and a list of images you’d like to get. Give yourself plenty of time! Set aside a full day or even a full weekend.

Make as many things as possible with the flowers you have—bouquets, centerpieces, large scale arrangements, detail shots, bud vases, individual ingredients, flat lays. You’ll get the most bang for your buck if you just keep arranging and taking pictures—then taking apart your designs and making something new.

While you’re planning, remember to keep in mind to make the things that require longer stems first and then work down to what may require shorter stems. For example, you may want to make the larger arrangements first and them work down to smaller scale—otherwise you might already have all of your stems cut too short to create the design you want. The key is to use your flowers wisely to make as many things as possible.

Create a Schedule for Photos

Take TONS of pictures. Since I wanted to be able to take a variety of pictures over the course of the weekend, working with a professional photographer wasn’t the right fit for my budget.

Know a budding photographer? Ask them to come get some good shots for you. Or take your own! Even if you don’t have an expensive camera, your phone can probably take great pictures! (Team Flower even offers a class on How to Photograph Flowers using your smartphone or other camera set up!)

Look at Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration of different angles and setups. And make sure to use natural light! Set up outside or near a window. Take as many different shots as possible. My secret weapon is a large white poster board or hanging up a white sheet. Blank walls can be great too. Or look for somewhere pretty outside in nature. Just think about what would go best with your brand. Make sure to get wide angle shots, detail shots, pictures of individual ingredients, pictures of yourself designing, and pictures of yourself holding the flowers. Remember to look back over your list of shots you’d like to get. By using this plan, I was able to get close to 100 different images to use on social media, my website and any other place I need to show beautiful pictures of my work.

Just remember, not having tons of pictures of your work doesn’t have to be overwhelming or a roadblock to getting your business started. Even if you are on a very tight budget, just think outside of the box and you can get plenty of images to help launch your business forward!