“Say it with flowers” is the well-known slogan from Interflora, encouraging us all to send flowers as a special gift or message. Flowers have held symbolic meaning and communication for centuries. They are still the way we choose to express many varied feelings. They can be a “thank you” bunch of flowers from a visitor, a “farewell” bouquet for a retiring colleague, a wedding bouquet, or flowers to cheer up somebody who is convalescing. Flowers are always acceptable as a gracious message.
Greeting Cards to ‘Say it With Flowers’
It’s not surprising, then, that floral cards are so popular. We can still “say it with flowers” even if we are not sending real ones. Flowers can be represented in so many ways and styles, but a lovely floral photograph can become a ‘virtual bouquet’. The Goldcrest Gallery collection of greeting cards includes some beautiful photographic flower portraits.
Photographic Flower Cards
Flower photography that is intended for greeting card designs needs special care in the selection of subjects. Sunshine is crucial to bring a flower to life, and enhance its colours. Ensure that there are no browning edges on the petals, and no imperfections in the leaves. Choose younger blooms where possible to obtain the optimum shapes and colours. Be careful with contrasts in strong sunlight, where shadows can look very dark. There should not be any gloomy areas in a classic flower portrait. If you have Photoshop or other digital editing facilities, you may be able to alter small defects in the flower petals or the background. Our beautiful greeting card, ‘Roses and Lavender‘, shows how sunshine can enhance the flowers, with a background that is not too dark.
Our ‘Campanula‘ design uses gentle backlighting to give depth and atmosphere. This shows off the delicacy of the campanula blooms. In addition, the sharp focus in the foreground and the softer focus in the background add distance. This increases the impression of there being numerous flowers.
Macro Photography
Sometimes flower photographers use macro lenses to capture close up details. ‘Hawthorn Blossom‘ was photographed at high magnification. This resulted in a beautiful surface pattern appearance. Similarly, our ‘Pink Hydrangeas‘ macro design is a wonderful abstract pattern of bright pink heart shapes, edged with white.
Choose from our delightful selection of flower portraits and “say it with flowers”!