Why Your Flowers Should Vibe With Your Photography | Atlanta Wedding Photographer | Rose Bowman Photos

FILED IN: Planning Tips

Every couple has a checklist of vendors they need to bring on when planning a wedding: a bakery, a wedding planner, the venue, a photographer, and a florist – just to name a few! But something that folks may not consider is just how much your photographer and florist will play off one another, and that it’s crucial to consider these vendors together! Depending on the photographer you pick and their editing style, your stunning bouquet arrangement could look wayyyy different than you expect.

So let’s get right into it. What are some common “photo editing styles” and what are they all about? While all photographers have a unique style and way of editing, there are about 3 main categories of editing you might start to notice when you’re on the hunt for your wedding photographer:

1) True-to-color — Hey, that’s my style! 

2) Light & Airy

3) Dark & Moody

These are of course broad generalizations, but most photographers identify with one of these three editing styles. As you’re reading this you’re probably like, “Ohhhhh that makes sense!” as you are drawn to certain colors and styles, but maybe you never thought about it in this way before. While the editing style can sound like a small thing, it has SUCH a huge impact on your final photos, and of course, how your beautiful flowers look in the images.

To help you really SEE the difference, I gathered some stunning floral arrangements from my friend Jackie of Blooming Hites in a variety of hues and shades. I’ve sent the photos to two other photographers — a light and airy photographer, Katie of Katie Tiller Photography, and a dark & moody photographer, Peyton of Peyton Mariah Photo, and these talented ladies have edited the same images that I have edited, but in their photo style. I think the images best capture the vast differences between all of these styles, but I also want to break down some of the key features of each editing approach that you may not have considered!

1. True-to-Color:

True-to-color is exactly what it sounds like. Real color! A true-to-color photographer approaches editing from the mindset of enhancing instead of overly manipulating photos to honor the real colors of an image. We want the photos to look as close to what our eyes see, just with some minor tweaks and color correcting that get us there! The first bright-ass bouquet with all the colors at the top best shows how true-to-color editing work. When you have floral arrangements with TONS of different colors and hues, true-to-color photography will be your best friend and accurately capture what you see in front of you!

Just as the name insinuates, this methodology is a bit angsty and de-saturated. Removing color is one of the main results from this editing style, which you see clearly in the examples above. It’s most popular in the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Northeast coast, where moodier cloud coverage and darker foliage is common and plays well off this style. While it’s artistic and creative, there are some general rules when going this route. Earth tones, richer hues, and darker colors will work well in this style. Brighter and more saturated colors will turn a little wonky, as this approach strips an image of color and therefore makes that hot pink look vastly different than your eye remembers. Again, dark and moody works best when the elements in the images match this vibe — like in the darker bouquet with the red flowers that feels edgier!

As you can see in this bright, beautiful bouquet, a wide variety of colors and shades looks the best with a true-to-life edit. The greens are the key indicator of the editing style, as they are overly saturated in the light and airy edit and removed of color in the dark and moody image. In the true-to-color editing style, the greens look how our eyes see green in flowers. Definitely consider a true-to-life photographer if you’re going bright and bold and all the colors for your wedding day!

In this bouquet filled with pastel purples and blues and some creams, our light & airy edit shines strong. Pastels really work their magic with this editing approach and this photo highlights that. The true-to-life edit still holds its own, but the dark and moody edit makes some of the greens in the leaves a bit murky. If your wedding colors are pastels or lighter tones, a light & airy photographer is a great option!

With this burgundy bouquet, the dark & moody edit really works with the present color palette. As mentioned, these darker hues of reds, greens, browns, yellows — basically ALL the fall vibes — are such a match for the photo editing style. With this bouquet, the light & airy totally washes out the color of the leaves and the reds don’t look natural. Again, our true-to-color feels exactly as the title suggests, but it’s missing the drama that the dark & moody edit brings with these burgundy and blood red hues!


As a true-to-color photographer, I will always champion this style above the others because I see the value of images captured the way we remember them. It’s not to say that one editing style is above another, but it is crucial you understand the differences before signing on with your vendors and have clear expectations of how the photos will turn out. There’s nothing worse than paying for something and getting a TOTALLY different result, especially when it comes to your wedding!

If you take anything away from this blog let it be:

  • Remember that your photographer and their style will drastically impact how your flowers look in final images and take that into consideration.

  • When speaking with your florist and showing what you want, make a point to present images in the photo style you’re leaning towards — whether that’s light and airy or true-to-color, and they can best present a bouquet that fits that style.

  • If you are firm and attached to a specific color palette for your wedding day, talk to your florist before picking a photographer and hear their opinion on what photo style would serve the creative vision best!

Gosh that was long, but there was a lot to cover! I absolutely love flowers and think they’re such an integral part of one’s wedding day and images. I’m always available to all my clients and couples just in the planning process if you have questions on how to best pair your photos and florals!

And shout out again to Jackie of Blooming Hites for supplying all the stunning floral arrangements, without which this blog wouldn’t be possible!

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