Rose Petals + Self Portraits

| Allison

Hello, my friends!

I’m excited to make some Christmas posts soon, starting next week after we get our Christmas tree, but today I’m finally posting this photoshoot I did months ago with a lovely coral pink rose. One day I realized my shirt matched the color of the roses almost exactly, and couldn’t resist doing a mini still life/self-portrait photoshoot with it! I had a lot of fun seeing how many different pictures I could compose with just one prop.

Enjoy some light and color and flower goodness!

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Here’s a picture of the bouquet to start with. It’s the one Sully gave me, as mentioned in this post. When I did this photoshoot, all the roses had started drying and wilting except for this one exceedingly gorgeous, perfectly open bloom. See?

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And like I said, I decided I needed to do a photoshoot because look how perfectly it matched the color of my shirt! (You can tell this was months ago because I was wearing a summer shirt, haha.)

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Ah yes, the classic “easy self-portrait” pictures. Hide most of your face with something else! Heh.

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I love eye pictures. I find it fascinating how every person has different colors and patterns in their irises, kinda like we all have unique fingerprints.

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Hanging a white curtain on a south-facing window creates beautiful diffused lighting, perfect for photos like this. ❤

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This is one of my favorites from the shoot. I love how simple and stock-photography-like it looks. The way the light hits the rose petals and my fingers… ah.

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Another shirt-matching picture. Seriously though, how much more matchy can you get? And why do matching colors like this make me so happy?!

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There’s something I love about pictures of objects being held in someone’s hands. Not sure why. It makes product/object photography more personal, I guess.

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Left: WHAT WAS THAT? Right: Nevermind, false alarm. All is right with the world again. I shall return to stopping and smelling the roses.

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I love how creamy and silky rose petals look on low-aperture shots like this. DSLR cameras and 1.8 f-stop lenses for the win!

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I like the chiaroscuro feel of this one. Chiaroscuro pictures have a lot of contrast between light and dark, like the two sides of this photo.

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I guess I technically used more than one prop because sometimes the baby’s breath flowers also appear in the photos… But it’s part of the bouquet, so we’ll call it even. Also isn’t baby’s breath such a weird name for a flower but such a beautiful kind of flower?

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Two very dramatic black and whites. *gasp* It’s so fun to take dramatic self-portraits, though! I quite like the sharp dividing line of the white curtain on the left photo. It adds interest.

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Something I like about this photoshoot in general is the cohesive color scheme paired with lots of depth and layering. For instance, there are three or so different parts of this photo that are in focus, all in different areas. Also my wrist looks kinda broken here but it’s not; I’m fine.

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Rose petals are often used as metaphors for something being soft and smooth, but look at the texture of them up close. (Well, especially petals that are starting to dry.)

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We’ll end with these two simple “rose portraits.” Lovely. ❤

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That’s it for today, guys! I hope you enjoyed that coral-pink-infused photoshoot. And hey, while I’m here… thank you all so much for your sweet comments on my last post. I loved hearing your stories and getting to share mine with you. It means a lot to be a part of such a wonderful, worldwide community. As many problems as the internet can cause, it can also be a huge blessing. And you guys are definitely a blessing to me. I love you. 🙂

Which photo(s) did you like best? What matching flower + clothing color combo would you choose for a photoshoot?

Thanks so much for reading, my friends, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

45 thoughts on “Rose Petals + Self Portraits”

  1. Lord have Mercy!!! Allison you outdid yourself again and sure had some fun in the process didn’t you; that is a given here!

    I really love the Rose on the Nose Shots! My creative eye but also my humor kick in simultaneously when looking at those shots and interpreting; but hey that is me right! Excellent!

    Really you did a magnanimous job here with like you say, a prop, and placed it in so many delicate thoughtful and thought-out backgrounds of composition! Fine detail and color saturation, looks perfect to me! I also have to say “you and the rose” are simply gorgeous; fine Lady! Picture perfect!

    God bless you and keep those inspirations and love shining out into the world!

    You take care and thank you for a wonderful final seasonal photo shoot display; to be inspired by!

    I have to move along but honestly, later on I intend on going over it again! Really enjoyed this!
    Lawrence
    🌷🌹🌈🌞🙏 🙏

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  7. Heya Allison! I thought the “chiaroscurouro”play was wonderful! Your work provides a sense of peace and contrast. A difficult balance, to be sure!

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  9. Your blog style continues to inspire me. I definitely want to try taking some self portraits because I don’t really have many good professional-quality photos of myself. The one of the rose and your eyes is AMAZING!

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    1. Aw, that means a lot. And yes, you should totally try some self-portraits! They’re a lot of fun, if a bit tricky since you can only see the wrong side of the camera while taking them. And thank youuu! I like that photo too.

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  10. Oh my gosh….what *beautiful* shots🌹…..I especially like the close up one of your eyes👀….fab! Roses are something, aren’t they!! I would love a ‘yellow’ shoot!!💛 Take care ~ Valerie from Vancouver Island. 🏔️

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  12. These are so gorgeous, Allison!! I’m sure I’ve told you this before, but your eyes are SO COOL! 😱 I seriously can’t even choose a favorite photo, they’re all too good!!

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  16. The chiaroscuro portrait is definitely my favorite. Beautifully composed with the primary subject being the rose, but the secondary subject, yourself, being equally powerful in a more subtle way. The coral of your shirt is tied in with the framing and I like that it is a unifying element but not too overt. This allows the viewer to make the discovery of the matching connection on their own. Placing yourself at an angle to the light allows for the auburn tones in your hair to pick up and continue the coral theme in the composition. And the shadow on the opposite side is a wonderful contrast to make it all sing.
    Nice work! I appreciate that you share your photo shoot this way and include narration of your thought process. It shows how fun and interesting photography can be, as well as how many shots it takes to get the one that matters.
    Thank you for brightening up my day! 🙂

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    1. Ah, thank you for such a lovely, thoughtful comment! You analyzed the way the photo worked so perfectly. I’m really happy I could brighten your day – thanks for brightening mine too, Alisha!

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  18. These photos are so beautiful Allison! And so are you 🙂 You’re a very talented photographer, I know self-portraits are incredibly hard to take. My favorite picture is the close-up by your eyes.
    Hope you’re doing well Ojo!
    – Josie (Ete?)

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