Idea:

This shoot explores the theme of “Origin” through the natural life cycle of flowers, focusing on beauty, fragility, and the process of decay. I chose roses because they symbolize both growth and impermanence. I aimed to capture subtle changes in their form, by doing so I planned to visually represent mortality and the passage of time.  

Location/Setting:

All of these images  were taken in a domestic location (inside my home) against a white background to isolate the flowers and emphasize their shape, texture, and colour. I also captured some images of petals scattered on my windowsill to contrast the full bloom with the early stages of decay. I used natural window light  to highlight delicate details, shadows, and show tonal variation.

Contact Sheet

Techniques and Processes

• I photographed the roses from multiple angles including close-ups to show textures and subtle imperfections, and wider shots to provide context and composition.​
• I experimented with several Lightroom presets, including “Matte” and “ Medium Deep Skin 02 Cool”, and chose the second one because it enhanced the subtle tones of the petals while creating a soft, cohesive aesthetic across the series.
• To make the flowers stand out, I selected the background on Lightroom and increased the exposure, brightening it whilst keeping the flowers and details intact.

Editing Selected Images

On Lightroom I selected my best images to edit, I aimed to capture the flowers from different angles, close up, further away and in different lights to highlight the subtle changes.

For this image I experimented with lightroom presets, I chose to use the ‘matte’ preset and adjusted it accordingly. I decided to add this preset to my other selected images to maintain consistency.

Before and After

Preset Images

Second Preset

Whilst experimenting with the presets on Lightroom I preferred this one compared to the previous one so I continued to apply it to all of my selected images to see if it works with them all.

Final Images

Evaluation

This photoshoot successfully captured the fleeting beauty and fragility of the roses by showing both bloom and the beginning of decay. By using a clean white background and increased exposure it allowed the flowers to stand out and emphasize their delicate details. The “Deep Skin 02 Cool” preset I added, created a soft aesthetic and unified the images. I also experimented with different angles and compositions which strengthened the visual narrative by capturing both individual petals and the overall form. Overall, the images communicate themes of beauty, mortality and the passage of time whilst demonstrating conceptual clarity and technical control.

Next Steps:

For my next shoot, I plan to develop the theme of decay by photographing the same bunch of roses at a more dramatic stage of deterioration. I will continue to use different angles to highlight texture but against a dark background instead of a light one. I aim to experiment with lighting by adjusting natural and artificial light sources. This will allow me to build a stronger conceptual progression throughout my project.