DIY Floral Hydration Chamber: Create a Dahlia Flat Lay Photo
Disclosure: This blog may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn commission at no extra cost to you.
You’ve seen those gorgeous photos on Instagram of the dahlias artfully arranged with an overhead photo snapped and shared, and all the ooohs and aahhhs in the comments expressing their adoration for the beauty.
Not everybody has a thousand dahlia plants with unlimited blooms at their disposal. If I had to bet, I’d say most of you are only growing in the neighborhood of 3-6 plants which means you’re only going to get 3-12 flowers per week. Nowhere near enough for a dahlia display like Erin. If you’re growing flowers small scale but you want to make one of those beautiful flat lay photos to share with your audience, you’re in luck.
In this blog post, I'm going to teach you how to create a floral hydration chamber out of a 1020 growing tray or a disposable aluminum casserole dish from the grocery store. This will allow you to keep your dahlias (or any other flowers, really!) fresh and hydrated for up to 2 weeks, so you can take all the time you need to slowly accumulate enough blooms to capture your own unique photo.
What you'll need:
Paper towels
Water
Dahlias and/or other flowers
Refrigerator space
Instructions:
Wet enough paper towels to fully cover the bottom of your designated tray. Dripping water is okay, they do not need to be completely wrung out.
Cut off the stems right up to the flower head.
Arrange your flower heads on the wet paper towel. It is okay if they’re touching, we aren’t creating boutonnieres or corsages like a florist. I arrange mine rather snug.
Dampen another round of paper towels for the top and gently lay the paper towels on top of the blooms.
Put the lid on the container.
Place in refrigerator until you’ve accumulated enough flowers. Do not open the container unless you’re adding a flower. Your hydration chamber will create its own micro climate, preserving the blooms.
Hints:
Alternative containers: anything deep enough to hold a flower that has a lid. Tupperware, casserole dishes, takeout containers all work great!
Save your stems inside the hydration chamber to add that element to your flower flat lay photo
Now that you know how to create a floral hydration chamber, you're ready to start creating your dahlia flat lay! Here are some extra tips and hacks for creating your flower flat lay photos that I’ve picked up from playing around with my own flowers. Take these with a grain of salt, because I am clearly a professional photographer.
Pro tips:
The background doesn’t necessarily matter, as you’ll tightly pack the blooms together so don’t spend a lot of time on this
Gradients look AMAZING in photos
If you do choose a nifty background, try incorporating bits of foraged foliage into your flat lay photo
Use the stems! Not all flowers will arrange for a flat lay photo in the perfect position, so cutting the stems off is a great way to achieve that perfect position
Conclusion:
Creating a dahlia flat lay is a fun and easy way to show off your love of flowers. With the help of a floral hydration chamber, you can keep your dahlias fresh and hydrated for days on end. (I’ve had some last 3 weeks!) So go ahead and get creative! The possibilities are endless.
P.S. Don't forget to tag me in your dahlia flat lay photos on Instagram! I can't wait to see what you come up with and I love bloom breaks!