Floral Florish: A beauty editorial inspired by flowers

As a photographer, I always feel most inspired when nature finds its way into my shoots. Strangely, I’ve never created a flower-focused image series—whether for clients or personal work—so I set out to make that happen this year. This is the result!

This test shoot with model Zara Fraser came together like a dream. Since we were focusing on close-up skin work and portraiture, I worked alongside makeup artist Vic Hwang to plan the flower and makeup combinations. Zara’s freckles are incredible, and we wanted to design a look that celebrated them—don’t the orchids echo her freckles so beautifully!

I shot with my Canon 5D Mark IV and a 100mm f/2.8L macro lens to really capture the details of her skin and the flowers. I’ve been renting this lens for a while, but this project reminded me it’s probably time to take the leap and finally add it to my kit.

We created a range of looks—from soft, feminine pinks and reds to warmer, yellow-toned floral pairings and even a rainbow of colour. The final look took a lot of pinning and clipping flowers so they framed Zara just right. A massive team effort for sure. I love how she looks completely enveloped in blooms. Haters will say it’s AI—but you can see the behind-the-scenes shots tell a very different story!

As I always prioritise sustainability in my shoots wherever possible, I was super happy to collaborate with botanical styling studio Echevaria, who kindly lent me some leftover flowers from a wedding to use for these looks.

We were also joined by Sarah Tan, who generously helped on set and captured some of the behind-the-scenes moments you see here on her digicam.

To finish, we styled in a little jewellery—a stunning gold orchid ring by Ashepa. I’d love to shoot a full jewellery campaign that pairs floral styling with statement pieces. Manifesting that, for sure!

These are some of my favourite shots from the day. Which one catches your eye?

Follow along the journey or connect with me for projects: @susannahjaffer and @zerrin_studio.

Shoot Credits:
Model: Zara Fraser
Hair & Makeup: Vic Hwang
Set Assistance and BTS: Sarah Tan and Sara Jain