FLORAL KNOWLEDGE DROP: Naomi deManana of Martha Stewart Weddings on Styling Florals for Editorial Work

Posted by Ali Powell on 3/10/18 5:54 PM

FLORAL KNOWLEDGE DROP: Naomi deManana of Martha Stewart Weddings on Styling Florals for Editorial Work

Posted by Ali Powell on 3/10/18 5:54 PM
Ali Powell
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We had the pleasure of hearing Naomi deManana speak yesterday at the TeamFlower Conference. Naomi is Senior Style Editor for Martha Stewart Weddings. 

She is so endearing and cool. Not sure what other words to use for her. But, I loved her, she is fierce, cute, knowledgable and obviously her love of flowers comes out in her speaking. 

Naomi can be followed on Instagram here and here is her linkedin profile. 

STYLING FLORALS FOR EDITORIAL WORK

So first off you might not know what an editorial stylist does...so let's break this part down so we are all clear on what that really means :)

That means anything and everything you see in a photo in a magazine was STYLED and dreamed up by the Stylist. 

STYLING FLORALS

"Being a stylist is being a dreamer. Being able to paint a picture with your ideas." 

She came to the magazine as a floral designer. She had always been taught to look at all of the details in the florals. She loves to tell the story of her life on how she got to where she is now doing this job through her young love of flowers and the way she was brought up. 

She lived in California growing up. She talked about how she lived in harmony with nature because she had "hippy parents."

Everyone she knew had gardens growing up. The natural landscape of things that grew around her where she grew up really inspired Naomi and helped her love for florals grow at a young age. 

She was taught so much about flowers and plants from such a young age that it just became part of her.  Flowers just are a part of who she is. 

floral tips

"Never thought of flowers as a job." 

She talked reminisced about her first time in San Francisco at a floral shop and seeing all the wonderful, beautiful things they were selling. She was in shock that there was someone who had a job doing something so beautiful. So, she got a job there. Working at a floral shop was the best training for her.

From there she started doing events for floral designers and started to do florals in homes. The combination of those things have made her become a good stylist for floral editorial.

"I need to be able to show all types of styles."

naomi de manana

Working with all kinds of events, and different kinds of arrangements led her to be good at this job as an editorial stylist.

She started at the magazine before Instagram, before the way we know the world is today. There were not that many floral stylists at the time when she started her job. 

We asked her to give us some advice as florists and floral people on how to style our own photos for florals. 

She wants to know what angle is going to be seen and shot. You want to look at what you are shooting the same way that the person who is going to be seeing the print or photo is going to look at it. 

Being someone who is hopefully influencing brides she doesn't love being asked what trends are. She likes the classics and beauty of the old school principles of florals.

In the end you are trying to get the most beautiful image to make you stop and think. She thinks it is super important to learn the floral mechanics and floral foundations and then build your style on top of that.
So here are some of her floral styling tips because I know you are dying for those:
  • Know where the right light is in your space that you take photos so you can take photos there all the time.
  • Having a signature style for Instagram and social media will help your brand. If your pictures are consistent in certain ways that is likely a recipe for success.
  • Learn about lighting and how lighting helps to make a great photo.
  • Having a plain backdrop works well for florals. 
  • Remeber to plan and think about what story you are trying to tell in the photo.  What story do you want to tell in your photo?

editorial styling for florals

Think about what story you are trying to tell in your photos of your florals. 

She said the photographer is the most important part of the editorial. Plan out the shoot and be able to adapt quickly. Have that picture in your head and when it is not working, you have to be able to make the call quick and change it up. Things don't always work out the way that you plan in your head so a lot of good editorial styling of florals is working in the moment and making changes quickly as you realize you need to. 

 You can follow Naomi deManana here on Instagram. 

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Topics: floral knowledge, floral inspiration

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