While some photographers opt for capturing the entire scene, Lora Severson (Lora Severson Photography) prefers the close-up. And for good reason — residing in the countryside of rural Illinois, she’s surrounded by vibrant meadows, colorful flowers and old barns, all of which are detailed subjects for her lens. Known for her original high resolution floral photography, she’s a lover of the rustic and the weathered. We’re glad that she turns her shots into invitations and greeting cards on Zazzle for all of us to enjoy.
I’ve always loved taking pictures, but I wasn’t really serious about it until my kids got older. I poked around some stock photography sites and it really piqued my interest. We have a fantastic arboretum near here that offers certified floral and nature photography classes. I decided to dive right in and it took me about two years at night to get my certification. I knew a lot about photography, but I didn’t know about the technical details, like how you lay out flowers to get the perfect micro-shot.
I especially love designing for rural farm, barn ranch and country weddings — they’re especially popular with Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Illinois residents. I’ll incorporate photos of antique farm equipment, rusted wagon wheels and aged saddles. Many customers love to order whole sets of invites, including matching envelopes, thank you notes and custom postage to create a coordinated set.
There’s a lot of thought and planning that goes into my invitations. I brainstorm how I want to position the space for words, how that fits with the flowers I want to incorporate, and which flower arrangements go well with others. We have all four seasons here, and sometimes when it’s cold and there’s nothing to do, I’ll go outside and look around to see what would make for great close-ups that I can later turn into wedding invites, greeting cards, special occasion announcements and even ornaments. One time I found an old barn that was being torn down, and decided that the barn wood would make for the perfect picture, especially with flowers against it. I find that some of my best photos (and later, products) come from creative serendipity.
