Rachel Levy

Rachel Levy is a French photographer. She photographer’s flowers that are past their prime (wilting, fading and revealing visible signs of decay.) She sources only specific types of flowers, to ensure that the plants have aged naturally and have been exposed to the elements. Her practice is a kind of portraiture with each flower being entirely individual. I like the way the flowers still have bright colours even though they are decaying. I also like the way the petals are in extreme detail, and you can see all textures.

If I were to do a shoot based on Rachel’s work, then I would take photographs of flowers using extreme close up shots. I would try and find specific flowers that have vibrant colours. I would use a white background so that my flowers stand out, and so they are the focus of the photograph. I could take photographs of the flower decaying over time. So the first photograph could be of the flower in its prime. Then slowly decaying in different photographs, with the last photo of the flower completely dead.