“I’m not interested in documenting flowers as they are,” says Xuebing Du of her “Mother of Pearl” series. Instead, she strives to create flower images that “transcend reality,” “feel almost surreal,” and convey the gentle strength she perceives in them. She began photographing flowers in 2018, when she visited a rose garden in San Jose, California, where flowers thrive in the weather. Over time, she spent weekends capturing flower after flower with her Nikon D850 and 50mm lens and then elevating them “beyond mere reality” in post-production.

In post, Du starts by cropping the photo to frame the petals so the viewer can focus on the entire bloom. “I use contrast and selective color tools to enhance the overall tone and palette, often spending hours adjusting the colors until they align with [my] vision,” she explains. Her edits aim to emphasize the flowers’ silky textures and pearlescent tones. “I sculpt the petals through light and shadow,” she says, striving to imitate the use of light and the painterly quality of Renaissance paintings.

“The challenge is to present flowers the way I see them,” she adds, “not through anyone else’s eyes, but mine.”  

Amanda Arnold is a senior editor.