Debi Shapiro Lives a Life 'In Bloom'

If you asked Debi Shapiro about her floral photography, she probably would tell you she doesn’t want to talk about herself — she only wants to talk about the beauty of the flowers.

Her debut book, “Beauty in Bloom,” is currently available for preorder and will be released in October. Each page is bursting with life, offering a closeup of some of Shapiro’s favorite florals. The glossy pages of this coffee table book are filled with Shapiro’s signature photography — colorful blooms in stark contrast to a simple black background, and a quote that evokes the same emotion for Shapiro as the flower itself.

“I don’t think I decided in advance what flower to shoot, I think it’s what excites me at that moment,” Shapiro said during an interview in July.

Shapiro’s process is as organic as her subject matter. “I could have two bunches of the same flower and only one special flower talks to me,” she said.

Her signature black background was a strategic move to bring the viewer’s eye to only the flower, says the photographer.

“I don’t think of the background as black,” she said. “I just think of it just disappearing, it brings the viewer’s eye to focus on only the flower with no distractions.”

After studying photography and fabric design at Syracuse University, Shapiro started working with a close friend doing fashion and beauty photography in New York City. It was in this moment she was introduced to flowers, picking them at a wholesale market for a massive table arrangement for a client for special lunches.

After 40 years in fashion, Shapiro moved to the North Fork of Long Island in 2005. From her new backyard, she fell in love with floral photography. She describes her art as “floral portraits,” focusing on the intense beauty and detail that exist within the flowers. When she isn’t in her studio, she is almost always thinking about shooting flowers.

“We are surrounded by beauty out here with flowers and vineyards,” she said. “I just started shooting.”

The photographer is drawn to the intimacy of shooting botanicals, a more personal process than her time capturing fashion in film. It’s just her and the flower — there are no makeup artists, wind machines, or hair to worry about, just petals.

“It’s much easier than shooting models,” Shapiro said with a laugh.

Before Shapiro was approached by her publisher about compiling her photography into a book, she had already developed a following on Instagram, with more than 100,000 followers at @debishapirophotography. She wasn’t planning on making a book, and she called the process a labor of love as she combined new photography with her favorite pieces.

“I have touched every part of that book. That book has my heart and soul in it,” Shapiro said. “I have never worked harder or was more devoted to anything than that book.”

The book features magnified photography, the intimate details of the flowers coming to life on the page. Shapiro hopes the book is enjoyed by both botanical lovers and people who are hoping to learn more about flowers. She included a glossary of each flower’s common and scientific names at the end of the book, to add an element of education without distracting from the art.

“The book isn’t there to teach you how to take pictures,” she says. “It’s more there to teach your eye how to look at nature and see the beauty that surrounds you.”

The flowers come from just about anywhere. Exotic varieties might be sourced wholesale or from a flower shop, while local favorites might be purchased from a farm stand. Shapiro has even asked her neighbors for knockout blooms from their own gardens.

When Shapiro is focused on her craft, the process is a period of adoration. She sits in her studio and watches the changes that happen to the flowers. She looks at it from every angle, moving her body or the flower to take in every inch of the blooms, the stems, the branches. This intense process allows the flower petals to open as she shoots — from frame to frame, the flower evolves and has the possibility of looking completely different from one image to the next.

While Shapiro loves all things floral, she does have a favorite flower — poppies — she shared without hesitation. She said she is overwhelmed by their beauty. They have a deceitful look before they bloom, a hairy green stalk and pod, that erupts into a “beautiful ballgown of papery and delicate petals.”

Fellow fans of poppies can celebrate their beauty in her book, which she promises is full of poppies, among many other favorites including peonies, roses and lily of the valley.

At the end of each shoot, she thanks every flower for letting her take its picture and for its beauty.

“I always say, ‘You are going to live on forever, thank you so much,’” Shapiro said. “Sometimes at the end is when they are the most beautiful.”

Learn more about “Beauty in Bloom” at debishapirophotography.com.