Plan It--Stage It--Shoot It

Flower Show Achievement Awards

The planning for a flower show will begin long before the show actually takes place. This article is not going to delve into the process of planning flower show specifically. It is going to deal with three problem areas that arise when judging the Books of Evidence to determine if the show is worthy of a prestigious NGC Award. Those three areas where most clubs fail besides in the wording of the schedule are the actual innovative staging in all divisions of the show and in carrying out the Theme Staging throughout the show. Then if they have accomplished this task the photographer fails to document it. Those photos are as essential to the success of the show as any other part.

Most clubs do reasonably well in using innovative staging in the design division of their show by using pedestals, frames, floor designs, etc. But when you get to the horticulture division of the show you line all of the specimens up in rows, nothing imaginative to the staging of this section. Wake up friends. This division needs diversity also. Use clay pots turned upside down to elevate specimens, raise specimens up on cylinders with tile square tops or some other means of getting some of those specimens up so they can be seen better. Then comes the Special Exhibits Division, this division needs diversity also. Make sure that your exhibitors do something beside use a table with a background. This division needs elevation and imagination also. The key after having completed this task is to photograph it. Documentation for the Book of Evidence is vital to winning an award.

Theme staging is another part of the show that suffers. Just because you use signage at the entrance to the show and make the entrance look really neat doesn’t end your job. There needs to be imagination in signage marking the divisions, sections, and classes of the entire show. Be imaginative and use a little of the entrance imagination throughout the show, then photograph those areas to document how the theme of the show was carried throughout the show. If you start with one color, then continue that color throughout the show. Continuity is the name of this game.

Photographing of a show should be done by more than one person, if possible. Accidents happen to the best of us. The computer crashes before you’ve gotten it backed up. Pictures are lost due to accidentally hitting that delete button or any of several ways that they can be lost, so a second or third person is essential to getting great pictures. Plus not all pictures turn out as well as one might wish even with digital cameras. Before the photographer begins he/she should make a detailed check list of all areas that have to be photographed for the Book of Evidence.

Try photographing immediately following judging and prior to the opening of the show. This will help guarantee having photos that omit people. (Omit people as much as possible.) The list of photographs needed includes all Top Exhibitor Award Winners. (In horticulture they may be grouped on an awards table for ease of photographing and public viewing.) You need photos to show overall shots of the design division, horticulture division and special exhibits division. Have photos showing the innovative staging in design, horticulture, & special exhibits. Don’t forget to document that theme staging; this is vital also.

Jo Krallman, Chairman
NGC Flower Show Achievement Awards