In certain South Florida circles, Lisa Pearlman is known as “the flower lady.” But her buds aren’t the organic kind. The West Palm Beach–based photographer has made a name for herself for colorful compositions of blooms that capture the eye with their vibrancy and texture.
Pearlman says she’s always had a penchant for posies. “I love their colors, their textures, their vibrancy, and their different shapes,” she says. “I also feel an intense connection to nature, as it brings me incredible fulfillment when I capture its beauty.”
But it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that Pearlman decided to turn her avocation into her vocation. “I was shooting peonies in my aunt’s garden and I had a God-wink telling me I needed to share the beauty of flowers with other people,” Pearlman explains. She started slowly—at first capturing images and posting them to social media. But things soon evolved into something bigger.
“I had read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, where he states you need 10,000 hours to master a skill and become an expert at your craft
That spring, I started to shoot every single morning, which has been the case for almost four years,” she says. It’s a practice that has resulted in a vast library of images. “Just ask me a color, a shape, or a type of flower you’re looking for, and I can probably find it for you,” Pearlman says.
Fast-forward, and Pearlman is now selling her fine art prints in limited editions to homeowners and interior designers looking for the perfect piece to brighten an empty wall. Her work is sought after for its textural, painterly quality. Pearlman chalks her signature look up to a mix of technique and equipment. “That may be due to how I shoot,” she reveals. “I use a macro lens on a Sony A7R5, a phenomenal mirrorless camera, which means I can get great details and outstanding focus.”
Does a photographer who has devoted her craft to flowers have a favorite bloom? For the moment, she says, it’s a tie between poppies and dahlias. But Pearlman reserves the right to change her mind. “I’m always finding new ones that thrill me,” she says. “I would love to shoot the new Rosa Anemone that Flower Magazine just named as the breed of the year.”
Until then, Pearlman’s future is fully in bloom. “I’m getting ready to show some of the gardens I have photographed while traveling,” she says of what’s next up on her agenda. “And I very much want to do a book on the gardens of England.”
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