Pick Your Own Sunflowers

I am very lucky to live very near to a spectacular sunflower field. Blooming annually, the local farm opens its gates so people can come in and pick their own sunflowers. Some are as tall as your knees. Plenty of them are well over 7 feet tall. It’s like a magnificent happiness jungle that you can get lost in. The flowers bloom gradually over the season, meaning the opportunity to pick them lasts many weeks. Taking photos here is an annual happiness I’m glad I get to have.

For these pictures I had my sister Goldfields Girl come out with me to be my human tripod and shutter remote and also, just to hang out. Though we haven’t done blog photos for some time so it was chaotic as we remembered what we should be doing. Sunflowers are always extra special when you get to share them with somebody, even if you both can’t tell a hawk from a handsaw while you remember how to style a shoot.

The dress I bought especially for the occasion and have wanted to wear it here for years. It’s the Selkie Head In The Clouds dress.

I know heels are not practical in this field so I changed in and out of practical shoes for the photos. I highly recommend you DO NOT wear heels OR bare feet (like I have). Wear gumboots or something sensible, because the site has snakes and bees. The ground is quite uneven and we spent quite a bit of time checking where I was going to be standing. I was very consciously looking out for snakes during this shoot because of my choice of no footwear. Maybe next year I’ll have found some matching gumboots by then!

Here are my top tips for visiting the sunflowers.

1. Bring your secateurs. If you do forget, they have previously been selling them at the gate. The sunflowers have big thick stems and you won’t be able to just snap them off.
2. Wear sensible shoes. I know I’m wearing none in these pictures, and in previous years photos I have worn heels, but that’s for the photos.
3. Take a picnic and enjoy the day! They had beautiful beach umbrellas up for shade.
4. Sunflowers are quite scratchy so if you get irritated skin from hayfever an antihistamine will help. (You should have seen my arms and chest after these sleeveless photos.)
5. Pictures will look lovely any time of day but if you want golden hour pictures, look out for a twilight session.
6. Dress to make your photos look stunning by wearing sky blue, white, yellow, or beige. These are all colours that you will see in the sunflower landscape. Green will make you disappear. Pink will contrast well.
7. No cash? No worries! This year the team had an EFTPOS machine.
8. There is more to do than just sunflowers! Check them out on social media to see about photo sessions, live music, animal petting and more!