Still life photography’s the direct counterpart of still life painting. It came up as a distinct genre in itself and became a part of professional specialization in the west by the late sixteenth century.
Some of the most common subjects of still life photography are inclusive of things like:
- Flowers
- Plants
- Rocks
- Fruits
- Food
- Glasses
- Shoes
- Tools, and other similar things
If you are an enthusiastic amateur photographer looking to try out your luck in the field of still life photography, then this article’s meant for you.
In here, we have provided a few expert tips and tricks to getting your still life techniques right for professional photography. Read on to know more.
1.Know your still life project equipment
Source : Wiki
If you are an enthusiastic amateur photographer looking to try out your luck in the field of still life photography, then this article’s meant for you. In here, we have provided a few expert tips and tricks to getting your still life techniques right for professional photography. Read on to know more.
“You are thinking that the gear you have might not be good enough for still life photography. You are also considering getting a few studio equipment (such as tilt, macro lenses, light modifiers, flashguns, continuous studio lights, etc.) to get the quality of your shots right up to the level of perfection”.
Now, a professional can justifiably opt for the things mentioned above to enhance the quality of the project, but as far as a beginner is concerned, our advice is simple - AVOID going for costly studio equipment at all possible cost. It’s not worth the money, particularly in the beginning stages of your career.
The following list of equipment should be more than capable of suiting your purpose effectively. And the best thing about them is the fact that they won’t burn a huge hole in your pocket, unlike all those costly studio equipment.
Any photo camera (A DSLR is preferred, but it’s not compulsory. Even a regular digital camera can do the trick nicely.)
- Reflectors for bouncing the light back to the scene.
- Inexpensive photo props.
- At least one flashgun.
- One tripod (VERY IMPORTANT!)
- A telephoto lens & a fast regular lens.
Unlike landscape or wildlife photography, still life photography doesn’t call for any subject, in particular. So do not procrastinate on the choice of your subject.
Remember, anything is acceptable as long as it is photogenic from the audience’s point of view. The photograph of the teapot depicted up above serves as a fine example indeed.
2.Have a simple, yet beautiful, background for your subjects
A simple, exquisite background can transform a photograph for better or the worse. One of the best examples can be the one portrayed up above (the one representing the wine and the maple). The “wine and the maple“photograph’s probably one of the simplest of the lot; yet, it goes so easy on the eye. Following’s another one for your reference.
Thus, you can easily see that the choice of your background can very well play a heavy hand in influencing the quality of your photographs. So, choose carefully. Make sure the background complements the objects in your photograph.
3.Play with light
You don’t need pricey studio-quality lighting equipment to induce the “wow” factor in your photographs. A little improvisation can work wonders.
For example,
You can use sunlight to great effect in your photographs, provided you can find the right subject and the right situation to complement one another at the time of the shoot. Here’s a case in point:
As far as indoor still life photography is concerned, you can use a standard table lamp for shooting breathtaking still life images. The below photograph proves the point beautifully.
A few standard mentions
- Use a tripod. It can help to keep camera shakes at bay for good.
- Avoid shooting still life shots on shiny and reflective surfaces because they are a little difficult to work with unless you are nothing, but a professional.
- Keep it simple and clean (again refer to the “wine and maple” photograph depicted above).
- And finally, be patient. Take a deep breath, hold it, and then press the shutter. Small things like that can go a long way indeed.
So that’s basically it then. Hope the tips and tricks mentioned above come in handy for you. Goodbye and good luck!