Surely these days of confinement you have discovered a lot of things that you have never stopped to photograph. A good way to practice at home is to do still life photography.
Still life photography does not require great complications or materials and will allow you to experiment and practice with your camera in a leisurely way. I think it’s a good time to stop and take a breath in every way, including photography.
So if you haven’t mastered manual mode yet, or don’t know which metering mode to use on your photos, etc., this is a great time to slow down. The day you go out again, you will have many more tools and ease, so take advantage of the time you are at home and don’t put aside your favorite hobby.
What is still life photography?
When we think of a still life, we usually think of still life; flowers, fruits or vegetables. But a still life can go a little further, it can also represent other natural objects such as rocks, shells or household objects made by human beings: kitchen utensils, table utensils, books, etc.
If you are attracted to nature photography beyond the still life, you will love this complete guide that we have prepared for you with tricks, advice and a lot of inspiration.
in a still life composition, light and color become essential elements to get a good result. That is why I find it a great challenge to practice with your camera 🙂 .
Find inspiration for your still life photography in painting
The first thing I recommend is that you look for inspiration where everything originated: in the paint. Many of the great masters were fascinated by still life and produced a large number of works with a detailed study of light, color and composition from which you can draw inspiration.
Some well-known names that also stood out in the creation of still lifes and from which you can be inspired are: Zurbarán, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Caravaggio, Chardin, Renoir or Manet among others.
Take a look at the composition, the textures, the light, the chromaticism and the different elements that appear in his paintings to inspire you.
Paul Cezanne: still life with onions (1895-1900)
think of a story
In other words, what do you want to tell with your image? What would you like to convey? The image of a fresh tomato with homogeneous lighting is not the same as a dried flower in semi-darkness. Nor is it the same to use old jugs as avant-garde cutlery.
We have to think carefully about what story we want to tell with our image, what feeling we want to convey with our still life in order to choose the rest of the elements of photography.
choose the object
Once you have an idea of ​​what you want to convey in your image, you have to choose the main elements of your image. They can be some flowers, the ingredients of a dish you are going to prepare, some books, an old watch…
Remember that we speak of “still life” but also of elements created by human beings, look for interesting objects and, if you photograph a group, that they keep a meaning with each other.
choose the background
Based on the object and the story, think about the background. Working at home or in a studio, it is relatively easy to find funds that fit us. It can be a simple white wall, a dark cardboard or a fabric of the color that makes us highlight the center of interest of our composition.
If you want a completely white background, we talk about it here and, on the other hand, if you are looking for a completely black one, you will find all the information here.
Take into account aspects such as the color, texture and possible reflections of the material you use.
Choose the best lighting
This is another key point of still life photography. The best way to have absolute control of it is through artificial light, since this is not changeable and you can model it to your liking and without haste.
It is, therefore, a good opportunity to put your external flash to the test, preferably in manual mode, and daring to experiment without haste.
If you don’t have an external flash, you can use the natural lighting. search approach a window to have a good dose of light. you can smooth it out with diffusers (a curtain of neutral tones can work to soften the light) or a reflector to shape the light (redirect it, soften shadows, etc.).
Remember that natural light varies rapidly. The ideal is to have everything well prepared and at hand before you start photographing, because the light you need may only last a few moments.
Direction and quality of light
The lighting angle completely varies the image result.
- Front light: Generates flat images with little texture.
- side light: The light source is placed on one of the sides, it is a hard light that generates many textures.
- Semilateral light (45º): Create an oblique shadow that marks the textures and gives depth. this kind of light It is the most used and the one we recommend the most. to get started. You can offset it slightly with the help of a reflector.
- Backlighting: Generates a highly contrasted image between the background and the main character
- Overhead or chopped light: It is lighting from above and produces high contrast images with hard shadows and very bright areas.
- Low angle shot: In this case the light source is placed at the bottom creating unusual shadows.
Remember that also influence the distance and size of the light source. The smaller the light source relative to the photographed object, the harder it will be. On the contrary, the larger it is, the softer. In terms of distance, the farther you are from the light source, the harder it is, and the closer it is, the softer it is.
Necessary material for a still life photography
I propose a series of elements to take into account for your still life photographs. If you lack any, you can supply it with a little imagination 🙂 , the only thing really essential is your camera 😉
- A table or work space
- an external flash
- A medium focal length lens (from 35mm to 100mm) (a King of Lenses will work great for you, for example)
- Cardboard, fabric, wood for the background
- Plates, cutlery, fabrics or other objects that help tell the story
- Tripod
- Diffuser
- Reflector
- Remote shutter release (you can also use the camera’s delayed shutter release)
Give prominence to the object
We have many ways to give prominence to the object or objects in our image:
- through the illumination (our eyes naturally go to the illuminated area)
- through the composition and the balance between the different elements of the image (play with compositions such as the rule of thirds or negative space)
- through color or color combination. You can use complementary, analogous, cold, warm colors… Remember to also control the white balance of your camera.
- through the focused area in the image (the sharp area naturally attracts our attention). The area in focus is regulated through the aperture of the diaphragm (more open less area in focus, more closed more area in focus).
Settings for your still life photography
It will depend a lot on the type of light and the result you want to obtain, although these general indications can be applied to almost any image.
- Work in manual mode
- Work in RAW format
- Use a large aperture to work with a shallow depth of field (but never the maximum, because it will be difficult to focus and you will lose sharpness) or with a narrow aperture for a greater depth of field
- Use a spot metering mode, so you will have a more accurate measurement of light and you can play better with highlights and shadows
- If you don’t work in RAW, control the white balance
shooting angle
You have several ways to pose your image.
- You can do it from a frontal or normal point of view which is where we place the camera at a height similar to what we are going to photograph
- If you position the camera slightly above the object (about 45º), we roughly mimic the angle we use when we sit at the table and look at a plate
- Finally, the zenith angle is the most descriptive, it is the one that we place completely above the scene
High key and low key in still life
These are two techniques that go very well with still life photography.
The high key is associated with positive feelings, purity, joy… and is characterized by images with lots of light and light tones.
On the contrary, the low key is elegant, mysterious and dark. It is characterized by its dark backgrounds, and a dim light.
Here you can see both techniques.
I believe that still life photography is a very interesting option to fill our hours these days, not only because it is an interesting discipline that leaves us with fascinating images, but also because it gives us the opportunity to calmly work and practice many aspects of photography.
With still life photography, you will practice lighting, composition, you will learn to be patient and you will dare with the punctual mode. It seems to me a winning option no matter how you look at it. What do you think?, do you dare? I sure do 😉 . If you liked it, share it with whoever you think can take advantage of it too. Thank you and see you next time.