Still life photography has many uses. Perhaps you want to take a picture of a beautiful shell or perhaps take a picture of a product that you're selling on eBay. Other reasons for learning still life photography may include selling still life photograph downloads at microstock sites or to food magazines. No matter what your reason, still life photography is a great skill to learn.
Unless you are photographing specific products or pictures for a magazine assignment, the subjects for your still life photography are endless. Fine art still lifes aren't limited to just apples and grapes. Even super simple items like a few artfully arranged spools of thread can be interesting and attract attention. There are a couple of microstock sites like Shutterstock and iStock that have a high demand for all sorts of still life pictures from simple to complex.
People often times think of still life photography as a lot easier than other types of photography like sports or landscape photography. With stills, you often have full control over the composition and can arrange the inanimate objects exactly how you want them.
And sometimes, good quality still life pictures can be even more challenging to photograph. Because still lifes are taken up close, it's easy to see imperfections on your subject that you would normally never see.
Despite its challenge, by using some basic photography skills and applying these tips, you can create stunning still life pictures with just a little practice.
Lighting for Still Life Photography
With most professional photographers, they use a light box or soft box to take their still life photos. However this isn't absolutely necessary as you will see in a moment, but it can be a big help. But if you do want one you can either buy a soft box online or make one yourself using online instructions. The purpose of these tools is to provide good, even light.
You can also get a good quality of light by setting up your photo shoot outside. In fact, a high overcast (bright overcast) sky creates a soft box effect where you get good lighting without the harsh shadows.
Composing Still Life Pictures
Arrange your objects in a pleasing composition. Use a classical composition technique such as "Rule of Thirds" or "Leading Lines" or "Frame within a Frame" to create a good composition. Arrange the items artfully and use your imagination to get the exact placement that you want. For example, if it's a picture of a piece of cake, instead of including the entire table setting, place a gleaming, silver dessert fork upside down on the plate and remove a tiny bite from the cake.
Fill the Frame with Your Still Life Subject
Remember, the only thing that should be in your viewfinder or on your preview LCD screen is your composition. Remove any clutter and get up close with your camera. What if there's a background you don't want? The soft box or light box solves this issue, but if you are shooting outside, here's something you can do: place a piece of white foam board or piece of material behind your subject, and voila - no more distracting background. Be sure to use Macro mode so that you get a sharp image.
Look for a Good Angle and Start Shooting!
Rather than taking a picture from your head level, try holding the camera so that it's at the same height as your subject. You should also try shooting from a variety of different angles.
Hopefully you can start applying these still life photography tips immediately so you can start seeing a difference in the quality of your still life images.
Unless you are photographing specific products or pictures for a magazine assignment, the subjects for your still life photography are endless. Fine art still lifes aren't limited to just apples and grapes. Even super simple items like a few artfully arranged spools of thread can be interesting and attract attention. There are a couple of microstock sites like Shutterstock and iStock that have a high demand for all sorts of still life pictures from simple to complex.
People often times think of still life photography as a lot easier than other types of photography like sports or landscape photography. With stills, you often have full control over the composition and can arrange the inanimate objects exactly how you want them.
And sometimes, good quality still life pictures can be even more challenging to photograph. Because still lifes are taken up close, it's easy to see imperfections on your subject that you would normally never see.
Despite its challenge, by using some basic photography skills and applying these tips, you can create stunning still life pictures with just a little practice.
Lighting for Still Life Photography
With most professional photographers, they use a light box or soft box to take their still life photos. However this isn't absolutely necessary as you will see in a moment, but it can be a big help. But if you do want one you can either buy a soft box online or make one yourself using online instructions. The purpose of these tools is to provide good, even light.
You can also get a good quality of light by setting up your photo shoot outside. In fact, a high overcast (bright overcast) sky creates a soft box effect where you get good lighting without the harsh shadows.
Composing Still Life Pictures
Arrange your objects in a pleasing composition. Use a classical composition technique such as "Rule of Thirds" or "Leading Lines" or "Frame within a Frame" to create a good composition. Arrange the items artfully and use your imagination to get the exact placement that you want. For example, if it's a picture of a piece of cake, instead of including the entire table setting, place a gleaming, silver dessert fork upside down on the plate and remove a tiny bite from the cake.
Fill the Frame with Your Still Life Subject
Remember, the only thing that should be in your viewfinder or on your preview LCD screen is your composition. Remove any clutter and get up close with your camera. What if there's a background you don't want? The soft box or light box solves this issue, but if you are shooting outside, here's something you can do: place a piece of white foam board or piece of material behind your subject, and voila - no more distracting background. Be sure to use Macro mode so that you get a sharp image.
Look for a Good Angle and Start Shooting!
Rather than taking a picture from your head level, try holding the camera so that it's at the same height as your subject. You should also try shooting from a variety of different angles.
Hopefully you can start applying these still life photography tips immediately so you can start seeing a difference in the quality of your still life images.
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