For photographer Hannah Concannon, “still life has been mostly about experimentation and trying new things, because you never quite know how certain light is going to reflect off of a marble versus a rose.” Stacey Hill invested in her first DSLR back in 2007. The backdrop is white foam core draped with a white gauzy fabric that gives a seamless universal background in the distance. Of course you can find a lot of video tutorials, which teach you to improve the lighting for still life photography. Photograph by Stacey Hill. Stay inspired and good luck! Tips for Getting Started with Still Life ... 6 Still Life Photography Mistakes and How ... Understanding Light for Better Portrait Photography, Explorations in Natural Light for Photography. Although soft boxes can help out a lot, they still aren’t absolutely necessary to get good results as you’ll see shortly. Side light will give dimension, but so also will the angle at which you take your shot [ie. Natural light is my preferred choice, but it isn’t the only option. Reflectors/bounce cards/flags – A 5-in-1 unit option gives you a translucent base and also a White, Black/ Silver and Gold reflector covers to put around the base. The shadows are very hard and dark as a result of the lighting. However, a summer cocktail would likely be best portrayed with a lighting scenario that is brighter, with light tones, and displaying a more cheery mood. White fabric for covering a window light source – This is very important. The brighter images (for me) are a bit more playful because there is more light to work with. You can also start out using simple household lamps. One of the benefits of shooting still life photography indoors in a studio is that you have a lot more control over the lighting. And only with the help of light fixtures you have the possibility to regulate the lighting correctly. Artificial lighting can vary in color temperature, especially the low-end affordable options. You can’t see where the reflector is. Photograph by Stacey Hill. Stacey can be found having an opinion all over the place: Beginner’s Guide to Still Life Photography, Your Best Tips for Cropping and Resizing – Free Quick Guide, Composition and Subject Framing – Free Quick Guide, The Down and Dirty of Adobe Camera Raw – Free Quick Guide, How to Get the Most Out of a Photo Walk – Free Quick Guide, Choose the direction of the light – back, front, or side lighting, Filter the light to make it softer and more diffused, Opt for natural, or artificial, light sources. Photograph by Stacey Hill, My flag created more shadows to the camera left side of the jug, but the raspberries in the jug are still quite evenly lit. Darktable: Is This Free Lightroom Alternative Right for You? From a photographer’s point of view, light is the necessary ingredient that allows us to see our world and capture images of it. Professional photographers usually use a soft box or a light box to shoot their still lifes. Studio still life and product photographer Daniel Troy talks about Lighting for Still Life Photography. 3. Take this 30 second quiz to find out the #1 thing holding you back from reaching the next level in your photographic efforts. My flag darkened the jug. Studio setup with a cat sleeping where he shouldn’t be. In a food still life photograph, the food should be a focus and look tasty and delicious. The shallow V-shaped light modifiers are heavy black cardboard. Take Quiz. NOTE: We made a fancy PDF of this post for printing and viewing offline. You don’t need a lot of fancy lighting equipment to learn how lighting can dramatically improve your photography. Studio still life photography is the ultimate teaching tool for any photographer. So what constitutes a still life photo? Still life is also a great way to show off your skills and artistic flair, making still life shots a great addition to any photographer’s online portfolio. Photograph by Stacey Hill, There is more light on the foreground and the jug to camera left. Many fabric stores sell a material called “white rip-stop nylon.” This works really well for diffusing window light. You don’t want an opaque fabric unless you’re trying to eliminate all of the light coming through the window. A focal length like this has two advantages. There are all sorts of scientific explanations about what light is, which I won’t bore you with. Key Lesson: We already know that controlling the light has direct impact on the feel and mood of your final image. When photographing a still life subject, you are creating an image rather than capturing a moment. Of course, the missing component of that article was the lighting, and such is its importance that I am dedicating an article specifically for the lighting of a still life photograph. Lighting for still life is not complicated. Still life photography that is shot within a studio setting offers you a greater scope of control over the lighting. Light is a critical factor in all photography, but not just any light. Photograph by Stacey Hill, The shadows give depth to a still life photograph. Artificial Light Source – Accessible options for beginners might be the Lowel Ego Light Unit or a camera flash (I recommend off-camera lighting with an electronic flash). Controlling the light in your still life scene has a direct impact on the whole feel and tone of the image. Light directionally: Side light is always most effective for bringing out texture and creating dynamic variation between the highlights and shadows. By taking commonplace objects and turning them into interesting works of art, still life photography is the perfect way to show potential clients what you are capable of. So instead, you go out when the light is softer: on overcast cloudy days or at the Golden Hour. My personal preference is toward the dark moody style, but I have included something for everyone here as inspiration. If you block a lot of light to go for the dark, moody, heavy, shadow style, you absolutely need to shoot on a tripod. It has a direct impact on the quality of the image and the mood/story that you are trying to tell. Still life encompases a lot of subjects, and many photographers specialize in sub-genres: food phography, product photography, architectural photography, and catalog work are popular ones. Photograph by Stacey Hill, An example of a high-key still life photograph. Lighting is critical to the mood and the story that you might be telling with your still life photo. Foam core, mirrors, paper, cardboard, and different types of cloth (translucent and opaque). For this dark raspberry shot, the background is a black painted card. Gerbera flower – backlit by a window covered in white fabric to diffuse the light. By using your light creatively, you can elevate your still life images from Good to WOW. Photograph by Stacey Hill, Proper lighting can make colors pop. Black cards create and deepen shadows by blocking light. Her work includes wedding photography www.BrideInspired.com and leadership with www.RevMediaBlog.com. Key Information: The brightness and intensity of the light that you have on your scene is important. My spare bedroom functions as my studio. Use an simple backdrop: Wrinkles and ridges in a still life photograph – unless a part of the setting – will be distracting to your main subject. What kind of lighting is preferred for still life photography when starting out? If you want to practice capturing some movement, try sprinkling some sugar or pouring salad dressing while you click the shutter release. Tripod – A good sturdy one for extended exposures. White/Black (or colored) large foam core sheets for backgrounds and backdrops.
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