Many amateur photographers have a natural inclination toward the subject of still life photography. This article will walk you through some of the fundamentals of still-life photography and provide you with a number of helpful hints.
Most people picture still lifes when they think of fine art photography. There are many different types of still lifes, from the uninteresting fruit bowl from art school to the extremely appealing computerised works you see online nowadays. All photographers should strive to acquire the fundamental skill of still life photography, which may be incorporated into any style or category of photography.
What is Still Life Photography?
A style of high art photography known as still life is more akin to painting than what most people would consider to be capturing a photograph. Commonplace inanimate things are the topic. You have all the time in the world to perfect your vision, but the composition is the key. You have total control over how the elements are arranged and can alter every element of the composition.
In essence, your amount of control over the image has not changed. For a found still life, you can’t rearrange or arrange the objects themselves, but you may surely change the camera, the lighting, the viewpoint of the lens, and many other aspects of the composition.
Equipment required for Still Life Photography
The tools you employ for still life are not subject to any strict regulations. Finding new ways to make things work is both entertaining and challenging in equal measure. You can perform any behind-the-scenes tricks you feel like trying, just like special effects artists in movies. Try again if it doesn’t work by reshooting.
Camera
For still life’s, you can use anything from a smartphone to a large-format film camera. Any camera can capture still life, so it really just depends on your goals and the equipment you already have. As photographers, we frequently take still life photos for practice or just to stretch our imaginations.
One feature of a still life camera that you will grow to love is manual settings. The exposure of still life photographs is frequently difficult to achieve with point and click cameras, such as those found in smartphones. You’ll be better equipped to handle any unusual lighting setup you devise if your camera has completely manual shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings.
Lenses
A prime 50 mm lens is the traditional lens for photographing still lifes. This produces a realistic image on a full-frame camera without any distortion. Because Prime 50s are affordable, it’s simple to get one with excellent glass and a very large aperture.
The ability to get better lenses at a lower cost is one of the best aspects about photographing still life. There is no requirement for focusing or auto-exposure features, so you can hunt for vintage lenses with personality to give the images a warm feel. These days, you can mount any type of lens to any type of body using affordable adapter tubes that are readily accessible online. Many users of DSLRs and mirrorless cameras take pleasure in using old Leica, Zeiss, or Minolta lenses.
Still life photography ideas
You can select some of the elements you want to manipulate in other types of photography. For instance, a landscape photographer can decide where to go and when to go there. However, still life are completely different because you may create whatever kind of picture you can think of. Location, lighting, effects, and post-production methods are all open to your own creativity. After deciding on a topic, you can begin assembling the components of your masterpiece.
