If you have always wanted to take still life pictures but struggled a bit with getting good quality images, then use these four important still life photography tips and start seeing a difference with your pictures.
Still life photography has many uses. Perhaps you want to take a photograph of a beautiful bowl of fruit or perhaps you have learned that an important key to eBay success is uploading quality photos of your products. 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. Despite common belief, still life photography isn't limited to just pictures of 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.
In one way, still life photography is a lot easier than other forms of photography like landscape, sports or pet 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. However, if you do want one, you can find a soft box online or you can easily make one using instructions you find online. The purpose of these lighting tools is to provide even light on the subject.
Another way to get this good quality light is to set up your shoot outside. In fact, a high overcast (bright overcast) sky creates a soft box effect where you get good lighting without the harsh shadows.
Composition for Still Life Photography
When composing your photograph, you need to arrange the 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. Artfully arrange the objects, and use your imagination. 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 Subject
Remember, the only thing that should be in your viewfinder or on your preview LCD screen is your composition. You need to remove any distractions or clutter from the background so you can have a clean and up close image. 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. If you want a sharp image, make sure to use macro mode or you can end up with a fuzzy image.
Look for a Good Angle – and Shoot!
Instead of shooting from your height, hold the camera so that it is level with 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.
