When you enter the world of still life photography, there will always be some challenges that arise. Taking pictures of stuff that stays still can be very hard, especially if you want to make the images interesting and unique. Most of the time you have to push the boundaries and come up with ideas that will work very well. It certainly helps if you know what you are getting into and what approach you can use.
What is still life photography?
At its core, the idea here is to focus on still items and create a beautiful art form from everything. You want to have artistic freedom as you create unique and visually incredible elements. It always ends up being interesting, and all of this helps you be as creative as you want. That goes to show everyone can have amazing ideas, you just have to commit to the process and push your ideas to the next level all the time for the best results.
Great still life photography ideas :
It’s always important to go online, this is where you can find a ton of still life photography examples. Those will give you a pretty good insight into what you can get and what you need to pursue with this type of photos. It’s crucial to make it stand out and different, and it’s actually quite a nice idea if you know how to commit to the process and make it work in an adequate and powerful manner.
With that in mind, you do want to play with the background if possible. The same background color shared by the item can make the item blend in, so it can be creative in many situations. You can also have a background with totally different coloring too. It’s interesting to play out with all kinds of unique options, as it just helps push your creative juices to the next level all the time. Of course, you do want to showcase the items through a very distinct approach if you want to make them appealing and different.
Do you need a specific camera for still life photography? Not really, most cameras will do just fine. You can use a mirrorless unit, crop sensor unit, full frame camera, medium format camera and so on. You do want to take your time, take the experience to the next level, and in the end that can be totally worth the effort.
When it comes to lenses, you want to have an accurate reflection. That means you want to go for the lenses that have a very low amount of distortion to no distortion at all. They will show the true visual appeal of your images, and in the end that can help you bring in the right approach and benefits. It’s definitely worth checking out for yourself, and you will appreciate the way it all comes together every time.
You do want to invest in some great accessories too. These will help you a lot, especially if you get props, the right background and a tripod. All the tiny things can make a difference, and once you use these wisely, it will be well worth the effort. While there, you also want to invest in some good lights. It doesn’t matter if you use specialized lighting or something more complex. The idea is to be able to actively control that light, as that’s what will give you more control and better results in the end, which is what you need the most.
Always try to be creative :
One of the main still life photography tips is to be very creative. You can go for a more conceptual approach, as it can give you the coloring and visual appeal that people need when you promote your business. You can also try to send a message to the customer when it comes to economy, pricing, the features of your product and so on. That’s the cool thing about still life photography, you can be as straightforward or as philosophical as you want. In the end you still get to convey something to the customer, and he will enjoy the results and experience. That’s what matters, and the outcome itself is always second to none, which is exactly what you need.
Ideally you want to go with a topic that speaks to you. This allows you to customize everything to bring those ideas from the topic to life. It’s not a simple approach, and it can actually get pretty challenging, but it’s always worth a shot, so might as well check it out for yourself and see how it goes in the long run. A well-lit room with customizable lighting can be great. You can also try multiple cameras and multiple lenses for that matter. The more you think about it, the better. Try to experiment and make things work, as that’s what will give you the efficiency and support you may need in the long run.
Always try a multitude of angles and props :
Experimentation is key with still life photography. The truth is that you may not always get the results and experience you want. That’s why you need to constantly push the boundaries and try out a multitude of unique features. Once you start doing that, you will appreciate the way it all comes together and the results you can get.
Working with the tripod allows you to observe and try out all kinds of cool new features. It makes it a lot easier to experiment and just think outside the box. As soon as you start doing that, things end up being a lot better, and you get to commit to the results as much as possible.
You also want to try out using props in a different way every time. You can take a sample image for any background and prop you use, then experiment to see which one works. As we said earlier, you do have to go with a trial and error approach until you get all these things right. It’s definitely not a walk in the park, but in the end you will be very happy with the way it all works and how the outcome ends up being in a situation like this.
Maintain the viewer’s focus on the items :
Even if you use backgrounds and other ideas like that, you always want to keep the user’s attention on the items at hand. As soon as you do that, you will not have a problem bringing in sales. Either that, or the customer will remember the product anyway and it will stick with him in the long run. That will eventually bring in more profits.
It’s a good idea to study elements like symmetry, layers, lines and colors. All of these can add some life to your composition, and then you can get creative and come up with a whole bunch of new stuff if you want. Still life compositions can also have some sense of dimension and movement if you add the right items into the shot. That’s why it takes time to figure out what really works. But in the end, it’s the result that matters, you just have to commit to it and just push the idea to the next level as much as you can.
Try to perfect your post-production process :
Obviously the process is not complete when you finish shooting your images. A very good idea here is to try and use the right filters and even change saturation and colors if needed in post-production. This is a process that takes a lot of time to begin with, so you need plenty of patience. You can’t always do these things perfectly from scratch, so the more you commit to pushing the experience to new heights, the better it will be in the end.
If you can add some tools for a repeatable workflow, that can make your still life photography a lot easier. The idea is to prepare some tools and scripts that will change the color, add a gradient map or gradient fill and so on. You can even have multiple layers of different colors and features, as it works flawlessly and you will be happy with it. As long as you are creative and always try to push the images to the next level, it will be well worth the effort.
Conclusion :
There’s no denying that still life photography takes a lot of time and effort. But you must be as creative as you can when it comes to creating the best photos you can. Yes, it’s engaging and rewarding, but if you take your time and know what you are doing, this can actually end up better than you imagine. Just commit to the process, make it work and in the end everyone will be happy. Use these ideas and we guarantee you will have no problem pushing your still life photography to new heights. You just have to experiment and always try to improve with new cameras, props, lighting and post-production software!