Studio Lighting and Still Life Composition

Photo-Object Workshops

In this workshop we focused and got taught how to set a composition for a still life photograph using some objects we bought into the studio. My group worked with perfume bottles, candle holder, a cactus and a flower neck chain to create great photographs in a dark setting. Overall I really liked the outcome of these photographs and I really enjoyed taking photos in this workshop as I never in my life focused on objects but mainly people which meant that this was a little challenge for me.

Equipment: 1 Head, 1 Pack, 1 Large Softbox, 1 Light Stand, 1 Set Wizards, 1 Normal Extension Lead, 5d + Tethering Leads.

Our First set up: The mood and scene was dull, ancient and focused on objects only.

Here I will present three of the the best photographs we took in our lighting workshop:

Second set up: This mood was more bright, exciting and pure.

The second time shooting objects we limited what we used and tried to make our photographs crisp and clean as we had a nice white sheet surface set up to use which created an amazing look for our products. The only problem I had woth this set is getting the camera to focus on the logo(text) of the perfume, the bottle was transparent and really hard to find the perfect time ot catch it in focus.

Equipment: 2 Heads, 2 Packs, 1 Mighty Baby Light Stand, 1 Normal Light Stand, 1 Snoot, 1 Soft Box (medium), 2 Plinths (same height), 2 Packs Wizards, 5d + Tethering Leads.

Here I present a few photos from the second scenery:

Third Set up for this Workshop: Working with still life objects and having a moving light strip in the background creating an amazing effect of shutterspeed light flow. This made the background far from boring and simple and still created a mood where the object was in full focus and still being the focal point of the photograph.

Here is one photograph from this set up:

Still Life in Photography

Photo-Object: Research, Still Life and Advertising

The photography style of “Still life” was firstly invented in the 17^th Century. The painting generally considered to be the first still life is a work by the Italian painter Jacopo De’Barbari painted 1504. The “golden age” of still-life painting occurred in the Lowlands during the 17th century.

Still Life in Photography is stereotypically seen as having objects in the frame of the shot and them being taken to life by adding effects, props, models, art, surfaces, layers, animals, rocks, lighting, etc. Still life Photography is the representation of lifeless subjects, which are mainly a small grouping of objects (such as flowers or fruits). It is a picture consisting primarily objects (a representation chiefly of inanimate objects as a painting of a bowl of fruit).

Furthermore, still life photography gives the photographer a more flexible way of arranging the design elements within a composition. This photography demands art, one which the photographer is expected to be able to form their work with a refined sense of lighting, coupled with compositional skills. The goal of a still life composition is to direct the viewer’s eye through a painting and lead them toward what the artist thinks is important. … Many beginning painters tend to devote their energy to drawing and painting objects accurately and find it difficult to create a strong composition.

In my opinion, to perform a great still life photograph you should: Choose subjects that speak to you, Get comfortable with the lighting, get hold of a decent tripod to keep your photos crisp, get an impressive but simple background and compose a shot in a way only you see the object.

Lastly, nowadays still life photography can be portrayed in a modern style, the backgrounds are more colourful or more intense and not just simple, the idea and meaning is far more overthought than it should be and its mainly make up or accessories that are taken into consideration. Moreover, still life gets more retouching introduced and photoshop is a major deal with it too as the photographers and artist want to create something that the human eye never seen before and all the mainstream ideas has already been taken decades ago.

Photo Object – Initial Idea

Photo - Object: Initial idea

In this project, I will be focusing, exploring, analysing, experimenting and shooting the object of clothes themselves. I will present and submit the subject area of “Body and Object. Clothing is mainly used to cover our bodies, make us look more elegant and also to express where we are going. For instance, there are casual wears, party wears, official wear, sportswear etc. But there are also other reasons for us to wear clothes like protection, comfort. We wear particular clothes for social or psychological reasons. I don’t want to do a standard photoshoot with clothes being presented on a model and full body shot or having them hanged in a studio and displaying them professionally. I want to experiment with the software photoshop and cut out the head out of the shot leaving the focal focus being on the clothes.

I will try to keep the background simple but also interesting, this is by not using a simple white wall, but it could be in a different colour, it could have patterns such as a brick wall or it could be a great looking or funky looking door/ gate. The challenge will be not over editing the photos and keeping them clean and sharp as otherwise it will look that a lot of action has been taken and it would make my photos look tacky. I am planning to visit central London in around Marble Arch, Mayfair or Shoreditch high street. In my opinion these places or areas include many interesting backdrops that I could definitely use for this project.

For the outfits I was thinking of using high end fashion brands such as Burberry, Gucci, Raf Simmons or Balenciaga. If I am doing a whole project about clothes, then I at least aim to have them luxury and not anything that doesn’t keep my viewers eyes attention. Have you ever seen a piece of clothing that you loved, looked at the price tag, put the hanger down and immediately felt the need to leave the shop? It happens to all of us and in recent times the high-priced designer clothes has become even more noticeable. If you go to Harrods or Selfridges, designer brands just simply stand out, they make you feel cheap and make you want them more than ever. Apparel product photography is focused on the product. The goal is to minimize distraction and present the product at its absolute best in a consistent and easily browsed manner. Therefore, I want to show my audience in this project that it is worth showing high end fashion clothes and appreciate them without looking at the model but still have the look of someone wearing the peace of garments.

Overall I will try to encourage to expand my knowledge of how photography can communicate social meaning through a relation to bodies and objects.