Aperture refers to the opening of a lens’s diaphragm through which light passes. The larger the f/ number is the less amount of light the camera is letting in, meaning you are able to focus more things in the image.
APERTURE CHART
WHAT IS DEPTH OF FIELD?
Depth of field (D.O.F) is the distance between the nearest and furthest elements in a scene that appear to be sharp in an image. A deep DOF means all or most of your photo will be in focus, including the foreground, subject and background.
What is still life? Still life is typicallya photograph or painting of objects such as fruit, flowers, glassware, everyday objects and more. It captures the detail in objects seen in everyday life whether man made or from nature.
Here’s some examples of still life paintings. They are typically realistically painted. They are usually painted from looking at the arrangement, but can also be from a reference photo.
These are some examples of still life in photography:
They can range from dramatic and intense photos, with dark surrounding to create a dramatic mood.
Or they can have bright backgrounds creating a light-hearted mood, with less dramatic tones as the previous image.
Still life time-line:
1840 William Henry Fox Talbot
1860 Roger Fenton
1907 Clarence White
1930 Frederic William Bond
1994 Clive Landen
2006 Ori Gersht
Vanitas
Vanitas is a 17th-century still life painting in a Dutch genre. It contains symbols of death and change to remind them of their inevitability.
Memento Mori
Similar to Vanitas, Memento Mori is an object kept as a reminder of the inevitability of death. A skull is typically used for this as a reminder.
Metaphors and Symbols in Still Life
A classic still life painting is a basket of fruit. Although they come across as what they are, the painting or photograph can be depicted to have symbolic meaning. For example, apples could signify temptation from the story of Adam and Eve. For instance, Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio’s still life painting has rotting fruit in it, which he used to symbolise his feelings about the Protestant Reformation at the time.
Another symbol is how candles represent the inevitability of time passing. The longer a candles burn, the closer it is to there being nothing left. This also is a symbol of death like Vanitas and Memento Mori.
However on the other hand flowers can be a symbol of life, growth and power. The beauty and vibrancy they hold can represent how life can be the same. Although the idea can be flipped when a wilting flower is painted. It is a reminder of material goods and how beauty is fragile.
Shutter speed is the length of time that the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light when taking a photograph. A fast shutter speed will reduces the amount of light meaning the image will be sharper and it won’t be as over exposed. If the shutter speed is slow it will allow a greater amount of light in to the camera making the image blurred and under focused and therefore making the image over exposed.
JOHN BALDESSARI
John Anthony Baldessari was an American artist known for his pioneering use of appropriated imagery. He lived and worked in Santa Monica and Venice, California.
PHOTO GAMES
When taking the photos of the dodge balls we used a fast shutter speed, which therefore created a sharper and defined image. Whereas when taking the pictures of the boxing punches we used a slower shutter speed which therefore creates a more blurred and unclear image.
Studio lights are any form of lighting equipment used by photographers, often when working in a photography studio, to enhance their photography. Most professional photographers have different light kits they use depending on the situation they find themselves shooting in.
Continuous lighting
Continuous lighting setups allow you to keep your subjects pre-lit using the same light levels as when you take the photograph, these lights will stay on the whole time. Other lights, like traditional flashes or strobe lights, produce light only in momentary flashes, making it harder to adjust the lighting before shooting.
Because the lights are on all the time, you can position your model and change the light stand to have the light fall precisely the way you want it. You can instantly see where the shadows fall, adjust the highlights and/or double check that the catch lights hit the eye just by raising or lowering the light or moving the stand around.
Continuous lighting will allow you to photograph simultaneously without interfering with each other’s lighting.
With continuous lighting, you don’t need to worry about external lighting components like triggers. That means you can get your shoot set up quickly and easily regardless of how many cameras you intend to use.
This photo was taken using continuous lighting.
Where as Flash Lighting is when it illuminates the area with light. When you’re taking a photo in low light conditions, you might need a flash.
Flash lighting
Like flashes of lightning in nature, not all strobes have the same flash duration. Having a short flash duration is the key to freezing fast action. Some strobe lights do not have their flash duration speeds published but, in general, increased power means the flash will not only be brighter, but the flash duration will also be longer.
To start off I have flagged the pictures that I would like to use and crossed off the ones that I don’t like as much.
Secondly I pressed the flagged button on the dropdown box so the pictures that I didn’t need are not visible and I can only see the ones that I would like to work with.
Then i pressed the X and Y button to compare two images, you can also zoom into details by using the magnifying glass which helps you to compare the details. and see what one has better focus or better lighting.
then I started editing the pictures, e.g. changing that saturation and the texture and just generally playing around with the settings to see which was more appealing to me.
I then exported the photo into my folder twice once at 2000 pixels and once at 4000 pixels. I did this so I have two pictures at different sizes
Then picked out the different neutral tones that where in the picture by using the colour picker
Still life is derived from the Dutch word ‘stilleven’. Originating in the 17th century during the popularity for paintings of objects throughout Europe. The term ‘still life’ defines art that shows inanimate objects from the natural or man-made world. e.g. fruits, flowers, baskets, bowls, etc. There are probably about 4 main categories of still life; flowers, banquet or breakfast, animals, symbolic. Symbolic still life refers to art that shows an ordinary object which will portray a deeper meaning.
Pieter Claesz – Still life with a Skull and a Writing Quill (painting)
Still life photograph taken by Garreth Paul
Paul Cézanne – Still life with Quince, Apples, and Pears (painting)
Vanitas
A vanitas is a symbolic work of art showing the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, often contrasting symbols of wealth and symbols of ephemerality and death.
Jan Jansz. Treck – Vanitas Still Life
Memento mori
Vanitas are closely related to memento mori still lifes which are pieces of art that portray the shortness and fragility of life. Memento mori is a Latin phrase which translates ‘remember you must die’. They include symbolic objects like skulls and extinguished candles. Other examples of symbols include; musical instruments, wine and books to represent the explicitly of vanity.
Still life photography is “a genre of photography used for the depiction of inanimate subject matter, typically a small group of objects.” or just inanimate objects in front of a camera.
These inanimate objects can be anything ranging from flowers and plants to food and man-made objects.
STILL LIFE TIMELINE
Still life artwork had origins in the ancient Egyptians and Roman times as well as having appearances during the Middle ages and Renaissances eras. Paintings in ancient Egypt mainly consisted of common foods and objects but historians believe they had a much deeper meaning.
A detail of an offerings scene from the burial chamber of Menna (c. 1422-1411 BCE)
Still life is derived from the Dutch word ‘stilleven’ which was made in the 17th century when the popularity of objects in paintings increased throughout Europe. Still life photography originally arose during the 20th century with art photographers such as Baron Adolf de Meyer making it more popular.
Flower basket(between 1640 and 1684) by Jan van den Hecke
Modern art still life was brought back with art movements such as Impressionism where artist like Vincent Van Gogh made a new meaning for the genre.
Its with the immense rise of modern still life art and the wonders of photography that still life photography was born.
WHAT IS VANITAS?
Vanitas – Latin for ‘vanity’ – is symbolic works of art showing the transition from life to death along with themes of: symbols of arts and sciences (books, maps, and musical instruments), wealth and power (purses, jewellery, gold objects), and earthly pleasures (goblets, pipes, and playing cards); symbols of death or transience (skulls, clocks, burning candles, soap bubbles, and flowers); and, sometimes, symbols of resurrection and eternal life (usually ears of corn or sprigs of ivy). It was a common genre during the 16th and 17th century and originated in the Netherlands, evolving from simple pictures of skulls and other symbols of death.
WHAT IS MEMENTO MORI?
Memento mori – Latin for ‘remember that you [have to] die’ – symbolises the inevitability of death. Items typically found in the pictures are skulls, hourglasses, clocks, candles, fruits, and flowers. The memento mori genre rose to popularity during the 17th century, a religious age where almost everyone believed that life on Earth was just a preparation for the afterlife.
WHAT KIND OF METAPHORS AND SYMBOLS ARE USED IN STILL LIFE AND WHY?
Still life can be interpreted and seen in many different ways but the main symbolism includes:
Fruit: religion (forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden), pleasure, lust
Skulls: life, death, morality
Candles: death, God (light of Christ), loss
Flowers: life, growth, danger (poisonous types), love (red rose)
Aperture is the feature which controls the amount of light that comes into the camera. To do this you would shrink or enlarge it.
Aperture also affects the depth of field. By changing how the image is focused. For example, the image could be focused on one isolated object in the middle of the image whilst blurring out the background. or it could be focused on the whole image.
The higher the focus is than the smaller the amplitude will be. You can also adjust the aperture settings on your camera by turning the dial to the ‘A’ button and then spin the wheel at the front of the camera.
My aperture experiments
We tested the aperture by taking pictures of different things we collected from the beach such as, Shells, Rocks, Flip Flops and seaweed by Using two types of set ups, The first one we used was the infinity table which gives the illusion of a infinite white background in the image. To change the colours We used different coloured gel sheets covering the lights which eventually changed the colour of the images. Our second set up was using more natural light, with a white backdrop.
Our second set up was using more natural light, with a white backdrop.
The picture below was taken with a big Aperture
and the picture below was taken with a smell Aperture
You can see the difference as the first image is focusing on only the centre point of the picture when the second one shows the image as a whole with no CenterPoint.
This is one of the still life photos I took in the studio. I really like how it has come out. I have used editing techniques on Lightroom to change the appearance of the photo and I really like it. The filters I used are shown in the right of the screen. This edit has subdued pale yellow colours, this really lets the objects I have used speak for themselves. The pale yellow links with the beach objects as it resembles sand.This is the same image, however, I have changed the temperature a lot. The dark blue colours give the image an ominous tone. On the other hand the luminous pink colours give the image a upbeat tone and it balances out the deep blue. I have accentuated the shadows and I am happy with how it has turned out.For this edit, I have gone for the same style as the last. But, I have turned up the vibrance and saturation which further accentuates the pink colour. I have also decreased the highlights and shadows which decreases the colours of the background which makes the pink light seem artificial and almost magical.I really how this image has turned out. The light coming through the objects looks great. The purple background gives a great contrast. It also accentuates the reflection of the objects. I have got rid of the white background by increasing the temperature and tint and almost completely decreasing the whites.
Still life photography is a genre of photography used for the depiction of inanimate subject matter, typically a small group of objects. The English term ‘still life’ is derived from the Dutch word stilleven, in the 17th century when still-life art was at the height of European popularity.
Timeline
What is Vanitas?
A still life artwork which includes various symbolic objects designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and of the worthlessness of worldly goods and pleasures. Vanitas are closely related to memento mori still lifes.
What is Memento Mori?
Memento mori still lifes are artworks that remind the viewer of the shortness and fragility of life (memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning ‘remember you must die’) and include symbols such as skulls and extinguished candles.
What kind of metaphors and symbols are used in still life and why?
1633 – Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598-1664)
The objects portrayed here contained significant religious meaning, the measured placement of the three motifs, for example, would have been instantly understood as an allusion to the Holy Trinity. The painting has been interpreted as an homage to the Virgin, with the oranges, their blossoms, and the cup of water symbolizing her purity, and the thorn less rose referring to her Immaculate Conception.
Common symbols in still life
Fruit
Not only does a basket of fruit offer the artist a variety of colours and textures to utilize, but it also offers a variety of religious and mythical symbols. For example, in Christianity, apples signify temptation and knowledge in reference to the Old Testament account of Eve eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
Skulls
One of the more heavy-handed symbols that appears in vanitas still life paintings is the skull, which is a striking reminder of the certainty of death. Such a symbol is called a Memento Mori, a Latin phrase meaning “Remember that you will die.”
Candles
Candles represent the inevitability of the passing of time—the longer they burn, the smaller they get until there is nothing left. A lit candle symbolizes light, truth, and knowledge. An extinguished candle symbolizes loss and death. In Christianity, a brightly burning candle indicates faith in God or the light of Christ.
