What is still life?

Still life is a style of photography/art where you take photos of inanimate objects such as flowers, fruits, vegetables and more. Still life has captured the imagination of photographers from the early 19th century to the present day. It is a tradition full of lavish, exotic and sometimes dark arrangements, rich with symbolic depth and meaning. Throughout its long history, still life has taken many forms, from the decorative frescoes of antiquity to the high art of the Renaissance. Traditionally, a still life is a collection of inanimate objects arranged as the subject of a composition.​

The first still life:

Paulette Tavormina (still life photographer)

Paulette Tavormina is an American fine-art photographer who lives and works in New York City. Tavormina is best known for her series, Natura Morta, which features photographic imagery inspired by 17th century Dutch, Spanish and Italian Old Master still life painters.​ Tavormina’s photographs usually consist of flowers, fruit, and expensive objects such as pearls.

There are also hydrangeas included in the photo which are also expensive to this day. This is because of the difficult cultivation process of these flowers, this makes them one of the most expensive flowers in the world.

 

Paulette Tavormina’s bright flowers in her photographs really cause her work to stand out much more, they are the main focus of attention in her photographs. This then causes you to see the other objects such as the old photos and the pearls. these objects suggest that the photo is made to look like it has been taken years ago.

Jacob Vosmaer

Still life is not only a genre in photography but also in art, Jacob Vosmaer is an example of a still life artist. Vosmaer (1584-1641) was a Dutch golden age painter He started his career as a landscape specialist, but switched to flowers, which brought him more success. He visited Italy as a young man and returned to Delft in 1608 at the age of 24, where he remained and became a respected citizen.​

My first photoshoot

Best photos:

My most successful photos were mainly the ones of the pearl necklace. However to make them even better I will use adobe lightroom.

Editing:

I then cropped the photo but decided that it would look better in black and white.

Final photo:

Finally I cropped the photo slightly to remove the dark line on the top of the photo and the white line at the bottom. I really like this photo due to the way the pearls look with the highlights on them. To take the photo I used a fast shutter speed as I wanted the photo to be clear and sharp. I used artificial lighting which was created by a large light which enhanced the highlights of the pearls on the necklace. I used a deep depth of field as I didn’t want any areas of the photo to appear blurred.

Edit 2:

Final photo:

This photo has much more texture in comparison to my first edited photo which I like especially on the case in the back you can clearly see the texture of it. I also like how one side of the photo has more shading and darker areas in comparison to the other side which looks much brighter. I used a fast shutter speed for this photo as I wanted it to be clear. I also used a deep depth of field and I wanted all the objects to be in focus.

Using Auto-Focus

Auto-Focus consists of holding your camera, pointing at the object/ what you are aiming to photograph, and instead of just pushing the shutter down and taking the photo straight away you hold the shutter down half way which allows the camera too auto-focus. The lens may need to be in “AF” mode. This can be useful when you are taking a photo of something that is moving, and may be helpful when taking photos of dynamic situations.

Using Manual Focus

Manual focus is used by using the switch on the lens and turning the front ring to adjust, this is you taking control. Manual focus provides you with precision and ultimate control over your focus. Manual focus vs Auto focus will always come down too the situation of the photo you are wishing too take. Most professional photographers tend too use manual focus due to being able to have full control.

White Balance

White balance is used too improve photos, it is used by going too your cameras menu, selecting the option to set a custom white balance, and then set it by choosing your photo. White balance is a setting in your camera that helps you produce a natural-looking colouration in your image. The goal is too achieve the most natural looking colours as possible. You can also set a white balance in your camera, such as “Daylight WB” which can be used to naturally capture warm scenes.

ISO

ISO is simply a camera setting that will brighten or darken your photo. Low values such as ISO 100 are most useful for a sunny out door shot, whereas things like ISO 1600 or higher are best for shooting at night. Keep the ISO setting as low as possible too reduce graininess. You can change the ISO by opening the menu, or the quick menu of your camera, otherwise there is a button on the camera near the shutter release that says ISO. If you press this button, your dial previously used to control shutter speed will instead control ISO until a value is selected

Aperture

Aperture in photography is the opening of the camera lens, which is related to the amount of light that passes through the camera lens to the image sensor. Low apertures let more light into the camera and higher apertures let less light into the camera. A higher aperture is better when you want your shot to be in focus, and a lower aperture is better when you are taking a photo in low-light. Many cameras have a physical dial that can be turned to change aperture which is measured within f-stops. If yours doesn’t have a dial just check your cameras general settings.

Focal Length : wide, standard and telephoto lenses

Focal length controls the angle of view and magnification of a photograph. A wide-angle lens has a focal length of 35mm or shorter, which gives you a wide field of view. The wider your field of view, the more of the scene you’ll be able to see in the frame. Standard lens (focal length 35mm to 70mm): These versatile lenses are good for just about any type of photography, from portraits to landscapes. These all-in-one lenses render images roughly the way the human eye sees the world, and easily adjust to a shallow or deep depth of field, depending on aperture. Most telephoto lenses range from “medium” (with a focal length between 70 and 200mm) all the way up to “super telephoto” (with focal lengths longer than 300mm). This is when the physical length of the lens is shorter then the focal length. They are great for brining distant scenes and subjects closer.

Depth of Field

Depth of Field is the distance between the nearest and furthest elements in a sense that appear to be “acceptably sharp” in a image. Depth of field is the portion of that distance or ‘depth’ that is ‘in-focus’. A higher depth of field would see the whole image from foreground to background sharp and in focus, a lower depth would result in blurry backgrounds and blurred elements in the foreground too. You can affect the depth of field by changing the following factors: aperture, the focal length and the distance from the subject. A wide angle lens will have greater depth of field than a normal or telephoto lens at any given aperture.

Slow/ Fast shutter speed

A slow shutter speed keeps the shutter open for longer. This not only allows more light to be recorded, it also means any moving objects will appear blurred. Slow shutter speeds are commonly used for photographing in low light conditions, or to capture motion blur.Fast shutter speeds in photography allow you to control the action and the mood of the image you’re creating. You can freeze moments that are too fast for the naked eye to see. To change your camera’s shutter speed manually: Select ‘Shutter Priority’ mode. On the camera’s dial, this is usually indicated by an ‘S’ or ‘Tv’. Scroll through and choose the shutter speed you want.

Exposure and exposure compensation

Exposure compensation basically helps you override automatic exposure adjustments your camera makes in situations with uneven light distribution, filters, non-standard processing, or underexposure or overexposure. It lets you take control of your image’s brightness by manually increasing or decreasing exposure. For manual exposures, start by changing the aperture and shutter speed until the meter indicates that you have the correct exposure , then adjust from there.

Exposure bracketing

Exposure bracketing is when a photographer creates pictures with different exposure settings. The purpose of this is to cover more of the dynamic range. You should make sure that your ISO is quite low when using exposure bracketing. Basically, when you bracket your shots you take exactly the same picture of your subject at several different exposures. This technique gives you a range of options to choose from when you’re editing.Because bracketing photography involves taking multiple shots with one press of the shutter, it should be used with caution when shooting fast moving subjects such as in sporting events or even wildlife.

Here are my photos that have changed and evolved , they have also been edited and flagged by the ones that I like the most and the ones that I don’t like as much.

Using art steps, I used the still life photo that I took and placed it on this virtual gallery exhibition. I really like this because its plain and simple and the photo pops out on the black back round.

Here is photo number two from different angles..

Here is another image, two photos side by side.

To wrap up and conclude

I would say that these photoshoots are very interesting and calming. There is many different photos an load’s of edits too, but I think I could’ve taken more and edited them a bit more too.

Still life photography is the composition technique of using light and presentation to create a compelling photo of inanimate objects. With still life photography, the photographer controls the scene, which allows for the space to experiment with camera angles, lighting, materials, textures, and object arrangement.

We used a still life picture and examed it based off this sheet. there were many key point within this photo as you can see.

Here is the sheet.

In conclusion- This shows you all the theory and I really liked working with Still life as it shows a lot about whatever the photo is being taken of, could even be about your life if taken near somewhere close or related to you.

We started off with a still life picture. We then had to analyse it looking at the technical, visual, contextual and conceptual features of this picture, really picking out each detail and referring to what it meant.

Walker Evans:

Walker Evans was an American photographer and photojournalist who was most well known for his work for the Security Administration, documenting the effects of The Great Depression; his most famous photo being a portrait of Allie Mae Burroughs. Evans was born November 3rd, 1903 and died April 10th, 1975.

Walker Evans took photographs of common tools that people are used to and familiar with seeing but turned them into something extraordinary as he isolates them by themselves against a dull, grey/white background.

By only having one tool in the photographs, it forces the person viewing them to take a greater appreciation for the tools, looking at the finer details of them.

Walker Evans captured the tools from a birds eye view, using natural lighting. He also managed to get no/ minimal shadows. Evans would slightly raise the tools which helps make them stand out compared to the equally dull background.

Darren Harvey-Regan:

Darren Harvey-Regan is a photographer who melds photography with sculpture. He is interested in the means of transition from one form of representation to another and in the overlaps that confuse and rephrase such movements. His works challenge the viewer to distinguish where representation ends and the object begins. Darren graduated from the Royal College of Art and has appeared in many exhibitions.

At first glance, this photograph looks quite dull and unenticing due to the lack of colour in the photograph. However, as you look more closely, you discover that the photograph is actually a combination of two tools collaged together to create one image. There are also no shadows seen in the image, causing the focus to be purely on the tools in front of you. By Darren Harvey-Regan using a white negative space in the background, it means that your attention immediately goes to the object and you can begin to appreciate the simple yet creative image he has made.

I think this image is a good depiction of how his work challenges the viewer to distinguish where representation ends and the objects begin as when I first looked at the picture, I saw mini statues of people. However, when I took a closer look at the image, I realised that these supposed statues were bread. Although I now knew they were bread, I could still see the statue like figures in the image, highlighting Darren’s ability to mix representation and objects smoothly.

Comparing Walker Evans and Darren Harvey-Regan’s art:

Although the two photographers photograph tools, they both do this very differently. For example, Walker Evans’ images have a vintage, old feel to them due to the majority of the tools he photographs looking quite used and the background being grainy. Whereas, with Darren Harvey-Regan’s images, the background is a bright, smooth, white colour, making the images look more modern. Walker Evans also tends to have more of a sepia tone in his photographs but Darren Harvey-Regan’s images have a more colder tone due to his subtle blue tones in his photographs.

Additionally, Walker Evans focusses on photographing only one tool whereas Darren Harvey-Regan merges multiple tools together to create one extraordinary image. Overall, I think both of the photographers manage to successfully capture the beauty of the simple yet useful tools. However, if I were to do a photoshoot in response to these artists, I would try and include more colour in my images as I feel it will help bring more attention to the photographs and make them more interesting and engaging to look at as in Walker Evan’s and Darren Harvey-Regan’s work, their images are quite dull due to it being black and white.

“The Beauty of the Common Tool”

Darren Harvey Regan was greatly influenced by walker Evans, they both took great care in there photos light levels, exposure , composition and what they photograph.

walker Evans believes these tools evoke emotion and create sentiment for the normalcy of everyday tools in himself and others.

walker created set of photos with at minimum 22 separate photos

Walker Evans was an American photographer and photojournalist known for his work for the Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression.

Born:  November 3, 1903,

Died: April 10, 1975,

Darren Harvey-Regan is a graduate of the Royal College of Art. His work has appeared in exhibitions and publications internationally and is part of the permanent photography collection at the V & A Museum, London.

Darren Harvey-Regan’s work circles around photography with an emphasis on the medium’s relationship to language and to sculpture. He is interested in the means of transition from one form of representation to another and in the overlaps that confuse and rephrase such movements.

Harvey-Regan finds photography that photographs objects, whilst in itself being an object, interesting as a concept. He states “It’s a means of transposing material into other material, adding new meaning or thoughts in the process. I think photographing materials is a way to consider the means of creating meaning, and it’s a tactile process with which I feel involved. Touching and moving and making are my engagement with the world and my art”.

Q1: What is the etymology (origin & history) of the word photography? 

Writing with light. 

Q2: What year was the first photograph made in camera? 
 

 1826 (Joseph Nicéphore Niépce)

 
Q3: When did the first photograph of a human appear? 
 

1838 (Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre) 
 

Q4: Who made the first ‘selfie’ 

Robert Cornelius (1839)  

Q5: When did the first colour photograph appear? 

1861 (James Clerk Maxwell) 
 

Q6: What do we mean by the word genre? 

 A style or category of art 

 
 Q7: What do we mean by the genre of still-life? 

An image that shows inanimate objects from the natural or man-made world. 

 
Q8: What was the main purpose of the Pictorialist movement? 

To affirm photography as an art form 

Q9: How do we describe the term documentary photography? 
 

Capture images that truthfully portray people, places and events.  

 
Q10: What is exposure in photography? 
 

 To capture bright light. 

Q11: What controls exposure on your camera?  

Aperture, shutter speed, ISO. 

 

 
Q12: What control on our camera records moving objects? 
 

Shutter 

 
Q13: How do we explain depth of field? 

How much of your image is in focus. 

 
Q14: What factors affect Depth of Field? 

Lens aperture, distance from camera to subject, and lens focal length. 

 

Q15: What is composition in photography? 

The arrangement of visual elements within the frame. 

Q16: What is your understanding of aesthetics in art? 

Aesthetic qualities refer to the way and artwork looks and feels. 

Q17: What are contextual studies in photography? 

 To provide historial, cultural and theoterical understanding of images. 

 
Q18: How many images are captured on average every day worldwide? 
 

4.7 billion 

Q19: Which portrait is the most reproduced in the world? 
 The Queen (Elizabeth II) 

List of blogposts to be published

1. Summer Task
2. Photography Quiz
3. Still Life History and Theory
4. Formalism + Formal Analysis (include posters you made)
5. Camera + studio set up + Canon Camera Simulator examples (this can be added to as you progress)
6. Still Life photo-shoot (s) + contact sheets
7. Still Life selection and editing process (screenshots from Adobe Lightroom)
8. Walker Evans v Darren Harvey-Regan artist reference
9. Single object photoshoot (inspired by Walker Evans)
10. Single object editing process (inspired by Walker Evans)
11. Selection of your final still-life images with experimentation on how you wish to present them, single, diptych, triptych, grids etc.
12. Virtual Gallery and evaluation

Work to be done final two weeks:

1. Review your still-life images – if you need to make more images produce new shoots using studio lighting or classroom setup.
2. Edit images and work towards final set of outcomes:
   1-3 x still-life with an arrangement of objects
   1-3 x single objects
3. Experiment with how you want to present your final images, eg, single, diptych (two), triptych (three), or grids of 4, 6 or 9 images etc.
4. Produce virtual gallery and write an evaluation

 In your evaluation, consider the following:

• Did you realise your intentions?
• What did you learn > theory, practice
• Include any contextual references, links and inspiration between your images and final outcome, incl artists references.