In this photoshoot, I took pictures under the inspiration of Walker Evans. He took many photos of tools.

For this photo, I added contrast to show texture. I also adjusted the highlights, shadows, whites and blacks to what I thought looked appropriate for the photo. I also adjusted vibrance and saturation to add some colour.

In this photo, I didn’t change too much as i liked the photo as it was.

For this photoshoot, I picked a variety of different tools. I edited them using different sections of tone and presence. To take these photos I used the copy stand which takes pictures from above looking straight down.

I edited all my photos using Adobe Lightroom classic.

I warmed this photo up by giving it a yellow tint. I did this to create a nostalgic feeling almost as if it was a memory. I picked these objects because they feel homely, again creating a good, joyful image in your head.

For this picture, it was basic and white. I turned the temperature all the way down to -100. I did this as it drew me in to the picture more than the original colour. It brings peace and tranquillity to mind. I picked this object because it was simple, but with some editing made it effective.

In this picture, I turned the temperature down to make a colder and darker effect. I also put the contrast all the way down to get strong texture. I picked this object as i thought it was quite unique.

Formalism describes the critical position that the most important aspect of a work of art is its form, the way it is made and its purely visual aspects, rather than its narrative content or its relationship to the visible world.

There are seven basic elements of photographic art: line, shape, form, texture, colour, size, and depth.

Line

Line is a point that continues; it implies motion. Lines are either straight, curved, or a combination of the two. Lines can be solid, dashed or interrupted, implied, or psychological. They can be vertical, horizontal, or somewhere in-between.

The type and general direction of lines in your image convey meaning inside the photograph. Lines are everywhere in photographs. Lines surround us, and every photograph contains lines.

Shape

Shape photography is the two-dimensional appearance of objects as your camera captures them. When a line, or more than one line, closes or connects, a shape is formed.

The Merriam-Webster definition of “shape” that we are concerned with as photographic artists is:

-the visible makeup characteristic of a particular item or kind of item

-spatial form or contour

-a standard or universally recognized spatial form

Form

What separates form from shape? Form takes shape from the two dimensional and brings it into the three dimensional. Form has overall height, width, and depth.

Just as with shapes, there are two basic types of form geometric and organic.

Geometric forms are the familiar sphere, cube, cone, cylinder, etc. We are also, of course, familiar with organic forms they are the objects that surround us in our three-dimensional world.

Texture

In photography, texture can be felt with both the fingers (the print) and virtually (with the viewer’s eye). Texture is the next part of our Elements of a Photograph series.

The definition of texture is the visual or tactile surface characteristics and appearance of something.

Texture in real life can be smooth or rough etc.

Texture in the photograph is similar to form in that it is revealed by variations in tonality and presented in two dimensions.

In a photograph, smooth objects might have reflections or specular highlights. Rough objects might have aggressive areas of light and shadow without reflections.

Texture can be elusive in a photograph, depending on the subject, the lighting, and the forms in the image.

Colour

definition of “colour” that we, as photographic artists, are concerned with is:

‘a phenomenon of light (such as red, brown, pink, or grey) or visual perception that enables one to differentiate otherwise identical objects

the aspect of the appearance of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation for objects and hue, brightness, and saturation for light.

a specific combination of hue, saturation, and lightness or brightness

 a colour other than and as contrasted with black, white, or grey‘

Light itself has no perceived colour. But, send light through a prism or a drop of water and we can see that it is comprised of a literal rainbow of colours.

Colour has three properties: hue, value, and saturation.

Hue is simply the description of the colour (e.g., blue, red, yellow, etc.).

Value is the relative brightness or darkness of a colour.

Saturation is the intensity or purity of a colour. The purest colour is a hue with no white, black, or grey added to it.

Separate the different colours of the rainbow and we can see these varied colours elicit different emotional responses.

Size

Size, the most elusive of these, is the topic of this sixth part of our Elements of a Photograph series.

The definition of size is the physical magnitude, extent, or bulk : relative or proportionate dimensions.

Size in a photograph is relative and can be an illusion.

Large, medium, or small. The camera, lens, and print can render large objects small, or small objects large.

Depth

Depth, one of the most compelling elements, is the topic of this final part in our Elements of a Photograph series. Including a distant horizon is not required to give a sense of depth to your image. Depth is provided by visual cues. Depending on the quality of the surrounding air or atmosphere, distant objects in a photograph will have less clarity and contrast than objects in the foreground. This aerial perspective is indicative of depth in a photograph. Where you place an object in a frame also offers clues toward depth. The higher an object is in the frame relative to the horizon (seen or implied), the greater is the perceived distance to that object.

This is a mood board of still life. They are very traditional.

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. Nowadays, a still life can be anything from your latest Instagram latte art to a vase of tulips styled like a Dutch Golden Age painting.

Creating a beautiful and successful still life image is an impressive feat, but just as painting a bowl of fruit is a good introduction for new painters, still life photography is a wonderful training ground for new photographers. It gives you an opportunity to experiment with light, materials, textures, and subjects in a controlled setting. Whatever your creative vision and artistic goals, still life is a great place to start.

Still life photography has opportunities to experiment with different styles, such as:

Composition. First, play with your composition and test different layouts and arrangements of your objects. Consider composition styles like the rule of threes when composing your still life image. Tweak and adjust your layout as you go to refine your composition skills and identify what makes a photo pleasing.

Subject and materials. Compose your photo with diverse textures and materials. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a handful of random objects from your home or a curated collection of sterling silver candlesticks. Explore how shadows and light reflect off of various surfaces, and see how it affects your final composition.

Different lighting. Experiment with different lighting, both in the studio and in natural light. Avoid shooting with the traditional overhead lights in your home, as light colours will mix and produce odd and unintentional shadows. Different light sources can subtly change the mood and atmosphere of an image.

Camera angle. Try moving your camera as well, and see how the composition changes. Shoot both with a tripod and with your camera in your hand. You might just find an even better angle of your subject than the one you had in mind. When shooting handheld, make sure your shutter speed is fast enough to avoid camera shake.

Focus and depth of field. Experiment with depth of field. Consider focal length, and try using a prime lens or a zoom lens to mix things up. Focusing on one small point rather than having the entire frame in focus can change your composition dramatically. Many cameras are designed to focus on the human face, so try using manual focus instead.

Add motion. While traditionally a still life is just that, “still,” you can add elements of motion to your still life photography. Reach your hand into the shot and move something mid-photo. Or slow down your shutter speed and catch motion blur with a spinning ballerina music box. It’s up to you.

History

The creation of still life painting in the sixteenth century, perhaps with religious motives, continued through current time. This may be because the freedom this art offers in placing the elements where the artist wants, which generates control on the structure of work. Still life works gradually included anything that did not move as well as those that are dead. In addition to creating still life work normally, artists also included elements of still life in other genres of work, such as portraits, in supporting roles. The still life has witnessed a transformative and interesting evolution from the bottom of the hierarchy of artistic genres. In France, still life photography came back in the late nineteenth century, when modernist painters discovered it as the perfect subject for the formal exploration of different styles, colours and compositions. 

There were different styles of still life, for example:

• Product photography: used to showcase products, such as electronics, jewellery, and clothing.
• Food photography: a subset of still life that often centres on depictions of food in an attractive way.
• Flower photography: focuses on capturing the beauty of flowers.
• Abstract photography: focuses on the shapes, colors, and textures of objects.
• Table-top photography: a great way to get started in still life photography and can include any of the above types of photography.

HERMENEGILDO ANGLADA-CAMARASA, DAHLIAS AND OTHER FLOWERS, 1951

This still life painting shows joy. The different colour bouquet shows the happiness through its bright colours. It is flower photography focusing on the beauty of the flowers but comparing them to the beauty if life.

Timeline of still life photography

The English term “Still Life” originates from within the 17th century when still-life art was at the height of European popularity. Still-life has existed since the 17th century until the modern day but, in the 19th century, artists adapted photography as a new medium for still life art, to express there concepts. Still life became less popular at one point, but regained its commonness again. Even today, still life photography is still very popular within many photographers.

What is Vanitas?

Vanitas is a still-life painting of a 17th-century Dutch genre containing symbols of death or change as a reminder of their inevitability. This genre began in the 16th century and continued into the 17th but has since lost its popularity.

What is Memento Mori?

The phrase “memento mori” is Latin for “remember you must die.” It is a reflection on the impermanence of life and a constant reminder not to take your time on earth for granted and not to worry about things beyond your control. Memento Mori is an object kept as a reminder of the inevitability of death, such as a skull.

What kind of metaphors and symbols are used in still life and why?

From flowers to seashells, decoding the symbols in still-life paintings can reveal a hidden world of deeper meaning.

Fruits are some of the most ubiquitous subjects in still-life paintings over the centuries. 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.

Made famous by Dutch and Flemish artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, ‘vanitas’ still-life paintings express the transience of life and the futility of materialism. This tradition also provided a justification for painting beautiful and expensive objects instead of more overtly moralizing subjects.

A beautiful bouquet of flowers in full bloom can signify life, faith, growth, and power. Wilting flowers, on the other hand, serve as grim reminders that life, material goods, and beauty are fragile.

In ancient times, it was believed that a person’s soul was contained in their reflection. Mirrors have been included in a variety of paintings throughout history. They can represent either truth and self-assurance or vanity and distortion, the difference depends on who is looking at their reflection. A broken mirror is universally recognized as a bad omen.