First attempts at still life photography

work2fish · December 15, 2008

I'm trying to learn about still life photography. I inherited some of my father's lighting and flash equipment but I am not experienced at all in using it. When taking these shots, I was also very surprised at the shallow depth of field I got at f4.0. In any event, here is my first attempt at a still life image.

Any suggestions for improving it?

Regards,
Mike

Qarik · December 16, 2008

hmm..well speaking from composition point of view I feel the objects are too spread out. imo if you clustered the wine bottle, glass, cheese etc then it give the picture more depth and interest. This is also has to do with your angle of shot..instead of straight on, which gives it a flat look, try more elavation.

Finally the lighitng is very flat. There are no interesting shadows, highlights, low lights, etc. Try spot lighting form one side ot the other.

Candid Arts · December 16, 2008

I pretty much agree. Stack some of the objects in front and behind others. Use some more direct lighting. This photo needs depth. Shoot not from center, but from side to side, or higher elevation like previously stated. Rotate the camera a little bit, horizontal and vertical aren't always the best way, the camera still works at a 45* angle, or anything else between flat and straight up. Nice connection between subject matter, the composition and lighting and angle of shot just seem very flat. Keep working at it though. just keep taking pictures. I've got about 8500 clicks on my 2 month old camera...

work2fish · December 16, 2008

Thanks Qarik and Candid Arts -- this is the feedback I was looking for! You're right, of course, in that the head on shot looks awfully sterile and those lighting tips should really help. It will be fun to try again...

leaforte · December 16, 2008

The cheese looks tasty

baldmountain · December 16, 2008

You are choosing some of the VERY hardest items to photograph well. Pull the wine glass and bottle out of the picture and drink the wine instead. If you look at the glass you can see the whole room reflected in the glass. There is WAY too much ambient light in this room.

Get a copy of "Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting" by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver and Paul Fuqua. It will teach you a ton about lighting a scene like this and light in general. One of the things you will learn is that no one takes a picture like this. They take pictures of the elements individually and compose them together into a single image.

work2fish · December 16, 2008

Thanks for the feedback. I noticed the reflections and they were much worse when I used the spot lights instead of a bounced flash. I would also like some ideas of a better background rather than the plain white tablecloth and cardboard. I've done some searching with google images, but most of those images seem to be paintings or advertisements and not photos.

pathfinder · December 17, 2008

There is a great thread about shooting bottles and the challenges of lighting glass bottles here that deserves to be looked at again.

LiquidAir did a great job of discussing many of the challenges in shooting bottles.

There are numerous shots posted of folks attempts, even a few of mine.

I agree that your light is too flat and the subjects are all too evenly distributed the same distance from the camera. Try setting some of the objects next to a window, and shooting a time exposure ala Rembrandt.

work2fish · December 18, 2008

pathfinder wrote:

There is a great thread about shooting bottles and the challenges of lighting glass bottles here that deserves to be looked at again.

LiquidAir did a great job of discussing many of the challenges in shooting bottles.

There are numerous shots posted of folks attempts, even a few of mine.

I agree that your light is too flat and the subjects are all too evenly distributed the same distance from the camera. Try setting some of the objects next to a window, and shooting a time exposure ala Rembrandt.

Wow, there is really a wealth of information about this subject -- thanks for pointing it out. There are some great ideas for lighting and also for the topic of photographing fancy bottles all by themselves. If I continue the fruit bowl and yummy cheese theme, I wonder how much fancy lighting and backgrounds I need to be doing? It seems to me that some simple, and perhaps more natural, setting (with more interesting placement and lighting) may fit better? Maybe add some bread, too?

pathfinder · December 18, 2008

There is a discussion of Rembrandt lighting here - wiki is your friend.

But what I really had in mind is just very soft, warm window lighting from the side as in the portraits displayed in the link above ( ignore the description of triangular shadows under the nose - your fruit does not have a nose, of course ) But window light will cast nice soft wrap around shadows and highlights.

work2fish · December 19, 2008

pathfinder wrote:

There is a discussion of Rembrandt lighting here - wiki is your friend.

But what I really had in mind is just very soft, warm window lighting from the side as in the portraits displayed in the link above ( ignore the description of triangular shadows under the nose - your fruit does not have a nose, of course ) But window light will cast nice soft wrap around shadows and highlights.

That sounds like something worth a try. I did buy some "props" last night (grapes, bread, cheese) so I will be trying again soon.

Thanks for all the tips, folks, they really help!

work2fish · December 20, 2008

Round 2...
Thanks to everybody for all the tips!

I played around with some of the ideas presented and learned just how complicated it all can be: adjust the lighting, adjust the setting, adjust the exposure, zoom and crop factors, etc., etc., etc.

In any event, I did play around with artificial lighting but I found that I liked the natural light better. I tried to under expose just a tad to get the shadows to come out. I really ended up liking the close in crops more than I thought I would. Any comments/suggestions for these? I include the first three to show how subtle the changes I made were. I took a total of 161 photos this session.

#1

#2

#3

#3 processed from RAW image (more contrast, adjusted white balance, etc.)

#4

Regards,
Mike

eL eSs Vee · December 20, 2008

Mike. Your second set is a vast improvement over the first. Very nice.

Number three, processed, is very nice, even without any fill. Number four is also good, except for all that dead space above the fruit. Also, move everything to one side or the other: That wide brown line going up the curtains takes a lot away from some otherwise nice shots.

But if you do want to fill some of the shadows just a tad, I recommend a reflector: Prop up some foamcore, posterboard or anything that'll bounce a little light into the shadows - even an actual reflector, if you have one, but you don't need anything expensive.

I shot some reflector examples for you. All were done with strobe (reflectors work the same as with ambient) and were exposed and processed exactly the same: 1/160 sec - F/14 - ISO 100, White Balance: Strobe.

I placed one soft box to camera upper right and slightly behind the apple. I aimed it over the apple to where the side (main) reflector (5-in1) will be when in place - directly to the left of the apple. The front (second) reflector (white foamcore) was below the camera and slightly to the right - directly in front of the apple. I positioned the apple with it's lighter side toward the side reflector so that its effects are more visible. (Also to get that cool specular highlight around the stem. Okay, so I had a little fun, too.

)

No reflectors:

Side reflector:

Front reflector:

Both reflectors:

You can, of course, adjust the amount of reflected light that reaches the subject by moving them closer to or further from it.

Photoshop settings were as follows: Proof Setup - Monitor RGB; Sharpen - 150%; Lighten - +10%; Size - 325; Saved For Web.

I hope these help.

Another book recommendation: The Studio Photographer's Lighting Bible by Calvey Taylor-Haw. Tons of photos of still lifes and product shots; metal, glass, ice cream, food, motion, flowers, appliances, and people and pets. He even shows how to light soap bubbles. Most important, though, is that he includes descriptions and lighting diagrams for almost every shot, from the complex to the very simple.

I look forward to seeing more from you.

Yes, the apple was delicious.

pathfinder · December 21, 2008

I agree that the second set of images are a big improvement.

I also agree that the backlighting causes the subjects - the fruit, cheese, glass etc to need some fill light to bring them out from the background. I also agree that more attention needs to be paid to the background to eliminate seams, hot spots, etc. A shallower DOF to blur the background drapes might help, as might moving the food just a little more away from the drapes to help blur them just a bit more.

work2fish · December 21, 2008

You folks are great! Thanks for the tips, the book reference and for illustrating the lighting technique, eL eSs Vee. With regard to filling in the shadows I was wondering if the objective is to totally remove them? Qarik was suggesting that I try to adjust the lighting to have more shadows so maybe this is an area to play with somewhat. So far, I've had a heck of a time getting the light to NOT cause reflections in the wine glass and bottle and so this will be a challenge with the stuff I inherited from my Dad.

Last, the wikipedia "Still Life" topic was an interesting read and helped me get into the mood for trying different things.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_life

Cheers,
Mike

eL eSs Vee · December 21, 2008

Always happy to help, friend.

Shadowing is, to put it simply, mood.

Completely eliminating shadows has it's merits - in some cases. A while back, flat lighting was about all you saw in fashion photography - six, seven, eight lights on the model and then a couple more on the background. For this shot of Catherine, I used two umbrellas on her and a large soft box suspended above and slightly behind her to wash a bit of light onto the front of her shoulder, double as a hair light and then do triple duty by also lighting the background (three lights doing the work of five). Still some mild shadowing, but it's basically flat lighting.

For this shot of Scott and Janine, I used a softbox to the right, an umbrella to the left and a snooted strobe on the background. Lots of shadows from the same number of lights, but different modifiers for a different mood.

(As you can see by Janine's hair dropping in from nowhere and the table bisecting the photo, I was into breaking a lot of rules, back then.

)

How much shadow you want in your images is, like any art, entirely up to the you. The trick is figuring out how much shadow is best for your own images.

Have fun and keep experimenting. Shoot often and shoot many different subjects. "Hands on" is the best way to learn.

sherijohnson · December 21, 2008

I can't get image #3 in round 2 to show up and I am betting that was the best one. I love that you are experimenting and getting an idea of how lighting and composition can make a huge impact on the images. You are doing very well so far.

while I was writing this #3 finally downloaded, it must have been a larger file?

work2fish · December 22, 2008

Thanks again for the replies. I took some photos earlier this morning and I thought they turned out much better in the morning light. Since I had bracketed the exposure, I also decided to do HDR processing on two of the images (I have that free Photomax software) and was pleased with the results. I think I will rest on this project for now as two days of shooting was pretty intense.

Thanks for all the help! Comparing my first image to this one is like night and day and it was all due to the great advice I received from everybody.

Still life in the morning light:

Same photo with HDR processing (only two images used, though):

Art Scott · December 22, 2008

work2fish wrote:

Thanks again for the replies. I took some photos earlier this morning and I thought they turned out much better in the morning light. Since I had bracketed the exposure, I also decided to do HDR processing on two of the images (I have that free Photomax software) and was pleased with the results. I think I will rest on this project for now as two days of shooting was pretty intense.

Thanks for all the help! Comparing my first image to this one is like night and day and it was all due to the great advice I received from everybody.

Still life in the morning light:

Same photo with HDR processing (only two images used, though):

Whoa...what an improvement.....I like the Moire effect in the wine of the HDR shot......very cool.

eL eSs Vee · December 22, 2008

Wow! Great improvement, there! Excellent work!

You learn fast, Grasshopper!

Qarik · December 23, 2008

bravo on the 2nd set.

work2fish · December 25, 2008

Thanks and Merry Christmas, everybody! I gave my mother an enlarged version of this photo as a gift for Christmas as she gave away all of my dad's photos when he died this fall and her walls are pretty empty. My dad's experimented with still life shots as well and the green bottle in the photo was a prop that he used for his original shot. In any event, she seemed to like the gift and so all your help went to a good cause! I am sure glad I asked for feedback and am grateful that you all gave such great advice so freely. As I improve, I can always replace the photo for her in the future.

Warm wishes to you and your families for a happy holiday season,
Mike

First attempts at still life photography

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