Photo Inspiration: Secrets Behind Stunning Images

Still Life

Still-life is another special direction in photography. Still-life can often be seen in commercial photography for advertising purposes with a specific concept behind it, but it is also seen as artistic compositions of different elements. The objects in a still-life photograph are inanimate/static, and the set can vary from small tabletop arrangements to setups of much bigger subjects.

The most important aspects in still-life photography are idea, concept, arrangement, and the lighting setup. Here, the photographer can demonstrate his skills in composing and arranging the subjects to a “speaking” image as well as his technical skills for creating a well-lit, sharp, clean, and clear image.

To receive an appealing result, the arrangement should be placed on a clean surface and in front of a calm and homogenous background that guides the viewer’s attention to the objects. The color and brightness of background and surface depends mainly on the subject’s colors and brightness.

Natural light can be used for lighting, and some photographers prefer a “one-light” setting, but often more than one artificial studio light source is used. Mastering the basics of lighting techniques with different types of light sources is very helpful to prevent unwanted effects, such as reflections, hard shadows, or imbalance in brightness and color hues. Proper lighting is very important to ...