Still Life: Hidden gems

What is Still Life?

Still life is a piece of art portraying usually an inanimate subject matter, and started way before cameras were even invented through the art of drawing and painting.  The subject can either be natural, something that you have come across for example, rocks, flowers, or bones or it can be man made and set up by you for instance, a vase, a fruit bowl or coins and pipes.

Unfortunately the popularity of still life seems to have faded due to the possibilities digital cameras have given us to record the wider world about us, but personally I still love it, whether it be set up by myself in the studio or something I have found when least expected.  Still live gives you a massive free reign on what your final image will turn out to be, you can use as many or as few light sources as you wish, you can experiment with various exposure settings to create different tonalities or you can simply work with daylight to keep a sense of simplicity and realism.  Your images can either be a selection of found objects or an attentively constructed tableau.

Things to remember ..

I thought i would share with you a few things I try to remember when shooting still life.

• When wanting to work quickly choose either an area with natural lighting or you can use a plain background with flat, open lighting, just try not to lose atmosphere.
• Using a dark background really helps to intensify colours, and if your subject is light it will bring out the outline.
• Use a shallow depth of field to concentrate attention to the plane of focus, this really helps to bring elements together without taking the attention away from the main object.
• If you are using a dark backdrop, try deliberately under exposing and using some soft lighting to create a moody feel, try and keep your images atmospheric.
• Don't be scared to play around shooting from unusual angles, you can end up with some interesting abstraction and it always draws viewers in.
• Try adding another element of light in to your images, perhaps candles, their presence in still life images can sometimes create a sense of intimacy and warmth.

Hidden gems ..

While on the subject i'd like to share with you some images that I shot last week when taking a stroll along the stoney beach of Paignton. As usual, with camera in hand I was on the look out for things out of the ordinary or interesting things to photograph and I come across a couple of things that really caught my eye.  I kept the images really natural and simple, just like the subject matter.  Personally I think they look really cute as a set, I can see them printed on canvas on the bathroom wall.

'Lifeless Rose' By Melissa Wale ©

'The balance of holding on and letting go' By Melissa Wale ©

'Heart made of stone' By Melissa Wale ©


With Love, Milley x