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Because It Doesn't Move
June 2010
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Take Better Photographs Today!
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Hello, !
YEA! Summer is finally here. I'm ready for school to be out. Are you?
Do you know anyone in the D/FW area who is pregnant and due this summer? I'm trying to build my newborn portfolio and would appreciate it if you could pass my information along. I have a special on newborn sessions this summer. Have them e-mail me for details. Thank you!
Dawn
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Because It Doesn't Move
Art museums are so much fun. I can spend hours in them looking at the paintings, sculptures, and photographs. When I lived in the Washington, DC area, the National Gallery of Art was one of my favorite places; the museum was filled with old masters' works - portraits, landscapes, and tons of still life.
I got to where I really enjoyed still life paintings but they didn't win my complete admiration until I started to take photography seriously.
Still life photography is a lot harder than it looks but the rewards are great. Here are the reasons I think photographing still life is helpful when learning photography:
- The subject doesn't move. You can take all the
Flowers behind textured glass. | time you want photographing that bowl of fruit; it's not going to cry or run away like your 3-year-old child might.
- It's a great way to learn about composition. The possibilities seem endless when arranging objects and varying your camera angle.
- Still life forces you to be intentional about color. Buy a color wheel and use it when choosing objects for your composition. I used to take my color wheel to Central Market's floral department to pick out just the right flower.
- It helps you learn about lighting. You don't need fancy equipment. I have used daylight balanced bulbs (hot lights) which are 500 watts. But you can use regular light bulbs and adjust the color temperature of the images in photoshop later. Move the light(s) around to see what happens. Diffuse the light or use a strong light to vary the mood.
- You have the time to learn how to make a two-dimensional representation look three-dimensional by using good composition, lighting, and camera angle.
- You learn about depth of field, what you want to be in focus and what you want to be out of focus.
- Even though the subjects are inanimate objects, you can involve motion in the composition by using a fan, for example.
Jello and chopsticks. |
Have I convinced you yet? I challenge you to give it a try. No fancy equipment is required. Have fun with it.
Be back in July. Have a safe, fun summer!
Dawn
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