Picturesque still lifes of the XIV century told about the transience of everything earthly and the inevitability of death. They were filled with symbols, the meaning of which today is difficult for the average viewer to understand. And what does the modern photographic still life tell us about? What topics concern photographers working in this genre? We will learn about it at the seminar.
WHAT WILL YOU KNOW?
-Have the main themes of still lifes survived from the Middle Ages? What do works in this genre tell about today?
-What is better for a still life - fruits, butterflies, flowers or garbage?
Is it possible to compose a still life of a thousand objects?
Who makes the most outrageous still lifes?
-Is it possible to shoot still lifes under water and what comes out of it?
-Is it right to photograph the composed compositions or is it better to find compositions that have formed by themselves?
Is it possible to use Photoshop when drawing up still lifes, or should everything be “fair”?
WHO IS IT FOR?
The seminar is designed for a wide range of listeners and does not require special skills. At the lesson, anyone present will not be bored, all you need is an interest in modern photography.
Video information
Name: Photography as contemporary art: still life
Andrey Zeigarnik
Release year: 2017
Genre: Seminar
Language: Russian
Released: Russia
Duration: 02:21:54
File
Format: mkv
Video: AVC, 1440x900, ~997 Kbps
Audio: AAC, Lossy Kbps, 48.0 KHz
File size: 1.1GB
Still life can rightly be called one of the most difficult genres in any kind of fine art. And in photography as well. Nature, for example, is beautiful in itself. In order to create a good landscape, it is enough for an artist to find an attractive place, in other words, a beautiful nature, and convey the state of nature on the canvas. Yes, it is certainly difficult. Very difficult. Not everyone is able to convey the mood in the picture. Its harder to do this in a still life. After all, in a still life, unlike, say, a landscape or a portrait, the artist himself organizes this nature, builds the composition himself, selects objects for the image ... All this applies to photographers as well. When working on a still life, the author’s creative imagination, knowledge of the laws of composition, feeling of texture and light play a very important role ... After all, unlike the landscape already created before the artist by nature and man, the artist creates a still life from scratch, organizes it on a clean sheet. Where there was nothing before. This is probably why not every artist can create a good still life. Just look at the painters. Are there many real masters of still life among them? There are many more portrait and landscape painters…. The same can be said about the art of photography.
In this article, we will try to tell you how to create a good photographic still life. Of course, we will give some advice in this regard. We hope they will help you in your creative work. They will stimulate creativity.
How does a still life begin?
A still life begins with an idea, that is, in other words, with an idea. Look around - which of what is in your house is of interest as an object for compiling a still life composition? What objects are “asking” for the frame? Old and “textured” objects look very good in a still life - various vases, clocks, old books, porcelain figurines, table lamps, sets, candlesticks and candles, some things made of coarse and large weave fabric - napkins, tablecloths ... Look good in still lifes of fruits and vegetables. Flowers are also one of the favorite objects of still life painters. Moreover, the flowers are not only alive, but also dried. There is no limit to fantasy. A variety of objects are suitable for still life. The main thing is that all these objects harmonize with each other in form, color, texture, meaning ... Well, for example, what is the idea to combine in one still life, for example, pliers and a vase of apples?
Let's start well, at least with the simplest composition: a still life, the main "character" of which will be a bowl of fruit. Someone will say that such a still life is the most common, common and far from new. So what! Agree, what could be more beautiful and interesting than beautiful fruits in a beautiful vase? This will be the idea of our still life. Now let's decide which items we have can be placed next to such beauty, what textures and colors will be in harmony with the colors and textures of the fruit and the vase itself. Given all this, remember the semantic content of the still life. After all, a still life, like any other painting, must tell a story. Well, imagine, for example: a vase with apples, pears and cherries, and next to it are several wild flowers and a mug of milk. All this is located on a simple wooden rustic table. Here is a story about an early morning in the village!
Choosing a location for still life photography
Anything can serve as a subject table for a still life. Any table in your home can play this role. And not only the table. Items for still life photography can be placed on the windowsill, on the bedside table, even on the shelf in the closet. The main criterion here is the strength of this object table and its sufficient area. So that there is a place where your creative imagination would feel calm, so that it would be spacious and easy to live there. Even on the floor, you can organize compositions from objects for shooting still lifes. Well, if the surface on which you set your items is unsightly or does not fit at all according to all possible criteria for the still life you are working on, then you can cover it with a beautiful cloth: a tablecloth or a napkin. You can just put a piece of paper or beautiful plywood on it, for example.
Don't forget about the background of your still life. The background in this genre of fine art plays a very important role. After all, it is he who sets the whole mood of the picture (and photography, of course)! Well, for example, if the background of your still life is black, burgundy, dark brown, or consisting of a combination of these colors, then your picture will turn out to be dramatic, in some way even somewhat gloomy. A light background - white, pink, light green, blue - will give the still life tenderness, sensuality, romance. On a light background it is good to shoot "female" still lifes, on a dark background - "male". That is, those on which still life objects seem to belong to a woman or a man, or are intended for them.
material for background still life can serve as plywood or cardboard, painted in the desired color, any other material, preferably not glare, but matte. It is very difficult to work with a glare background even for good masters of photography. If you use fabric as a background, then it can be beautifully draped, that is, laid in spectacular folds. Some people manage to shoot still lifes without using the background as a subject at all. You can do this if you do not use natural light, and shoot only under artificial lighting in a dark room. In this case lighting must be directed exclusively at the photographed objects themselves. At the same time, everything else that remains outside this light spot goes into complete darkness and turns into a deep, beautiful matte black background.
Building a still life composition
Creating a composition is perhaps the most difficult stage in working on a still life. To some, this step may seem insignificant, uncomplicated. It seems to be, at first glance, everything is simple: put beautiful objects on the table beautifully - and start photographing them. But that's not the case at all. More precisely, absolutely not! Very quickly you will realize that some objects do not harmonize with each other, for example, in color, in size, in meaning ... The composition turns out to be disproportionate, “falls over” to one side or the other. In short, the realization that this stage in the work on a still life is the most difficult and most important will come to you sooner or later. And you will understand that it’s not that perfect, but even just correctly placing objects for a still life is a very, very difficult task. And far from every photographer and artist can solve it quickly.
So, let's get down to the actual work. We begin to create the composition of our future still life.
First of all, we need to determine what will be the center of interest in our still life for the viewer. Simply put, what will be the main object in our picture, the one around which the whole story will be built up and wrapped around. Well, since we started talking about still life using the example of a vase of fruit, let's continue this topic. Let it, this vase, be the center, the main object of the whole composition.
First of all, you need to take into account that the semantic and geometric centers of any picture, including photography, and, of course, still life, do not always coincide. In short, if our fruit bowl is clearly in the center of the frame area, at the intersection of its diagonals, this is bad (most often bad. But do not forget that there are exceptions to any rules ...). So we recommend moving the vase to one side of the frame. You can put or put one or more items next to it. Well, for example, put one apple near the vase. Or put a beautiful glass of wine next to it ... If you like, you can leave a vase of fruit in splendid isolation. And it can also be beautiful and harmonious. But, nevertheless, it will be quite difficult to do this. Minimalism has always been a complex genre in fine arts. The simpler the better - this is the main principle of minimalism. And to bring it to life, into reality, not every artist can do it. So for starters, we recommend that you still compose a still life composition of several items. But do not forget that all these objects are interconnected in meaning, harmonize in color, shape, size and texture. For example, if red apples are comfortably located in your vase, then next to it, on a beautiful snow-white tablecloth, you can put a proud red rose. Or a red poppy. But, let's say, the mixer you brought from the kitchen, even if it is red, will be completely inappropriate in this composition. We must strive to ensure that the objects in the still life complement each other, and do not argue with each other, do not cause a feeling of bewilderment in the viewer.
So, we decided on the compositions. Let's move on to the next step:
We put the light
Correctly set or chosen light in a still life is no less important than its composition itself.
If you are working on a still life at home, not in a special studio, but in your apartment, then it is best to start shooting in natural, daylight. In this case, we recommend placing the object table not far from the window or in front of it. Soft, diffused, and at the same time directional light falling from the window on your subject composition will create beautiful, long, rough shadows from objects, and at the same time will favorably emphasize and reveal the texture of these objects, give them volume.
As strange as it may seem to you, it is quite easy to control and regulate the natural sunlight from the window. This is easy to do by manipulating various reflectors and dampers made, for example, from cardboard, plywood or other materials that are at hand. The reflector, for example, can be an ordinary sheet of A4 paper leaning against something on your object table. Yes, even a newspaper folded in a “hut” and placed next to it can work as a reflector! And you can shade the light from the window with the help of window curtains or blinds.
If you are working on your still life in the evening, and daylight is simply not available to you, you have to work with artificial light. As a source of such light, the most ordinary flash is well suited. You just need to put a diffuser on it. If this is not done and shot without a diffuser, harsh, rough and ugly shadows may form on the background. If you have a good source of constant artificial light at your disposal, then it is better to use it in conjunction with a softbox.
As an additional light source, you can use a table lamp. A beam of light from it, for example, can be directed to the background. But in this case, it should be placed away from the background, at a distance of about one meter. Otherwise, the light spot on the background will be very sharp, rough and ugly. A table lamp can also be installed behind the composition of objects you have built and used as a source of backlight.
Here you go. The composition is built. Light is set. All is ready. We start filming. Still lifes are best shot from a tripod. Why? Because you may need to work hard enough to achieve certain goals. long exposures. And without a tripod, such shooting is simply impossible. The camera must be stable. An example here is the still lifes of Vaclav Jiru, a classic of Czechoslovak photography from the middle of the last century, which he created in his studio or outside it at night, exclusively in moonlight, without using any additional light sources. Well, and if you don’t set such high goals for yourself, then when shooting handheld, try to hold the camera so that it does not shake. Lubrication, blurring in the still life are excluded. This is such a genre in art - everything should be clear.
In the process of shooting a still life, we recommend rearranging objects from place to place, feel free to change the light, move its sources in different directions. Shoot with different shutter speeds and different apertures. Change other settings on your camera. Shoot from different angles, from different shooting points. Shoot different lenses. Improvise on the go! Look for different options! It is in the process of shooting a still life that a certain excitement arises, a kind of courage. You will want to build more and more still life compositions, more and more lighting schemes. Do not constrain your flight creative imagination! Perhaps today you will create your own best frame, which will then glorify you!
Yes, and one more note. Our last recommendation for today. If your still life has a lot of white in it, before you start photographing, we strongly recommend that you remember to correctly set the white balance in the camera settings. Otherwise, later, in the process of post-processing the image on a computer, you will have to tinker with color correction in a graphics editor. In other words, in Photoshop.
Consider the application and combination different types compositions depending on the chosen image and intention on examples.
The still life is called "The Story of a Lantern Forgotten on a Journey".
When creating this still life, only a burning lantern was used from objects, which was brought to the shore of a snow-covered reservoir. Then the texture of the cover of the old book was added in Photoshop, focusing on the flames.
The idea was very important in choosing the composition of the still life. There should have been a minimum of objects so that nothing distracts from the main object, and the point of view was chosen so that the landscape in the background was read with a receding perspective of the coast. Texture overlay makes the picture more dramatic. The composition is diagonal, linear to emphasize the shape of objects and the line of the coast. The main accent of the composition - fire, is located at the intersection of the lines of the golden section. The bulk of the composition is shifted to the left edge, as a result of which the eye from the fire continues to follow the line of the coast to the upper right corner, looking for a diagonally opposite balancing spot there. Such a spot could be a ship on the horizon, which is absent to enhance the feeling of loneliness at work.
The still life is called Symphony in Red and Gold. The title and style of the work is inspired by the work of Whistler, an artist who dealt with the issues of color harmonies as key elements of artistic design. He often referred to his works as "symphonies". The composition is built in an oval to emphasize the soft, rounded shapes of objects, the shape of the oval continues in the watch window. The contours of objects are softened, sub-blurred, the effect of haze, glow, almost sleep is created. The objects themselves are chosen as symbols of knowledge: a broken pomegranate is the structure of knowledge, books and a scroll are its results, and a clock (a symbol of time) is necessary condition. The work is built on the unity of tone and color relationships (for dark tones).
"Story by old seaman" or "The story of an old sailor." The history of this still life is quite simple: objects are selected by association with southern countries, processing in the style old photo, partially colored. But the still life itself is staged in such a way that its objects in their mass looked like a portrait (based on the work of the Renaissance artist D. Arcimboldo). Accordingly, the production contains a double association with a long journey: objects from "distant countries" and the narrator - "grandfather traveler".
"Expectation". The photo was taken at the Museum of Retro Cars in Moscow. Balanced composition with tone silhouette rhythm. The meaning of the work is that each item has its own time. The composition is built in such a way as to create the feeling of a station, where passengers (things) in front of the scoreboard (clock) are waiting for their turn ...
"Autumn". Still lifes on autumn theme everywhere very diverse, rich and beautiful. If we recall the picturesque still lifes of M. di Caravaggio, they embody all the fertility of "autumn", the triumph of Bacchus. Therefore, the composition of this still life is based on the techniques used by the Italian artist. Objects are presented contour, decorative, the composition is built according to the figure of a “triangle”. The superimposed texture also gives a classic look to the work.
"Daisies" or "Country still life". The composition is also built in a triangle, but the main emphasis is on lighting - light, warm, soft. The unity of tonal and color relationships (in light tones) provides the work with a sense of serenity, unpretentious, simple beauty.
"Currant". The frieze linear composition is very well suited for emphasizing the beauty of the lines of the currant brushes, the smoothness of their transitions. The rhythm of rounded shapes creates the feeling of scattered beads.
"It's all gone." Tone, frieze, composition enclosed in a triangle. Dried flowers, “withered” apples, a chipped dusty plate are taken as symbols of old age. The slope lines of the flowers create the presence of a "dialogue" between objects, conversation, mutual assistance and support. Accents are arranged in yellow-green hues.
"Frosty Autumn". A beautiful cold blue-purple hue that is present in objects creates an atmosphere of nobility, a feeling of light frost, hoarfrost. The original color of the apple resembles Frost patterns on glass.
"All is forgotten." Fascia contour linear composition. Dried flowers, "withering" apples, a chipped dusty plate are symbols of old age. Unlike the still life “Everything is gone”, there is no dialogue, so the word “forgotten” sounds in the title. Accents are arranged in yellow and white shades.
"Berry Tea" Dynamic diagonal composition, linear, built on the rhythm of red, black and white. Color combinations are chosen in association with berry-flower tea - warm, with a complex red-brown tint. A slight emphasis in processing is given to the retro style.
"Blackberry". Retro style. Noble dark raspberry shades of blackberries and mallow flower are emphasized by contrast with the yellow color of the cup
.
"Symphony". Diagonal composition, linear. Flowers and leaves are arranged in an order similar to notes. Flowers in a vase symbolize different shades in music (forte, piano). The drapery in the background is a support for the foreground lines.
The work is built on the unity of tone and color relationships. Linear composition in close range. Still life contains the idea of comparing two principles - 1. Fragility, tenderness, lightness, transience, fragility (phlox), 2. Hardness, eternity, constancy, static (stone vase) and combining them: warmth, elegance, plasticity and uniqueness of the contours of flowers and stone color lines.
"Sea shell". The composition is built according to the “circle” figure. Flowers act as symbols (allegories) of starfish, and a vase - shells. The added texture gives the work the effect of golden and shimmering waves in the sun.
"Shepherdess". Here the same vase acts as a basket. The arrangement of objects (flowers, leaves and a vase) is planar, decorative, contour. The work is associated with french painting rococo times.
"Evening Shadows" In this still life, not only the objects themselves (asters and apples) played an important role in building the composition, but also the shadows falling from them, which act (due to their clear readable form) as independent objects of photography.
“For her…” The tone solution of the composition. The still life is made in the style of old postcards. Flowers (large white peonies) in a vase, strings of white pearls, rings and earrings with pearls - all point to the "femininity" of the still life. The added haze and other textures give the work extra lightness and airiness.
"Naturzhiv". Still life literally translates as "dead nature." But over the past since the appearance of this genre in art, the situation began to change. A new name for this genre appeared in photography - “Still life” - “quiet life”, more and more experiments. The idea of this work was "the birth of a new still life." A kitten in a still life - the center of the composition - the main component of the still life. The linear-tone composition is built in a triangle. The light tone in the still life, the hairs of the kitten's fur illuminated by backlighting, his posture are symbols of birth. Fruits are also chosen small in size to maintain the atmosphere.
"Asters". Classical still life, the shape of the vase is emphasized by a dark background. The composition is diagonal, the predominance of two asters (lilac and white) in the bouquet on the right side creates a story about how 2 flowers looked out of the crowd to admire themselves in the mirror. And the mirror itself, in combination with a dark background, gives the work a touch of a theatrical setting.
Buecher. The classical composition, built on tonal relationships between objects, is built in a “triangle” figure, where its central axis also plays an important role (there are semantic points on it: a girl’s head at the window by Vermeer, a contrasting white sheet against a dark background of a book, a coin). Two candles standing in parallel and the smoke coming from them give a dynamic output to the composition.
Still life classic with the butterfly. A two-part composition built on the union of groups of objects and the conclusion of their compositional figures - the supporting group (in this still life - a triangle obtained by a group of leaves) is inside the main one (an ellipse obtained by the general setting of objects). Composition "contour", "linear". The color support of the lower left and upper right corners (butterfly and drapery in the background) is also (together with the line of sight from the spout of the jug) a dynamic output to the upper left corner.
Mamut. The classic "tonal composition, built in the shape of a" right-angled triangle ". The objects of the still life make up two groups balanced in relation to each other: group 1 - two jugs, group 2 - two elephants.
Ceramics. "Tone" composition built in an oval. Its dynamic outputs are visual lines from a maple leaf, two ears of corn and a board handle. A close color scheme not only unites objects, but also emphasizes their individuality by enhancing the role of texture.
Still life classic. "Contour", "linear" composition, built on the interaction of two groups of objects combined into geometric shapes: group 1 - built on accents in yellow-green tones "semi-oval" - the main one, group 2 - "triangle", built on close colors - additional. The composition contains dynamic outlets to the upper left and upper right corners: flower leaves, basket handle, candle top, jug handle.
Teekane. “A tone composition built on the contrast of light and dark tones. The main compositional center is built on contrasting points, the additional one - on close ones. The rhythm in the composition is set by the stripes in the background, they are also balancing.
Tangerines. Statement 1. Diagonal composition, which has a group of objects, additionally combined into a geometric figure "ellipse". The composition is contour, built on close color combinations.
Tangerines. Statement 2. Two-part composition (triangle and ellipse), contour, built on close color combinations. Dynamic outputs: 1 - lines of sight along the leaf and neck of the jug to the upper left corner; 2 - visual lines along the mandarin skins to the left and right lower corners.
Author: Julia Dorofeeva
Still life as a genre of art appeared in the distant 15th century and then had a very clear religious connotation. Many images of saints were framed with flower arrangements. Already in the 17th century, still life was finally formed as a genre, at the same time the basic rules of composition and classical techniques arose.
Since the advent of photography, still life has not lost its popularity, even though most of today's photographers are attracted by the possibility of shooting in action. Masters tend to shoot something momentary and unexpected, static images are less attractive and interesting for many.
Some may mistakenly think that still life photography is not a difficult type of photography, because it may seem that photographing something that does not move and does not change over time is not so difficult. In fact, still life photographs are the result of long monotonous work. A still life photographer must work with light and objects all the time. He periodically swaps subjects, backgrounds and angles.
As great examples of still life photographs, we will show you pictures Paulette Tavormina – famous photographer from New York. Living in big city, Paulette found her own way to escape from the hustle and bustle. She disappears for hours in her own studio, shooting still lifes, consisting of vegetables, fruits and flowers. Paulette Tavormina's photographs are reminiscent of classic images of classical painting. They are highly artistic and mesmerizing.
Paulette Tavormina also creates amazing arrangements of flowers, plants and small insects on the plane. The images are more like illustrations from books on botany or amazing plant patterns.
Paulette Tavormina's photographs are in museums, corporate and private collections and have been presented in Paris, London, Moscow, New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. Paulette is a self-taught photographer, she developed her unique technique of still life photography herself, studying on the paintings of Dutch masters.
vegetable patterns 
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