Creatively Photographing Still Life – Tips and Techniques

Imagine you are standing in an elegant suite with a beautiful still life in front of you, waiting to be captured by your camera. In this tutorial, we dive deep into the art of still life photography and discover how you can use colors, shapes, and composition to create impressive images. Martin demonstrates step by step how he plays with sharpness and blurriness and experiments to achieve the perfect subject.

Main insights

• In still life photography, experimenting with different perspectives and planes of focus is crucial.
• Focusing on different areas in the image can change the effect of a subject.
• Sometimes it's helpful to remove unnecessary elements from the image to sharpen the focus.

Step-by-step guide

Start by arranging your still life. Martin has chosen a setup with champagne, various fruits, and flowers. It's important to use objects that work harmoniously together.

The first thing you should do is arrange the objects while keeping an eye on the colors and shapes. Remember that not everyone has the same taste – what you like is valid too.

Once you've arranged your objects, it's time to take the first shot. Martin uses a telephoto lens to focus on the champagne glasses. Check if the lighting in the suite is good and adjust your settings accordingly.

Now comes the interesting part: playing with focus. Martin decides to focus on the flowers at the left edge of the image. These variations will make the image visually more interesting.

Continue experimenting by shifting the focus onto different objects in your still life. Martin focuses on the tangerine and checks how the representation changes as a result.

To optimize your composition, try removing some objects from the image as well. Martin removed the fruit to direct focus onto the remaining elements. Sometimes it helps to declutter the image.

After you've "tidied up" the image, return to playing with focus. This time, focus on the glasses and observe the effect.

For the final shot, Martin places the focus on the champagne bottle. You will see how intentionally placing the focus can create different moods.

With this process of experimenting and adjusting, you now have various shots in your collection and can decide which one is the best.

Summary - Hotel Photography: Creative Still Life Design in the Suite

Photographing still life, especially in a hotel photography environment, requires both creativity and technical skills. Through the play of sharpness and blurriness, you’ve learned how important it is to try different perspectives and how helpful it can be to remove unnecessary elements to achieve an impressive image.