What’s Still-Life Photography Exactly?

Still-life photography (stilleven fotografie in Dutch) is an art form that goes back well to nearly a one hundred year ago, when cameras were in the primitive stages of creation. Over time, artists have developed their careers through images of inanimate objects; usually deliberately placed to present a fraction glance at everyday life. Still-life pictures capture the essence of the boring, and largely taken for granted, situations through a cluster of little objects.

Lighting is an important part of still-life photography because most artists will use the photos as a reference for paintings, sketches, and other art forms. The casting of natural shadows or the enhancement of certain details relies on a refined lighting system. Some artists will invest days setting up their still-life scene, getting everything just right and in ideal placement before picking up a camera.

Objects in still-life photography don’t necessarily have to be incorporated or associated to one another. For illustration, still-life images of apples sitting next to a bundle of flowers will only be associated in the fact that they are all objects in the artist’s lifetime, or they are all aspects that come from nature. Still-life photography is mostly about capturing splendor in otherwise regular objects that people generally wouldn’t give a 2nd glance to.

Still-life photographers also should have the acquired talent of knowing on what surfaces to place the objects they’re shooting. Tones, textures, and cleanliness will play a piece in surface shots due to the fact it’s not just the objects that people is viewing from the still-life photo; it’s the entire picture.

For instance, a still-life photographer by the name of Edward S. Curtis took a photo named “Apache Still-life.” This picture represented the earthen pots and bowls manufactured by the Apache people, and the scene was shown on a dirt floor to perfectly record the living conditions of the Apaches. This particular still-life photograph was dubbed convincing, down-to-earth, and genuine in the Apache portrayal.

Still-life photography has been charged with making artists into overnight sensations because artists have the freedom to move their items and capture what they’re viewing. It’s a direct look into the lives of others through their common objects.

Stan Jansen is a Dutch photographer. A line of work known there as fotograaf . She likes to share his knowledge with expectant and pro photographers alike. Her specialities include but are not restricted to (again in Dutch) : kinderportretten, stilleven fotografie, fotografe, more kind fotografie, portret fotografie and voedsel fotografie.