Still Life Challenge - and Episode 44 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Coming out of requests for something people can do at home with their camera, I've been investigating Still Life over the past few weeks.

At a basic level, it's just an arrangement of inanimate objects.

However, deciding which objects, how to place them, and what lighting setup to use gives you pretty much infinite possibilities.

If you type "still life" into the search engines, then one of the first things you'll be presented with are images from the 17th Century Dutch "Old Masters".

While still life has been around since at least Roman times, and a lot of it overlaps with modern product photography, that point in time is generally seen as the golden age, or certainly the point where it became massively popular and recognised as a legitimate topic in it's own right (rather than just being a part of a larger scene).

So for the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres podcast, I set myself the challenge to come up with a photo that looked like a 17th Century Dutch "Old Masters" style painting. My decision making processes in creating the image, along with the editing and the final outcome, I discussed in last night's episode (see below).

This was also a precursor to next week's show which is a Still Life Challenge.

Here's your chance to create your own still life photo and show it off to the podcast viewers.

If you would like to take part you can submit your image either to the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

or to the Event Page I've set up:
https://www.facebook.com/events/695662381099461

It doesn't have to be in the style of centuries old painters though.

Ideas could include:
Flowers
Food
Kitchen implements
Garden tools
Game pieces
Toys
Equipment of any kind
Pretty much anything you have lying around the house.
And in any mix or combination you feel could be interesting

The things to think about when creating something are:
How you will arrange them
Lighting
Leading lines
Shadows and/or reflections
Colour combinations

You can be as minimalist or as complex as you wish.

What I would also like from you is to know is why have you chosen these objects, and what idea/mood/feeling do you want the viewer to take away with them?

But if you find you're struggling, then submit a photo you're having difficulty with and explain the problem and I can include suggestions and ideas in the podcast too.

If you think you'd like to give it a go, then do submit your image to the FB group or event page, or if you're not on FB, then email me your image and you can watch my response the following day on the YouTube recording, which will also be posted here on this blog.

Meanwhile, here is last night's podcast and if you want to skip to the bit where I talk about the challenge then it's at 2 hours, 5 minutes and 54 seconds.

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0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
5:30 - Introduction to the Still Life
7:20 - Introduction to the Still Life paintings of the Dutch "Old Masters".
18:52 - Creating a Still Life photo in the style of the Dutch "Old Masters".
27:23 - Editing the Still Life photo
40:28 - A more contemporary approach to Still Life
57:00 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres
2:05:54 - Coming up next week - thoughts for the Still Life Challenge
2:13:38 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres  Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/