The visual medium has gained popularity over the decades, owing to its capability to convey any message in powerful manner. Photography ideas have multiplied as the field of photography has diversified to cover several fields, such as fashion, travel, wildlife, news, entertainment, products, and so on.
We see photographs everyday, whether it is advertisements, a paparazzi shots or stunning wildlife images. Photographs are also used to add character and color to other forms of media such as books or websites; they could be used for gaming sites like http://pl.partypoker.com/, a personal blog page or just a photo of the author in a book. Photographs can be very influential when it comes to advertising a product or a service; a mouth watering photo of a dish might encourage someone to visit the restaurant it is sold in, or seeing a photo of a model with flawless skin due to a particular moisturizer, may encourage you to buy it.
Photographers use different angles, exposures, focus depths, lenses, shutter speeds and cameras to capture unique images for various purposes. Still life photography is an interesting art form, which involves capturing groups of objects on camera, in order to create an impression in the viewers’ mind. It is a much appreciated art form and each photographer depicts a unique style.
Still life photographs depict a group of objects or inanimate subjects and photographers are expected to have a good sense of lighting and composition. They usually experiment with several compositions and light & shadow effects on the objects to acquire different textures. Sometimes, they use objects that would include interesting elements to otherwise normal compositions. For instance, wonderful pictures in brochures and magazines have photographs of fruits or ice-creams that look so real and yummy, that your mouth begins to water. This illustration shows how the photograph conveys something by communicating with the viewer, on a sensory level.
The foremost thing to consider when capturing a still life photograph is the object in question. The basic concept is to allow the photograph to convey its own story. The resultant image has to communicate with beholder in a subtle manner but still touch the sensory level. In other words, it must appeal to the various senses of the viewer. For this purpose, the objects to be featured on the photograph are arranged in a particular fashion. This arrangement is called composition and it is a trial-and-error process, where they are arranged and re-arranged over and again to acquire the right composition that conveys the message or story in an effective manner.
The next important aspect in still life photography is to determine the background of the displayed objects. They provide a contrast to the group of objects, and different backgrounds create corresponding dark or light effects. For instance, a cloth background will show folds, while a paper background may show creases. Here again, several photography ideas are applied to make the background blend with the composition. A black velvet cloth usually helps absorb light, so as to avoid bright spots and undesirable reflections in the resultant photograph. When it comes to lighting, natural light is considered best as it brings a glow to the composition. Usually, the composition is placed near a light source, such as a window. Further, the results are enhanced by using different kinds of exposures in the cameras. A white sheet of paper may be placed opposite to the light source to allow light reflections to shadowed regions.
Today, image manipulation software plays an important role in creating background effects in still life photography. Many people also study the still life photographs of renowned photographers to get photography ideas and earn a sense of variegated aesthetic styles.