One of the challenges – and satisfactions – of still life photography is to turn “ordinary” objects – that we see or use everyday – into interesting images for subjects.
I don’t really see any difference in scripting how this is done as compared with say images of people. There are the technical issues – how to light it, what depth of field should I use, etc – and then there is the aesthetic – how do I present?
Here are 2 different images presenting 2 different subjects with 2 different solutions.
The first is a food shot. Let me say up front that I am not a food photographer. So I didn’t approach it from a “normal” food photography perspective. I was assigned to shoot brussels sprouts. For some reason I though of them as pool balls (don’t ask), so I mocked up a pool table and, with a couple props, came up with this:
Ordinary object, interesting perspective, I think.
For the second, I was inspired by an image still life photographer Gary Perweiler made of a woman’s gold sandal. He likened it to a Roman centurion’s mask. Hmm. This got me thinking (scared yet? Good) Centurion. Rome. Gladiator!
Who is a modern “gladiator?” Isn’t that how many business people see themselves? What would they wear? Wingtips!
The challenge here was to provide texture and tonal separation in a tone-on-tone image, and to maintain depth of field.
The wingtip as art. An ordinary object.
