Well, you survived a challenging week of Found Object Art. As many of you learned, this genre represents a very broad spectrum of approaches and subjects. This week will be far less challenging with still life as our guide. Photographer Leigh Diprose ( https://www.adorama.com/alc/still-life-photography-guide/) defines Still Life Photography as a genre that “focuses on capturing inanimate objects. This can include anything from flowers and fruits to kitchen utensils, products and tools.” The term “still life” comes from the Dutch word “stilleven,” which literally means “quiet life.” Still life photography dates back to the 16th century when Flemish painters began creating detailed oil paintings of everyday objects. Today, still life photography continues to be popular among artists and photographers who appreciate the challenge of aesthetically capturing the beauty of ordinary objects.
There are two kinds of still life photography. Found Still Life Photography is just what it sounds like. It is the vignette which catches your eye such as the light coming through your living room window and falling on a vase of flowers and a book on a table and chair, the dishes in your kitchen sink, or the decorations on the steps by someone’s front door. Created Still Life are objects you collect and set up in a studio, light box, or on a table top to create a story or capture a mood. Whereas Found Still Life photography relies predominantly on natural lighting, Created Still Life photography uses flash, reflectors, and fill lights to illuminate the subject. This type of still life is not something that catches your eye in the course of your day, but is orchestrated by what you choose to photograph, how you put the objects together, and how you compose them.
Whether you choose to approach this week’s theme from the “Found” or “Created” perspective, or a combination of both, lighting will be the key element in your photo. When your subject is an ordinary object, lighting is the best way to create a mood or add interest to your shot. And as is true with every photo you take the subject and composition will also convey and underscore the emotion and connection of the photo to your viewer. Autumn Lockwood suggests, “When composing your photograph, you need to arrange the objects in a pleasing composition. You should consider using classical composition techniques like the “Rule of Thirds,” “Leading Lines” or “Frame within a Frame” for ideas of how to best compose your pictures. Artfully arrange the objects, and use your imagination. For example, if you’re taking a picture of an apple try taking a bite out of it to give it some added interest.”
For further reading and insight on creating a strong still life and ideas on what to photograph, you may enjoy reading these articles:
AND…this week is the week to flash that pop of red! Choose a still life that has red or whatever color some of you rebels want to feature (smile!). If you’ve never done selective coloring before, don’t be afraid. It’s really not that hard. Here’s a simple step by step process using a free, on-line program called Ribbet (www.ribbet.com). But these steps will pretty much apply to any photo-processing program you have.
1. Go to Ribbet and upload your picture. Select the “Basic” editing tab to sharpen, adjust contrast or any other fine-tuning you’d like to do to your photo. Remember to select “apply” after each adjustment. Once you’re finished with your fine-tuning…
2. Select “Effects” from the tabs to the left of your picture. Select “Black and White” and convert the picture to black and white. With your cursor “erase” the black and white effect from the item or area you wish to remain in color. The original button will be highlighted while you do this. If you erase too much, just toggle click on “effect” and you can reapply the black and white effect on your photo. Click “apply” when you’re done.
3. You can add a frame at this point by returning to the home page and selecting the frame tab from the left OR you can now save your photo to your computer and then post it to 365.
There are other ways to achieve a selective coloring look but this is probably the easiest and simplest. Other processing programs may label their tabs in a different way or the way you erase an effect might be slightly different but the steps are fairly similar in all programs. So, get ready to have some fun this week!
As for the date- it’s up to you. I am a traditionalist- I like the 14th no matter where it falls on the calendar and I always do red (except in the example included below)! But for those who want as close to the actual center of the calendar as possible, that date will be the 15th. And there are others who like to change up the color and not use red at all. The creative control is always in your hands. So, all in all, the choice of where you put your flash and what color it is, is up to you! The idea here is to have fun with it- so have it at and enjoy!
Week #3 runs from February 13-19.
The tag remains FOR2023
Here's a little inspiration for your week of Still Life- on the left a Found Still Life, in the center, a still life with selective coloring and on the right, a Created Still Life.
@olivetreeann
Thank you very much, Ann. I really appreciate the research and time you've taken to put together this wonderful post, as well as all the others for February’s FOR.
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Here's a little inspiration for your week of Still Life- on the left a Found Still Life, in the center, a still life with selective coloring and on the right, a Created Still Life.
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You are all quite welcome! It's just as helpful to me as it is to you.
Thank you very much, Ann. I really appreciate the research and time you've taken to put together this wonderful post, as well as all the others for February’s FOR.
My thanks to you too Laura, Issi, Karen, and Katrina! The enthusiastic dedication to this challenge really lifts my spirits!
You're welcome Kathy and Nada!