Natural Light Still Life

Composing a still life in the style of an old master painter is popular, but the attention to detail here is exceptional. The division of the bottom of the frame with the tablecloth, the fruit peel draping down and the smoke from the candle all add to the rhythm of the picture, guiding the eye expertly around the frame. Each object has been expertly positioned to give height, texture and colour. The light is perfect too.

There’s great potential here: the pastel colour of the table is nice; the shape of the plate is decorative without being fussy and the food looks pretty appetising (I’ve never tried orange on eggs before though!) Unfortunately, the attention to detail isn’t quite there: the edge of the table is at a slight diagonal, a bottle of something sneaks in at the edge of the frame and the knife thrusts into the avocado rather aggressively. Also, there are marks on the edges of the plate that perhaps should have been cleaned up. If the photographer could have shuffled things about a bit it might have been great!

The balance of this image is great – the photographer clearly has an eye for composition. The light brings out the texture of all of the objects beautifully too. The picture has a lovely impressionist feel but, for me, the effect is too heavy-handed. It would be interesting to see it again with the processing dialled back – sometimes less is more.

There’s a fabulous mix of muted colours and carefully positioned lines here – the honey shade of the whisky, the diagonal of the table behind it, the edges of the window frame, all work well together. The aperture (f/3.5) is ideal as it keeps enough of the bottle sharp while reducing the background to a series of interlocking shapes and colours.

I’m a big fan of flat lay photography, and this is lovely example, The choice of flowers is great: plenty of variety in colour, shape and structure. I tend to keep a little separation between blooms, allowing the negative space to play a role, but allowing some crossover here seems to work well. The wooden backdrop is nice. My one complaint is the level of noise in the picture – it was shot at ISO 6400, which seems to have pushed the camera a little too far.

The simplicity and reduced colour palette of this picture is very pleasing. The exposure is bound to have been challenging, but the photographer has managed to bring back detail in the landscape and the bouquet, which is impressive. If I could make one tweak it would be to crop in tighter to the window.

The lighting here is great, and the choice of backdrop is inspired (it helps to emphasise the strong pink of the flowers). I love the way that the stem is leaning protectively over the eggs and grapes, but while the composition is pleasing, the relationship between the objects isn’t clear. It’s important to keep storytelling in mind when you’re choosing objects for a still life composition.

Flowers are a popular subject for still life studies, but the beauty of individual blooms can often be overshadowed by showy vases and attempts to make everything perfect. Here all of the stems can be seen (I’m assuming the photographer used a flower frog to hold them in place) and the slightly tatty leaves and blooms are celebrated. It really feels like the flowers have dictated how they want to be photographed, which is just as it should be!

Food photography requires an understanding of shape, form, and knowledge of when to break the rules! Here bowls, knives and forks are cut off by the edges of the frame, and the bunched-up tea towel spills over the edge, making us think about what else might be going on in the kitchen. Shooting from above works well, drawing attention to the shapes and textures.

The power of storytelling shines through in this picture: three sets of wellies lined up against a wall – so simple, and yet so evocative. You can almost hear the children who have taken them off laughing and playing in the background. The colours are great, the lighting is great and the inclusion of the three sockets balances the composition perfectly.

The shapes and shadows work wonderfully on the crisp white tablecloth, and the use of three objects is well considered. The introduction of a splash of colour in the top shadow is nice. Where this shot falls short is in the positioning of the objects and the angle from which it has been taken. Spending a little more time moving the objects around and experimenting with the shooting angle would have resulted in a really strong image. So close!

The frame has been divided nicely with the curve of the tray, and the shadow on the wall is a lovely touch. The aperture, however, is a little too wide (f/6.3) to prevent the far side of the cup and the tea from falling out of focus. The ISO is quite high (5000), so we can assume that the room was relatively dim and the photographer was handholding the camera. Using a tripod, closing down the aperture and allowing the shutter speed to fall where it may might have helped. Lovely shot though!

This is a beautiful scene, with the potential for multiple compositions. The photographer might have chosen to focus on the window and small basket, the large basket and chair or the jugs on the wall, for example. As it happens, she has chosen to include all of the elements, which has overcomplicated the composition slightly. Nevertheless, it’s a lovely picture with great storytelling, beautiful light and wonderful warmth.

There’s something satisfying about seeing a square positioned in a circle! The light here makes the shot: warm enough to bring out the colour of the whisky, dim enough to add a sense of cosiness and yet bright enough to show the explosive cracks in the ice. Using a relatively wide aperture keeps our eye on the detail in the cube, while allowing the glass to gently fall out of focus.

This would make an excellent jigsaw puzzle! There are so many colours and shapes that the eye tries to find a route through, but repeatedly meets a dead-end. Using an aperture of f/22 has helped to record detail in the paint from the front brush right through to the back.