Still-Life Studies

This has a wonderful fairytale atmosphere to it! We love the lighting and colour, while the use of smoke is masterful. There is definitely an abstract feel here and we like the thought that has clearly gone into the construction of the scene. Very nicely put together, well done!

We love this photo, it gives off a pleasant calmness. The negative space is brilliantly integrated and brings the two main elements into focus. We especially like the incoming light, which has a natural gradient in the background and supports the calmness within the image. Well done!

Who doesn't love a period oil painting? The likes of Vermeer, Rembrandt and others have inspired many photographers in their choice of lighting and composition. This scene captures the romance of those masterpieces and proves that stunning images can be captured using any household items and lighting.

Sometimes less is more! And it is precisely this minimalist input that we find particularly inspiring in this photo. The main elements were cleverly chosen and composed, as they appear abstract but still natural. This balance is unique and is what makes an interesting and successful photograph.

This photograph has a great effect, the objects have been skilfully combined and inspire the viewer. A slight noise is visible in the dark parts of the image. This is not distracting, but can be avoided by using a low ISO value. If the ambient light is still too low, place your camera on a tripod/ or on a solid surface to work with a slower shutter speed. A yellow cast is visible in the shadow areas, this can be due to artificial light sources and easily corrected with an adjusted white balance setting. The message of this still life is clear and has a clear meaning. This elevates the photograph to another level and makes it stand out from the crowd.

We like the idea of photography to make a coin the star and to integrate the reflection. The rule of thirds is clearly visible and the negative space cleverly used. The light gradient in the image is natural and not artificial. Capturing such a small object in focus is difficult. Shifting the focus to the bird's head would further enhance the effect of the photograph. To overcome this challenge is to use less open apertures or to record the subject with a bigger distance in RAW and to crop the image later to perfection in post processing.

A very great and harmonious composition in which the tradition of still life painting is taken up. The wine bottle is always a popular object in still lifes and stands out in the picture. It appears a little more modern than the rest of the objects depicted. To integrate the wine more into the overall picture, it is a good idea not to show the bottle itself, but to pour the wine into a glass. In this way, you can cleverly avoid a temporal assignment of the bottle. The soft effect was used well and underlines the historical idea - well done!

The choice of objects is very successful and alludes to 17th century still life painting - very well done! Their arrangement and staging also adds to the captivating nature of the photo. Unfortunately, on closer inspection, one notices that some objects were not flawlessly masked in post-processing and still have a slightly grey edge. When editing so much dark background, it helps to take breaks and check everything again after a few minutes with a fresh look. It helps working with layers in editing programmes as these "remnants" of the border get visible trough this approach. The colour choice of the counterpart ends is harmonious and does not look artificial. The fruits are a great addition that give the photograph that extra touch with the orange tone.

What we like most about this picture is the creative idea and its realisation. The arrangement of the can and the tomatoes is also very successful and especially the tomatoes "coming out" of the can bring some dynamics into the still life. About taking the picture to the next level, you can pay attention to the white balance and adjust it accordingly. This avoids yellow cast and creates a neutral lighting situation (if this visual goal is to be pursued). The lighting contributes to a good overall picture: The can is spotlighted and thus attracts the viewer's attention. The light reflections in the tomatoes are also a great addition. To emphasise the tomatoes even more, it is best to darken the background a little. This creates a great contrast that visually highlights the tomatoes.

This picture inspires with its unusual perspective, which shows us new elements of a vegetable, which only becomes clear at second glance. Taking a close-up of familiar objects is a clever way about captivating the viewer. A closer look reveals that some post-processing has been done to the upper part of the image. This can happen quickly if you work with a picture for a longer period of time. In this case it helps to look at the final picture again after a few days with a fresh eye and thus to be able to see the reworkings clearly. A certain amount of noise can be observed in the picture elements, this may be intentional, but could also be minimised in post-processing. The light situation in the picture is well chosen and shows different characteristics of the surface - thank you for this exciting insight!

We were very enthusiastic about the concept of this photograph! The combination of still objects and the life reflected in the plants is an interesting interpretation that captivates not just us but the viewer. To take the picture to the next level, you can adjust the white balance to the ambient light. This way you avoid the yellow cast caused by artificial light sources. The arrangement of the objects is very well done and appears harmonious. The shadows within the objects are well done and make the green plants stand out. Thank you for this interesting still life with a great message!

This photograph impressed us with its surreal touch. The two levels merge skilfully and leave the viewer with questions, which at the same time make the picture fascinating. The reduction of the colours enhances this disappearing effect. Our only comment: you could convert the picture completely into black and white (which may have already been tried) to find out how the intensity of the effect is changing. You could also experiment with cropping to further underline the effect according to your visual preferences. Thank you very much for this great photograph!

The composition of the photograph is very successful - well done! Integrating the cup into the picture format in this way has a very aesthetic and different perspective on this everyday object. The shell and pearls are also well arranged. The image seems to have either been sharpened in post-processing or taken in a small image format. Unfortunately this can be seen in the appearance of the photograph. A tip about optimising sharpness is to shoot with a medium aperture, for example f/10 or higher. The colour combination within the still life is coherent and the blue background gives the main element plenty of contrast about which to visually stand out.

A great photograph that inspires with its colouring and arrangement of the objects. The dark background is a clever choice because it makes the fresh food stand out more. To take the photograph to another level, you could integrate the natural light from the side and sharpen the overall result again. The arrangement of the food and ingredients within the photograph is very successful and softens the overall result. We especially like the additional chilli flakes (?) which enrich the image in a playful way.

The photograph is captivating thanks to the great yellow and the structure of the flowers. To draw even more attention to them, you could shoot with a maximum open aperture (small f-stop number) in order to intensify the depth of field. This makes the background very blurred and the flowers visually stand out to the viewer. Alternatively, you could crop the picture a little more to enhance the focus. The curtain in the background is a great addition that automatically lets the viewer compare the real and artificial flowers. A double of this kind makes a photograph very interesting.

We love the composition of the image and arrangement of the main elements. Putting the checkerboard tip in the middle of the frame was a clever move! This adds a lot of dynamism to the photograph. Thanks to the blur in the foreground, the viewer is not distracted and the focus remains on the three main characters. Well done!

The composition and colour scheme of the photograph is very successfully created. Both objects stand out skilfully through the staged lighting and draw the viewer's attention. The clock face is the brightest and most striking element in the photograph, so to optimise the photo, it would have been ideal if it had also been in focus. A medium open aperture helps to improve the overall sharpness. The materal of the two objects has been picked up great by the light and underlines their haptic. We especially like the fact that there is no clear line in the background area, instead the background goes from grey to black.