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Photographing still objects like fruit bowls, plates of steaming pasta, and leather-bound books are easy. You do not need to worry about them moving around, shaking their heads, or making unnecessary movements in front of the camera. However, still object photos can look boring and uninteresting unless you know how to bring life into these otherwise everyday inanimate things. Here are a few tips on how to make your still life photos pop out and look alive. Fill extra space with as much of the subject as possible Tourist photographers sometimes takes photos of say, a church, and think that as long as their intended subject is in the photo, it is already acceptable. It is not. Most of the scenic photos they take come out with a lot of extra “scenery” surrounding the main subject. You can prevent having these irrelevant spaces around your subject by framing it well. Try to get as close to your subject as possible to eliminate the irrelevant objects around it. If it is impossible to physically get close to it, use the zoom feature of your digicam or replace your fixed 50mm lens with an 80mm or 110mm to take more focused and eye-catching photographs. Shoot from a different angle
The easiest position to photograph something is by standing in front of it. Most people take photos of their favorite painting or vase this way, but while it allows them to focus easily on the subject, it also prevents them from looking at it from a different angle. You can view your subject differently by moving to the left or the right of your subject and cocking your camera at an angle. This position produces a slightly distorted perspective, but it can capture the lines and contours of your still subject that are not visible if you are facing it directly. Experiment with natural light If you are flash-dependent, try shooting an object using available light. Take your vase from your dark living room and place it in your brightly-lit patio. Photographing a still object in available natural light does not desaturate your subject’s colors unlike harsh artificial light, especially if your flash bounces on your subject too much. Moreover, available light allows you to photograph your subject in its natural state. Not only can you capture your subject’s shape, color, and detail, you also capture its natural environment (sunny, downcast, or stormy). Try taking photos of the same subject indoors and outdoors to see the differences in lighting. |