Assignment: Still Life May 5 - 19

[Saralonde]

This week: "Still Life". Still life photography is generally a small grouping of inanimate subjects. A classic in art, a Still Life gives you a lot of creative control over your subject. You have time to set it up in a pleasing composition and plan for lighting, two very important aspects of this type of photography. Learning to create a good still life can be useful by many different types of photographers. Wedding, stock, and food stylists all rely on the ability to compose this type of shot.

Keep a few things in mind:

Composition: The rule of thirds is a good idea to keep in mind when you are arranging your subjects. Groups of three or or other odd numbers are also pleasing to the eye. Try to arrange your objects in such a way that the eyes flows from one to another. It's also a good idea to have them related to each other in some way that makes sense to the viewer or gives a visual story. Arrange and rearrange as many times as necessary. Experiment!

Lighting: Soft natural window light works, as well as stronger lights and shadows for a more dramatic effect. Consider your subject and decide what works best.

Backgrounds: Be careful of these as they can add or distract from your picture. A shallow depth of field can lessen a busy background or try using a solid background of paper or cloth.

5 Still Life Lighting Tips for Beginners


50mm
1/800s
f/1.4
ISO 200

As always, rules:

Just a note to new posters: DO NOT start a new thread for your post. Please just hit the reply button at the bottom of any current post and put your image there.

1. Your original image you submit should be taken between the 5th of May and the 19th of May. Each week as an assignment closes on the Wednesday, it will be AUTOMATICALLY deemed *CLOSED* after 8am GMT ( 3am EST) and any posts after that time will not be eligible for the assignment competition. Don't wait until the last minute to post!

2. Your post must include B]"Still Life"[/B] (to show your permission to count it for the contest) and the date the picture was taken (to show that it is a valid entry).

3. EXIF data should be intact. It helps if you can include the main points (including camera, lens, date taken, ISO, shutter speed and aperture) in the text of your message.

4. Only one entry per member (if you can't restrain yourself until the end of the first week you can post two or three separate pictures but your entry should be in a separate post and the only marked with the text above). It must be an original image taken by you.

5. Remember the cross-site image size limit (740px on the longest side). (If it's wider than the image above, it's disqualified)

6. If the image does not exist in post at the end of the contest, it is disqualified. If you modify anything on flickr and re-save the image then the link is broken and the message needs edited to link the picture again before it will be included in the contest.
For everyone, please do not repeat other people's photos by quoting them until the contest is over. If you want to comment on or discuss an entry you can use a link to it (or just delete the picture from the quoted text).

7. If you are looking for the winners of the mini-contest, please check the front page of the DPS blog Saturday late afternoon (EST) and here.

Next week: "Fences"

[pascalbovet.com]

Sony A550
Sony 18-55mm @ 55mm
ISO 200 - f20 - 1/250s

Strobist: HVL-F42 @ 1/2 Power from above, Wireless

Taken on May 10, 2010 for DPS "Still Life" Assignment

[mseigafuse]

Here is my entry.



Camera: Pentax K100D
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 48 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Date and Time (Original): 2010:05:11 17:46:13-04:00

I wanted side lighting and the warm tones of sunset, but it rained yesterday around sunset. So, I actually used a flash with a CTO gel to create the warm colors, along with a couple of other flashes to light the roses and grapes. I composed this using a technique my wife uses to arrange flower pots where there is thrill, fill and spill. I like the way it turned out, especially the texture created by the side lighting that makes every little imperfection in my walls show up

More details on Flickr if you are interested...

Mike

[BrittneyLove]

Assignment: Still Life
Camera: Nikon D2X
Exposure: 10
Aperture: f/40.0
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: -5 EV
Flash: No Flash

[alphasco]

Teach them well



Camera: Nikon D60
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: +5/3 EV
Flash: Auto, Fired, Return detected
Exposure Program: Manual
Date and Time (Original): 2010:05:12 09:00:16

[Keikyu]

Mounting at Home


My husband and I used what we learned at the San Diego Fair's Matting & Mounting clinic to finish preparing another of my entries for the fair photography exhibition. Since it's 'Still Life' week, I thought I should take a pic of our workspace when we got done. Here's my matted and mounted photo, X-acto knife, cutting board, and a roll of double-sided tape up in the corner. The late-afternoon sun was coming across the table pretty strong, but I like the glow

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Taken on May 11, 2010

[GwenieThePooh]

TOMATOES



EXIF:
Camera: Nikon D5000
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 320
Exposure Bias: -8/3 EV
Flash: No Flash
Date and Time (Modified): 2010:05:11 16:39:41
YCbCr Positioning: Centered
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Date and Time (Original): 2010:05:11 16:09:36-07:00
Date and Time (Digitized): 2010:05:11 16:09:36

[CheaperKings]

Assignment: Still Life
Aperture: f/4.8
Focal Length: 120mm
ISO Speed: 100
1/160th
Flash: Did Not Fire

[laidbacknerd]

Assignment:Still Life



May 15, 2010

Nikon D40
55mm
2"
f5.6
ISO800

I was inspired by some photos I've seen months ago. Can't really remember how those pictures looked liked.

[RJKs Daughter]

Camera: Canon 5d Mark II
Lens: 50mm f/1.4
ISO: 6400
Exposure: 1/2000 sec
F-Stop: f/1.4