Still Life Photography in the Kitchen
Just when you thought you'd escaped the washing up, here's an article to get you back in the kitchen with your pinny on for a few sizzling shots.
I thought this was about photography?
It is. There's a ton of stuff in the kitchen that you can use as props and you really don't need much in the way of equipment. It's just a case of seeing things in a different way. Using your eye to find the creative possibilities in the most mundane of things.
Have a look round.
Bit of a mess isn't it.
It's called artistic freedom. Creative domesticity.
Still a mess.
Whatever. So, looking around for a first trawl look at all that stuff waiting to go for recycling. Bottles, jars, paper, cardboard, tin cans. Plenty of ways you can use that lot and it just depends on what you want the photograph to say. Those cans for instance.
Wot, catfood tins? Aren't they going to niff a bit? A scratch'n'sniff tiff. Hehehe!
They are clean, ya know. Listen, we're out for some creative uses of inanimate household objects here. OK. Line 'em up and see what you get. Try it without artificial lighting so that you're just relying on the natural light from the window.
FIG 1
Canon EOS 300D
1/25 @ f22 DISO 100 18-55mm @ 31mm
Natural light
There you are. Two tin cans.
You just had to get the plates in didn't you. OK the lighting is fine, it's clear and sharp and you've managed to get all the scratches on the draining board I see. OK now take another look at the cans. Look at the shape, the texture, the lines. You could bring some more oomph into it by playing with the lighting. You've got it on a long exposure so you can afford to squeeze in a quick flash of flash if you've a mind to, which will give it a bit more drama and bring out the shadows. And try bringing one can forward a bit so you get rid of the gap in between.
FIG 2
Canon EOS 300D
1/15 @ f22 DISO 100 18-55mm @ 55mm
Natural light + Tumax DSL20Afn Speedlite flash held separately
Hey! Not bad huh!
Now that's a corker. Great definition in the lines and you can't even tell it's just a couple of old tin cans. Looks good whichever way you look at it, portrait or landscape. Nice!
Hey this is great. Can I take a picture of you now?
No you can't. Have a rummage in the cutlery drawer and see what you come up with. What have you got. A money off vouchers and a 5 amp fuse. Oh! and the corkscrew. Well let's go with the corkscrew. You can have some fun with that. OK over to you and remember the tin cans. Shape and structure.
FIG 3
Canon EOS 300D
1/160 @ f5.6 DISO 100 18-55mm @ 49mm
Tumax DSL20Afn Speedlite flash
Interesting reflection from the bottom of the frying pan. And some nifty depth of field work too. Getting very creative! Now try using the colander as well. Play around with it and get some different angles. Try anything. And that's the key word. Play. Don't worry at all about rules and just let your imagination take over.
FIG4
Canon EOS 300D
1/160 @ f5 DISO 100 18-55mm @ 38mm
Tumax DSL20Afn Speedlite flash
FIG 5
Canon EOS 300D
1/160 @ f5.6 DISO 100 18-55mm @ 55mm
Now they're fun. And I like the composition of the first one too, having the top of the corkscrew to one side rather than slap bang in the middle. Nice depth of field to which gives some fun colours in the background without giving them detail. Makes it more interesting to look at. The second one really brings out the richness of the wood and that's a nice angle too.
I'm on a roll. Take the corkscrew for a minute and give me the colander.
FIG 6
Canon EOS 300D
1/100 @ f4.5 DISO 100 18-55mm@ 31mm
Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! What do you think of that then! Natural light. Used the dropper to pick out the colour and added a 1 pixel border by extending the canvas. Then extended the canvas again by 10 pixels with black as the background.
You've really got the hang of this. See? That's another nice abstract and you'd never know what it was.
I'll leave you to it then.
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