Back to page one
TIME, AND INDEED TIMING, is crucial in most types of photography. In landscape photography you need to wait until the light is just right, in portrait photography for the model to show that perfect smile, and in photojournalism, well, let''s just say there is a reason why the phrase 'the decisive moment' was coined by one of the greatest photojournalists there has ever been.

But in still life photography, time is almost irrelevant. You can take as long as you need to get everything into the perfect position, moving the camera an inch this way, then a quarter of an inch back, making sure that the lights casts a shadow in exactly the right place and every highlight is just as it should be. You can take all day if you want. With some objects you can even come back tomorrow. Flowers may wilt if you leave them in the studio for too long, but an acorn and a vase both have infinite patience. You should be the same.

Outside the studio you may use the excuse that there were circumstances beyond your control. Inside the studio, working with models or animals, you can blame their unresponsiveness for a less than satisfactory shoot, but with still life, you only have your self to blame.

For this very reason, a tripod is a still life photographer's best friend.

It keeps the camera in position, allowing you to arrange and rearrange your composition, and every time return to the exact same point of view.

Serious still life and advertising photographers use a very wide variety of kit. Some prefer large format cameras, others medium format. Some like slightly longer lenses, some prefer to get in close, but they all have one thing in common, they all own one seriously sturdy, seriously reliable tripod.

These are often exclusively designed for studio use, their weight disqualifying them from being taken on hiking trips to photograph landscapes, or anywhere else where you can't park within 200 yards of where you need to set up.

But what if you don't own an industrial strength tripod? Well, for most jobs, and unless you are using a 8x10 large format camera, any tripod will do. Its main function, after all, is to keep the camera still while you fiddle with the composition.

Found Objects

Not all still lifes are photographed in the studio.

For the very brave, the very accomplished and the confident, there is another option.

Whereas, with objects in the studio, you have complete control over everything, with objects found outside the studio, your scope for control is much more limited.

But even though what you will find will be outside the studio, you will have to approach the subject the same way that you would inside the studio. You will still have to take complete control over lighting, using flashguns and reflectors under much more demanding conditions. Point of view and composition is still as crucial as ever, because the trick is to create an ideal image, even in less than ideal circumstances.

Because of this lack of control, you are almost always better of taking what you have found back to the studio, and recreating the scene there, but unfortunately, that is not always possible. Some objects cannot be moved because they are too heavy, others because they are private property, whatever the reason, there may be times that you will want to take the picture outside your home studio.

Once you have chosen a found object, though, you will have to take extra care. I often use a soft-bristled paintbrush to clean the object I am photographing. Look out for little specs of dust and nearly invisible hairs, as these can ruin a shot, or cost you hours of work in Photoshop.

Where does one find found objects? Anywhere and everywhere. Wherever you go there are things screaming out to be photographed, from the market to the city dump, the world is a treasure trove of masterpieces waiting to be created.