Still life photography is one of the more overlooked niches of photography despite its accessibility to pretty much anyone with a camera. This may be in part due to the common misperception of still life photography solely as the flashy, high key product shots with expensive cameras and lighting gear. But it is more than that!

*Still life photographs capture the beauty of a moment frozen in time.*

Let me get it straight from the beginning: Still life photography is where you can exercise absolute freedom in your style and go off the rails as much as you like.

A dead bug you come across on your evening walk; a paper cup left behind in a bus stop, the crack on that wall; imperfect among the perfect… All make great opportunities for still life photography.

The enjoyment you can expect from a still life image is primarily (and perhaps purely) aesthetical, though you can see an open ended story as well. All in all, the goal is an image that you enjoy looking at, whether it's a beautiful ivy wall or the rusty panel of an old car.

What is still life photography?

By definition, it is the photography of inanimate objects. Well, that’s quite a boring definition for such a great photography niche. To be more realistic, still life photography is about capturing the stillness of a subject or scene in a beautiful way.

Still life photography is about capturing the stillness of a subject or scene in a beautiful way

You might be thinking, “isn’t everything in a photograph still?”

In that case, think of a photograph that captures a man walking in the street. Not even with motion blur, just a very crisp image of a man taking a stride.

In this imaginary image, what you see and feel is still a motion. Even if you never get to see it, you know that man has moved after the photograph has been taken.

If you had additional elements, such as some motion blur in his legs, the feeling of “action” will only be emphasized further.

Now, imagine the photograph of a coffee mug, sitting by the window, covered in late afternoon sunshine.

The sun highlights the outlines of this mug, whereas the soft shadow of the mug on the window sill brings reality to its existence although obscuring part of its details. (Well, I thought I will spare you the imagining, and I went ahead and created that very image! See below.)

*Realization of a random still life image idea with a mug and a sunny window.*

When you look at this photograph, you do not think about how the sun will set, or you do not think about when the mug will be taken or used. It’s a beautiful moment frozen in time, that’s it.

It’s just a coffee mug; I bet you have several of them in your kitchen. Yet, due to the way it fits in the world of light and shadows, it’s mundaneness becomes irrelevant.

Sharp lighting gives a clear definition of the mug; the rest of the scene is underexposed which steers the focus to the subject; and the shadow of the mug on the wall adds to the reality of the moment.

You also see beyond what’s in the image looking at the series of light dots on the wall indicating the presence of blinds on the window.

This is still life photography: You simply enjoy looking at that photograph, whether it’s purely because of the aesthetics captured, or that it simply reminds you that beauty exists in everything in the universe.

Now, this image is a simple and spontaneous example. Let’s take a look at how we can follow a methodical way to create much better still photographs using the same subject!

Choose your subject

Choosing the subject for your still life photograph is the most crucial step for producing a satisfactory image. You can be spontaneous! Anything will work as the subject long as it captures your interest.

In one case, you may pick a subject and have flexibility in your scene like in the coffee mug example. In other cases, you may come across a scene, like a building, a car, or any object in its natural environment, and you work with that.

A subject with aesthetics will definitely help, but always consider the opposite! Take, for example, an old rusty car. The power of still life is in portraying the essence and details of the subject, and not necessarily its beauty.

*An old car, whether it is in pristine shape or not, is a good choice for a still life subject. Look at this photograph for a moment and think about what it made you feel and think.*

Consider the car above as an example. It is interesting, because it is a cool car but in a bad shape. Looking at the chipped paint and the dent on the bumper, the scratches on the hood makes you think about the history of this car.

It urges you to think about the day it was bought, when it was bright and shiny. Then the many occasions that lead to the dents and chips in the paint. It even makes you think about the owner, who probably still loves this car like the first day.

It does not matter if this is all speculation. It creates a different story in each viewer’s mind and heart. And just like a fiction book, it is the story that matters — not its validity.

It creates a different story in each viewer’s mind and heart. And just like a fiction book, it is the story that matters — not its validity.

With all that said, we will go with the coffee mug we started off with as the subject. You will see that sometimes the feeling the image of a random subject creates is equally effective as a deep story embedded behind another image.

Find suitable lighting

Although you typically have to work with what you have in your scene, sometimes you may have the luxury of choosing between direct sunlight, soft daylight and artificial lighting.

It may seem like you are constrained to three options here, but the lighting in photography is like the notes in modern music. You have seven notes, but infinite songs!

Direct Sunlight

Direct sunlight is great for defining the features of your subject, as well as filtering out irrelevant elements in the frame by underexposing them. The first image of the coffee mug in this article is an example of direct sunlight’s use.

To be fair, working with direct sunlight could be harder, since the angle at which the light comes to your subject, and the shadows that form in your scene can make or break your photograph.

Soft Daylight

Soft daylight is what you would find on a cloudy day, or right after sunset. This type of light creates soft and gradual shadows on your subject, which, more often than not, works better than direct sunlight in creating a dramatic look. See an example below:

While direct sunlight highlights the outlines of our subject, soft daylight creates gradual shadows that emphasize the three dimensional nature of the coffee mug.

Although the subject is photographed head-on here, we have a better perception of its curved nature, which is an important element that connects the viewer to the image.

Artificial Lighting

Artificial lighting can be used equally effectively as the other two options to create stunning still life photographs. In fact, if you have the luxury of using this type of lighting, it gives you full control of the light in your photograph.

But artificial lighting does not necessarily mean studio lighting! You can, and should, use any type of artificial light source to create the desired look in your photographs. Here is another example:

*An example of artificial lighting in still life photography. The subject was simply hand held between two room lights against a white wall here.*

In this example, I simply held the camera to my eye and the bottle against different light sources. I realized the metallic bottle’s outlines were beautifully illuminated between the two room lights, and I went for the shot.

Compose your image

This may sound vague, but what you need to do is simply observe your scene and subject to decide if you have the look you are hoping for.

Likewise, sometimes your composition will be ready and waiting for you to simply make the photograph. This is more common when you are out and about, and you come across a beautiful subject in beautiful lighting!

Keep in mind the general compositional rules in photography, but also twist them to see if you get a better photograph! In the coffee mug examples above, I made all the lines lead to the subject or its shadow.

This is only one way of doing it, and perhaps you can try to have no lines at all and only your subject! Indeed, this is where the fun side of still life photography emerges: You can unleash your creativity.

Here are more examples with the coffee mug:

*A gentle hold of the subject creates the perception of delicacy, whereas the landscape composition creates the feeling of suspense.*

In this photograph, we step up the reality of the subject and the scene by introducing a hand. The fingers hold the coffee mug as if it’s a feather, and this leads to the perception of delicacy in the viewer.

This perception could be further amplified by simply rotating this image counter-clockwise. However, the landscape orientation creates the feeling of suspense, and leaves it up to the viewer’s imagination whether the mug falls or not.

Did you notice the faint shadow on the middle-left of the image? Let’s work on that further:

*Getting closer to the backdrop focuses the shadows, and creates a look that is ominous of what’s to come.*

Instead of amplifying the perception of delicacy, we can increase the feeling of suspense in this image by adding shadow elements. We do this by simply getting closer to the backdrop for a better focused shadow.

The result is even better! While the actual fingers are still holding the mug, it’s as if the shadow hand has already let go of it! This is a great cue for what the viewers should feel and think after seeing this image.

Now let’s try to convey a different perception:

*As opposed to the first four normal looking fingers, the bend in the pinky finger emphasizes a perception of weight in this still life photograph.*

This time, the coffee mug is dangling from the pinky finger of the hand. The first four fingers of the hand look as they would normally do if we were photographing only the hand itself.

Yet, the pinky is curled under the weight of the coffee mug — a deviation from the typical. This inevitably adds the perception of weight to this image. The mug that was featherlight a few shots ago is now a burden!

Also note how the upper half of the photograph is darker, which steers your attention to the pinky and the mug rather than the hand itself. This is useful, because a hand by itself is a beautiful still life subject.

And finally, here are a few rather unconventional shots of the mug and hand duo as examples:

Some Further Tips

Decide on Color vs. Black and White

Unless you are shooting film, I urge you to try out both color and black and white versions of your shots. Therefore, you can either shoot RAW in either option; or shoot color JPEGs to later decide on color.

Ultimately, the decision is one of preference as well as what works for the given scene.

Black and white is great for highlighting the geometrical features of your subject, especially if combined with the correct lighting option.

Color on the other hand may come handy if you want to isolate your subject from the scene thanks to its prominent color features. Consider a red leaf on a background of many yellow leaves as an example.

In the examples above, both options work great overall. However, the color option works much better to emphasize the foliage on the grass, whereas this is less apparent in the black and white image.

Pick your perspective wisely

If you are going for the minimal look, try to employ a head-on perspective and wide angles. If you want to highlight the shapes and geometry of the subject or the scene, try a diagonal perspective (i.e. shoot the subject from an angle) and try to use spacing carefully in your frame.

Try to work with any subject

The more mundane the subject is, potentially the better suited it is for still life. Choose subjects other than a bouquet of flowers or a bowl of fruit! Choose something radical! Like a single shoe, a car missing a tire, a crooked lamp post… Even a potato!

Choose a look that fits your equipment’s capability

As I have discussed earlier, you should go for shots that suit the gear you have at the moment. For example, if you only have your phone with you, don’t try to go for the shallow depth of field in your shot. Similarly, if you are working with a tele lens, try shots where isolating the subject from the background make sense.

Be on the lookout for extraordinary details within ordinary things

Finally, try to be more observant of your surroundings as you go about your day. Over time, you will see that scenes or subjects ready to be captured will be hinting at you, and all you need is to make the shot!

A good way to improve is getting inspiration from beautiful photographs and keeping a photo journal to keep track of your progress. You can follow Pursue Light on instagram for more examples and also get a free photo journal template here to get started.

Conclusion

Still life photography is a style that any photographer can execute on the side, even if their main interest is a different niche. In short, still life teaches you to look at the world around you from a different perspective, which ultimately contributes to your photography in any style.

Have you ever tried still life photography? Or, have you been shooting still life photography without knowing it? Let us know in the comments below!

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A Step by Step Guide to Still Life Photography

What is still life photography?

Choose your subject