| life photography has lots of practical and valuable uses. | | | | you find online. The purpose of these tools is to |
| Perhaps you want to take a photograph of a beautiful | | | | provide good, even light. |
| bowl of fruit or perhaps you have learned that an | | | | You can also get a good quality of light by setting up |
| important key to eBay success is uploading quality | | | | your photo shoot outside. In fact, a high overcast |
| photos of your products. Learning still life photography | | | | (bright overcast) sky creates a soft box effect where |
| can also give you opportunities for selling your | | | | you get good lighting without the harsh shadows. |
| photograph downloads on microstock sites or to food | | | | Composing Still Life Pictures |
| magazines. No matter what your reason, still life | | | | When composing your photograph, you need to |
| photography is a great skill to learn. | | | | arrange the objects in a pleasing composition. You |
| Unless you are photographing specific products or | | | | should consider using classical composition techniques |
| pictures for a magazine assignment, the subjects for | | | | like the "Rule of Thirds," "Leading Lines" or "Frame |
| your still life photography are endless. Fine art still lifes | | | | within a Frame" for ideas of how to best compose |
| aren't limited to just apples and grapes. Even super | | | | your pictures. Artfully arrange the objects, and use |
| simple items like a few artfully arranged spools of | | | | your imagination. For example, if it's a picture of a piece |
| thread can be interesting and attract attention. | | | | of cake, instead of including the entire table setting, |
| Microstock sites like Shutterstock and iStock that cater | | | | place a gleaming, silver dessert fork upside down on |
| to commercial users have a high demand for all sorts | | | | the plate and remove a tiny bite from the cake. |
| of still life, often of very simple objects, like a cup of | | | | Fill the Frame with Your Subject |
| coffee or a key. | | | | Remember, the only thing that should be in your |
| In one way, still life photography is a lot easier than | | | | viewfinder or on your preview LCD screen is your |
| other forms of photography like landscape, sports or | | | | composition. Remove any clutter and get up close with |
| pet photography. With still life pictures, you can arrange | | | | your camera. If you have a backdrop or background |
| the objects exactly how you want them and have full | | | | you don't like don't worry about it because it can be |
| control over the photo's composition. | | | | easily solved. The soft box or light box solves this |
| And sometimes, good quality still life pictures can be | | | | issue, but if you are shooting outside, here's something |
| even more challenging to photograph. Because still lifes | | | | you can do: place a piece of white foam board or |
| are taken up close, it's easy to see imperfections on | | | | piece of material behind your subject, and voila – |
| your subject that you would normally never see. | | | | no more distracting background. Be sure to use Macro |
| Despite its challenge, by using some basic photography | | | | mode so that you get a sharp image. |
| skills and applying these tips, you can create stunning | | | | Look for a Good Angle – and Shoot! |
| still life pictures with just a little practice. | | | | Rather than taking a picture from your head level, try |
| Lighting for Still Life Photography | | | | holding the camera so that it's at the same height as |
| With most professional photographers, they use a light | | | | your subject. You should also try shooting from a |
| box or soft box to take their still life photos. Although | | | | variety of different angles. |
| soft boxes can help out a lot, they still aren't absolutely | | | | Hopefully these tips have provided you some helpful |
| necessary to get good results as you'll see shortly. | | | | information on taking still life photos that you can start |
| However, if you do want one, you can find a soft box | | | | putting to use immediately. |
| online or you can easily make one using instructions | | | | |