Photography Basics – Themed Still Life Project

by Mickey Rountree

I recently worked on a project of studio still life images. While I shot 7 subjects, there are many more I have in mind for future shoots, so I don’t consider this project finished. The original concept came from a video by photographer Joel Grimes, and I put my spin on it.

There are several reasons for shooting a themed series of still life. One reason is to practice lighting techniques. Another is to produce a number of images, that while different, have a cohesive theme that allows them to be presented as a group, either as a print with multiple images, or as separate images that can hang together. Another reason is to work on processing techniques to create artistic images with a consistent look or to try varied looks with similar subjects. I shot with the intention of using multiple textures on each image, and to experiment with using scenic images as textures/backgrounds.

My basic setup was just a table top with either a black or wood grain foamcore board as a base, with a medium gray seamless paper background. Lighting was just a medium softbox and strobe camera left and a white reflector camera right. Once the proper exposure was determined only minor lighting adjustments were needed with each subject.

Probably the hardest part of the project was finding props. I had planned to use three kitchen scales as a unifying prop for the series. I wound up with four scales, one from a local thrift store and three from eBay. I also found a wooden butter scoop and a large wooden spoon. The rest of the props were fresh vegetables from the grocery store. I only bought one vegetable at a time, took a day or two to shoot and edit and then bought my next subject. This kept the food (and the photographer) fresh and kept me from having to shoot all of my subjects in a hurry to keep them from spoiling. By the time you read this, you may have seen some of my images in the PSC Gallery.

While I chose food as a convenient subject, you can choose whatever interests you. I could easily envision series based on old cameras, tools, flowers, musical instruments, sewing equipment, shoes, hats, medical equipment, and limitless other possibilities.

Here are a few of the images I shot. You will notice sometimes one image will have different textures in different edits. Trying different textures and processing was a major part of my plan for this series.