The word "still life" comes from the French phrase "nature morte" and means mortified or dead nature. But it seems to me that the essence of this type of art is better conveyed by the English expression “still life” - “motionless, frozen life.” After all, in its essence, a still life is nothing more than a captured piece of life.
While collecting material for this article, I encountered certain difficulties. At first glance, photographing a still life is as easy as shelling pears. I put the cup on the table, added some details to it, set the light and clicked the shutter. Models are always at hand, unlimited time for shooting. Convenient and minimal costs. That’s why novice photographers love this genre. And some achieve very interesting results. Go to any photography website, select the appropriate section and admire the truly gorgeous pictures. But time passes, and many people have questions: “Why film this? Who needs this? What will I get from this?” Not finding answers to these questions, many switch to wedding, children's or animal photography, which provide a certain income. Still life is not particularly respected by masters of photography. This is not a profitable business. If anything can bring, it’s only aesthetic satisfaction. And they shoot still lifes from time to time, so to speak, to hone their skills.
But there are still a few who see in a still life something more than just a beautiful picture. It is to these masters of still life that I dedicate my article.
I admit, at first I wanted to make a selection of works by photographers that I like, and which rightfully occupy first places in the ratings on various photo sites. And then the question arose: “why?” Everyone knows how to use the Internet, most have studied photo sites at least once, are familiar with the best works, and information about the photographer they are interested in can always be found using a search engine. I decided to talk about Special Photographers - those whose work turns the recognized canons upside down, who really brought something new to still life photography, who managed to see something extraordinary in ordinary things. You can treat their creativity differently: admire it or, conversely, not accept it. But, definitely, their work cannot leave anyone indifferent.
1. Cara Barer
Kara Barer (1956), a photographer from the United States, chose one subject for filming - a book. Transforming it, she creates amazing book sculptures, which she photographs. You can look at her photographs endlessly. After all, each such book sculpture carries a certain meaning, and an ambiguous one.
2. Guido Mocafico
Swiss photographer Guido Mocafico (1962) is not limited to one subject in his work. He is interested in different objects.
But even taking a single subject, he gets amazing works. His series “Movement” is famous. It seems that the watch mechanisms are simply taken, but each one, if you look closely, has its own character.
In still lifes, as is known, “inanimate nature” is photographed. In his “Snakes” series, Guido Mocafico broke this rule and took a living creature as the subject of the still life. Snakes curled up in a ball create an amazing, bright and unique picture.
But the photographer also creates traditional still lifes, shooting them in the Dutch style, and using truly “inanimate objects” as props.
3. Carl Kleiner
Swedish photographer Karl Kleiner (1983) uses the most ordinary objects for his still lifes, arranging them into whimsical pictures. Karl Kleiner's photographs are colorful, graphic and experimental. His imagination is limitless, he uses completely different materials, from paper to eggs. Everything, as they say, goes into action.
4. Charles Grogg
Still lifes of the American Charles Grogg are made in black and white. The photographer also uses ordinary household items found in every home for filming. But by experimenting with their arrangement and combining them in unusual combinations, the photographer creates truly fantastic pictures.
5. Chema Madoz
I am sure that the works of Chema Madoz (1958), a photographer from Spain, are familiar to many. His black and white still lifes, executed in a surreal style, leave no one indifferent. The photographer's unique perspective on ordinary things is amazing. Madosa's works are full of not only humor, but also deep philosophical meaning.
The photographer himself says that his photographs were taken without any digital processing.
6. Martin Klimas
There is also no Photoshop in the works of Martin Klimas (1971), a photographer from Germany. Only a short, or rather super-short, shutter speed. His specially developed technique allows you to capture a unique moment that the human eye cannot even see. Martin Klimas shoots his still lifes in complete darkness. Using a special device, the flash is turned on for a split second at the moment the object is broken. And the camera captures the Miracle. Here are just vases with flowers!
7. John Chervinsky
American John Czerwinski (1961) is a scientist working in the field of applied physics. And his still lifes are a kind of mixture of science and art. Here you won’t understand: either a still life, or a textbook on physics. When creating his still lifes, John Czerwinski uses the laws of physics, obtaining incredibly interesting results.
8. Daniel Gordon
Daniel Gordon (1980), a photographer from America, is not concerned about scientific issues. When photographing still lifes, he chose a different path. He prints out color pictures downloaded from the Internet, crumples these pieces of paper, and then wraps various objects in them. It turns out something like paper sculptures. Bright, beautiful, original.
9. Andrew B. Myers
The still lifes of Andrew Myers (1987), a photographer from Canada, cannot be confused with any others - they are always recognizable. A simple, gentle, calm background, a lot of empty space, which creates a feeling of the image being filled with light and air. Most often he uses objects from the 70s and 80s to create still lifes. His works are graphic, stylish and evoke a certain nostalgia.
10. Regina DeLuise
To create her works, Regina DeLuise (1959), a photographer from the USA, does not use SLR photographic equipment. She chose a different method - she prints negatives from film on special rag paper. Her poetic images contain a wide range of tones and a variety of textures. Still lifes are very tender and poetic. Amazing play of light and shadows.
11. Bohchang Koo
Bohchang Koo (1953), a photographer from South Korea, prefers white. The still lifes he created - white on white - are simply amazing. They are not only beautiful, but also carry a certain meaning - the preservation of ancient Korean culture. After all, the photographer specifically travels around the world, looking for objects of the cultural heritage of his country in museums.
12. Chen Wei
Chen Wei (1980), a photographer from China, on the other hand, finds inspiration for his work close to home. Featuring strange spaces, scenes and objects, he uses props that others have thrown into landfills.
13. Alejandra Laviada
Alejandra Laviada, a photographer from Mexico, uses destroyed and abandoned buildings for her photography, creating still lifes from objects found there. Her still lifes tell real stories about the people who lived in these buildings and used things left behind as unnecessary.
Like any other genre of photography, still life is impossible without composition. Moreover, still life is exactly the genre where composition plays a paramount role and requires the closest attention from the photographer. After all, a reportage shot can be forgiven a lot if the author caught a really good moment. And home photos - have you noticed how mothers are touched when they see their child in a photograph, albeit a mediocre one? It is unlikely that we will expect the same leniency from the audience by photographing an orange with a bottle. To have a positive effect, you have to try. And, of course, you should start with the composition of the intended frame.
Relatively speaking, composition in a still life is a harmonious combination and interaction of objects in the frame. Through composition, you can consistently show the viewer everything you wanted, create a mood, convey an idea, and even tell a story.
Composition in a still life can be divided into several types:
- geometric
- spatial
- color
Geometric composition
It's no secret that all objects have a geometric (or close to geometric) shape. It is also no secret that it is human nature to associate each figure with something specific to it. For example, angles are subconsciously associated with pointers. When you look at a square or rectangle for a long time, a feeling of stability arises (maybe because our subconscious mind completes the drawing of a stable building). And the circle creates a feeling of comfort and calms. It is also worth remembering that horizontal lines (a person lying down) are much calmer than vertical lines (a person standing). As for the diagonals, the ascending lines - leading from the lower left corner to the upper right - look more intense than the descending ones: we still read from left to right, and our gaze has to “climb” across the picture to get to the very top. But there is also a certain feeling of victory hidden in this, isn’t it?! Descending lines running from the upper left to the lower right, on the contrary, are traditionally associated with relaxation, sadness, or even decline.
 |
 |
All these little tricks can and should be used for your own purposes - in order to convey the concept, the idea of the photo.
Emphasis by space
If there is a need to highlight a certain object in a still life, assigning it the role of the main character, here you can play on the spatial composition. For example, putting the main subject in the foreground, in front of everyone else. Or adjust the light so that the leading element is illuminated brightest, and those objects that are behind and in front of it are dimly illuminated. Or you can do it more cunningly - light a stick of incense or release cigarette smoke, thus drawing an aerial perspective in the frame: the main attention will be focused on the front objects, since the distant ones will drown in a romantic haze.
You can also play on the technical aspects of the camera: if you want to show every object in detail, including the backdrop or draperies, then shooting should be done with a closed aperture. But if it is important to highlight one subject, then the aperture needs to be opened as much as possible. You should not ignore the possibilities of optics: in frames taken with wide-angle lenses, objects are greatly distorted, and the closer the object is to the camera, the larger it will appear in relation to the distant ones. Conversely, long focal lengths “collect” the perspective, making the space much flatter.
Color composition
If photography is done in black and white, knowledge about the properties of color effects will not be useful to us. But if the photographic work is planned in color, you should not ignore this area of research. Turning our attention to the psychology of color, we will see that each of the colors has, in addition to its original color, its own meaning. Warm colors (orange, yellow, red, terracotta) remind us of summer, sun, warmth. This is the first association that arises when looking at a photograph done in these colors. In addition, from a painting course you can learn that such objects seem visually closer. The same cannot be said about cold colors: blue, green, pink, purple - these colors slightly distance the object from the viewer, and are usually associated with winter, cold, water.
It is important to remember about contrast, sometimes you can play on it, but often ill-considered color combinations repel or distort the meaning of the entire production. If you decide to photograph a cucumber against an orange background, think about whether the background will draw attention to itself? And is this what you really wanted to achieve? You also need to remember that any object has the ability to reflect or absorb the color shades of nearby objects, and even two objects of the same color on the same background can look different precisely because of the difference in their textures.
The saturation of color also has an impact on the viewer: compositions in soft pastel colors will create a feeling of peace and nostalgia, while bright, flashy colors, on the contrary, are suitable for attracting attention, conveying expression, and assertiveness. This is why bright colors are so loved by advertising photographers, while art photography often gravitates towards a muted, calm tone.
Of course, any composition must entirely obey the general color scheme, the law within the picture - otherwise it will fall apart. That is why you should be careful with color contrasts, they can have a serious impact - both making the work more interesting and destroying it by placing unnecessary accents.
Black and white
Despite the lack of color, black and white still life has its own laws, and contrast also plays an important role here. The color itself in this case is replaced by tone - a different game, but it also has rules!
You've probably noticed that overweight women very rarely wear white. The fact is that white color seems more voluminous than black. In a black and white photograph, the eye first grabs the lightest spots and only then moves on to the dark ones. Many visual illusions are based on this effect: if you look at a sheet with even black and white stripes, it will certainly seem that the white stripes are wider. You must always take this rule into account when setting up a composition, and also take into account that a bright white object, whether it is in the foreground or the background, will certainly appear as the main thing in this composition, and the eye will fall primarily on it.
Contrasts
As already mentioned, contrasts play a special role. Existing within the same composition in the image, they can both highlight objects and, conversely, hide them. A work built on barely noticeable fluctuations of light and shadow without spots that focus the viewer’s attention seems monotonous, monotonous, and inexpressive. Sharp contrasts create tension and dynamics.
Rule of thirds
Of course, when talking about composition, one cannot fail to mention the rule of thirds. By drawing four lines in your mind through the frame - two dividing it into three equal parts horizontally, and two drawn vertically - you can calculate the most effective zones of the frame: they are located at the points of intersection of the four lines with each other. It is best to place the main subject of the composition in these zones.
In reality, the rule of thirds is a simplified rule of the golden ratio, which will be somewhat more difficult to obtain. To do this, the frame needs to be divided into eight parts horizontally and vertically. And then draw lines on the right and left, as well as below and above, at a distance of 3/8. At the intersection of these lines there will be points of the golden ratio. But dividing into three parts is much more convenient than into eight parts, so it is used in the composition more often: the difference is not so noticeable to the viewer, and the harmony in the frame, if any of these rules are observed, is obvious.
Rhythm
 |
 |
Rhythm, that is, the repetition of the same or similar lines, is a very powerful compositional tool that allows you to manipulate the viewer’s gaze. A “path” of alternating objects can take you very far. But you shouldn’t overplay it - the rhythm can kill the entire composition, depriving it of dynamics and making it monotonous.
Internal communications
When creating a setting for photography, you must ensure that there is a connection between the objects in the frame. Objects can be connected by shape (egg and onion), by color (tomato and red pepper), by meaning (apple and cinnamon sticks). Objects must communicate and captivate the viewer, looking from one object in a still life to another. This approach gives integrity to the composition, makes it interesting, understandable and at the same time mysterious - it is not at all necessary to reveal all the internal connections at once; the most interesting things can be hidden inside the composition or hidden for a short time from the viewer, for example, with light.
We can talk about composition endlessly, but the main thing on which a still life is based (as, indeed, photography in any other genre) is the idea, plot and soul of the photograph. And composition is as much a tool in the hands of the photographer as the camera itself. Remember what you want to convey to the viewer! And use all available compositional techniques to your advantage.
Students perform decorative still life at an art school using the following method:
1. Arrangement of objects on a sheet.
2. Transformation (form stylization).
3. Overlapping or intertwining silhouettes with each other.
4. Filling silhouettes with texture and decorative solutions.
As you know, a still life is a production of inanimate objects. In easel painting, still lifes are painted traditionally: they sculpt the volume of objects, convey chiaroscuro, linear and aerial perspective, space... In decorative still life, this becomes unimportant. The shape of the depicted objects becomes flat and conventional. There is no chiaroscuro. Instead, each silhouette is worked out decoratively.
The transformation of form needs to be discussed separately. Its essence lies in transforming the original form of an object into a conventional one. That is, the drawing is simplified and stripped of unnecessary details. The form is reduced to a conditionally geometric one, that is, it is based on simple geometric shapes (circle, rectangle, triangle...). For example, a jug can be composed of a circle and a cylinder, and top and bottom can be completed with circles or ellipses. Thus, only the nature of the object remains. He must be recognizable. And the contours will already be transformed and brought to the general style.
Overlaying or braiding silhouettes- This is a technique in decorative art and design. The overlapping of silhouettes on top of each other is understandable by definition - this is when objects obscure each other and the image becomes, as it were, multi-layered. But braiding is more difficult. For example, when part of a jug is obscured by an apple, the intersecting parts of the jug and apple may be rendered by the artist in a completely different color. Objects become as if “transparent” and their intersecting parts are visible to the viewer. The silhouettes of objects are intertwined in such an intricate way that, as a result, they are sometimes difficult to distinguish. And this gives decorative work a special appeal.
Filling the outlines of objects with texture- is not particularly difficult. You can spray paint, you can lay the paint in chaotic strokes, etc. But filling the silhouette with a decorative solution is more difficult. The artist comes up with some kind of “ornament”, although this word is not entirely suitable here. He fills the silhouette with this “ornament”. This “ornament” is created on the basis of a generative line. A formative line is a line that forms the outline of an object. For example, the outline of a Greek amphora will be gracefully curved. Therefore, the interior decoration of the silhouette will be based on lines curved in a similar way. Individual parts of such decoration of objects, as well as the objects themselves, can be braided. Also, you can skip the literal ornament between them. Therefore, this type of decoration is not just about filling silhouettes with texture or coloring alone. This is a more complex process. But also more spectacular, on which the essence of a decorative still life is based.
In our painting classes, special attention is paid to still lifes made in decorative painting technique.
Decorative painting is a diverse and extensive topic. Developed by our teachers, there is a series of lessons on learning decorative techniques for working with paints. For examples, special still lifes have been prepared, in which various techniques and features of the decorative style can be clearly shown.
The purpose of the assignment is a decorative still life.
- Learn to depict objects using decorative painting tools.
- Master the skills of transforming, dividing and arranging flowers according to shape.
- Try different decorative painting techniques.
There is a common belief that decorative painting styles do not fit into the academic curriculum and are contrary to the basic rules of painting. In fact, this is a deep misconception. All methods and principles of decorative style flow directly from the academic program and are its further development and the continuous evolution of all academic art.
At first glance, the simplified modeling and lack of realistic images may present the wrong image. The decorative execution of the work poses many other, more complex tasks.
Decorative painting involves a deep study of local color, the composition of color spots, the search for expressive accents and effective spatial solutions.
The artist is required to convey the image and impression of the real model as clearly as possible, using a minimum of means. It is necessary to show the volume of the object, material, texture, without resorting to classical modeling. The importance of analyzing the shape of an object increases; it is necessary to select and model a stylized image that transfers the object from a realistic image to the color plane.
In decorative painting, the line acquires greater importance, which becomes a full participant in the picture and, along with color and tone, participates in the formation of the overall composition. Changing the thickness and expressiveness of the line more clearly emphasizes the volume and plasticity of the object.
Also, great variety can come from changing the shape and frequency of strokes, which will immediately turn the surface of the canvas into a decorative panel or mosaic.
At the first stage of getting to know the possibilities of decorative painting, we recommend painting a series of still lifes, since in a still life it is possible to select combinations of objects and fabrics in order to clearly demonstrate the techniques of decorative style.
Types of decorative still life.
There are several common techniques that have proven themselves in practice and in the learning process. The names are selected arbitrarily, since in modern painting there is no clear, international classification of styles and uniform names.
Painting from scraps. All color combinations in this technology are depicted in the form of separate segments, emphasizing the structure of objects and revealing their most expressive properties. Pure colors and flat display of space are often used.
Painting with a clearly defined outline. To enhance the shape and color relationships, the so-called “stained glass method” is used, when all objects and places of refraction of the form are outlined with black or dark lines, creating clear outlines and boundaries between colors. Works made using this technique turn out to be very spectacular and bright.
Other decorative techniques are based on combinations of pure colors, various types of changes in strokes, the use of a palette knife, wide brushes and other tools. The format of the article does not allow us to describe every technique and method of applying paint. You can learn more by attending our classes.
A black and white still life can be painted in a variety of ways. It can look like a standard pencil sketch or an interesting illustration of spots or letters. Today we will talk about different techniques that you can easily repeat at home.
Pattern with spots
Black and white still life is most often made decorative. Why? Yes, because it looks so advantageous. A realistic image, devoid of color, may look appropriate if it is a portrait, illustration or something similar with many details. A realistic still life is not very interesting to look at. That's why many artists prefer decorative works. A still life in black and white is very simple to draw. First you need to build a composition. You can draw from life, which will be easier, or you can come up with a setting in your imagination. In our case, there is a jug and a bowl of apples on the table. A bow and drapery hang on the wall. When a suitable place for all this has been found on the sheet, and the details have been worked out, you can proceed to dividing the objects into parts. Moreover, this should be done not in a chaotic manner, but clearly thought out so that the white parts are adjacent to the black ones and not a single item is lost.
Line drawing
A black and white still life can be painted using various techniques. One of them is the depiction of a drawing using lines. To draw such a picture, you need to take objects that have a clearly defined texture. If this is not the case, then the relief will have to be invented. You need to start drawing a black and white still life by building a composition. First we outline all the objects. In our case, this is a mug with flowers, apples and a wooden table. After all the objects have taken their place, we begin to work out the shape, and then the details. The final action is the image of the texture. The mug acquires horizontal stripes, flowers and apples - a cut-off border. It is imperative to show the texture of the table. It is advisable to combine horizontal and vertical lines in a still life so that the objects do not merge, but stand out against each other.
Letter drawing
This image will appear as a black and white graphic. The still life consists of letters that smoothly turn into words and even sentences. How to draw such an original decorative composition? First you should draw a sketch. Outline the cup and newspaper that will lie in the background. After this, you need to divide the drawing by tones. For example, coffee in a mug should be the most saturated in tone, the second place is occupied by the falling shadow, and the third place is taken by its own. This way you can divide the entire sketch with lines. After this, if you are confident in your abilities, you can paint over the drawing with a gel pen, and if you are worried that something will not work out, first do the underpainting of the letters with a pencil. True, in this case you will have to outline the letters with ink. A gel pen does not draw well on a pencil. Letters should be placed according to the shape of objects. And you definitely need to play with height and width. One word can be very narrow, while another is two or three times larger. You can encrypt some phrases in such a picture, or you can write arbitrary words.
