( Written October 2020 - just forgot to publish)
One of my goals last year and this year was to get an image awarded in International Garden Photographer of the year (IGPOTY) - Last year I managed to get some shortlisted but none awarded. This year I have managed to get one Highly commended in the Still life category which I am so thrilled about after trying so hard to learn and improve in this genre. This is the commended image below. I will be entering another category this month, so fingers crossed with this too.
I had been looking forward to using autumnal items in still life and have certainly utilised found and foraged nature alongside bought food, plants and some bargain items from charity shops/ebay. I think I may have gone over board in making the most of having pumpkins, winter squash, Chinese lanterns and berries etc Ive had my winter squash and pumpkins around a month now and they have kept well, stored in a cool place.
I have been trying light painting with a small book light and another small led light. It is a little trial and error but I feel like I am getting to grips with it slowly. The 3 images below were light painted - anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds seems to work nicely so far.
Another theme that seemed a natural progression for me, given the pumpkins, autumn theme and my pagan interests is a bit of a Halloween / witchy theme so I produced some along this idea. Candles worked well to light some of these.
Below are a couple of my favourite autumnal still life images taken in the last month, just using standard studio lighting.
I have tried to concentrate on better composition and tried to keep them reasonably simple
I have tried a few with side lighting which does appeal to me.
Another approach I have played around with is flat lay, both in still life and touching on food photography. Ive mostly used the same items to experiment. The flat lays are easily set up on a table or floor and photographed with a tripod over head. I have used studio light pointed at the set, then bounced off the ceiling and sunlight coming in from the side as you can see in the first two images of pretty much the same set - the different lighting makes a big difference. Whilst the first image has the down side of looking too busy in my opinion due to the shadows - I also find it more appealing because of the shadows. The seemingly well lit image underneath feels flat in comparison.
This image was the result of sunlight streaming through our blinds, onto a flat lay that I had set up. Whilst its quite bust and composition was not set up for images taken from this angle, I do like the lighting and feel it makes it warm and inviting.
For my flat lays I have used a combination of story telling in some and composition for others. I think I need to get both in one image and also find the lighting style that works best for me. Its amazing how many different images you can create from one basic set up, just swapping a few items. I do like introducing the human element - ie hands holding a drink and intend to try more like this - pouring drinks, cutting bread/food, stirring etc.
These are really amongst my first proper attempts at food photography in flat lay.
I do feel like I am learning and getting somewhere, but still there is so much to learn - especially with food photography. I will stick mostly to still life as I dont have the energy and stamina to be making meals to photograph them, but it is interesting to dabble in.
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