Food, glorious food!
I’ve always admired those who can put together a good still life, whether it be for painting, or photographing it. Once upon a time, long before I got into photography, I knew a woman married to a food stylist/photographer, and she told me stories of ‘things’ he’d done to food to make it look good – but totally dangerous to consume!
Time rolls on…. I pick up a camera….. and shoot animals in action, or landscapes, or sunrises/sunsets, flowers in the garden, insects…… almost everything bar still life……
Now however, the time has come. I want to record the produce from my garden. I’d like to have some images suitable to decorate my new kitchen. I need to learn how to do still life….. oh dear… this is not going to be easy…..sigh….
Give me a horse galloping over hurdles as subject to capture any day in preference!
Blackberries. Luscious glossy ripe blackberries. Growing in my garden. Yummy. Delicious. Scrumptious.
Well……
Last week I’d tried to capture their spirit, but failed miserably. I did some research, read some instructive sites, had another try…..
That’s a B for Berry…. hmm…. not very exciting is it.
Well, how do they look lined up instead? Marginally better.
Maybe I just need to change my angle? Definitely something needs to change!
I started to get a little silly, like a kid playing with my food, re-arranging the berries, so I made a funny face…..but it looked better from down low….
Is that my blood I hear you ask?
Let’s change the white balance and see if that makes a difference. More blood spilled…..
Have a heart – I am trying aren’t I ????
Time to do some more research….. After scrolling through a dozen or more pages of stock photos, and gaining zilch in inspiration….. it was time to pull out all stops. Err….. pull out the china that is….
Right – plated up looks better!
By this time, I’m struggling to stop myself from consuming the berries – knowing that one will never be enough!
You can see how nice and shiny they are – and that is part of my difficulty in photographing them.
This is my favourite shot of the day. I think. Tomorrow is another day…. and I’ve still got the mulberries to shoot too…
At least you could eat your unco-operative subjects when you had finished experimenting, Enivea. The plate was a good idea because of the contrast and pattern it provides. The leaves also add to the composition.
January 25, 2013 at 11:56 pm
I agree that the plate was a good addition! How about a spritz of moisture? Sometimes that works miracles on fruit and vegetables, flowers, too. Are these mulberries? I’ve never seen them, nor eaten them, but they look similar to our long blackberries.
January 30, 2013 at 6:41 am
Oops, I went back and re-read and they _are_ blackberries. I will be interested to see your mulberries!
January 30, 2013 at 6:44 am
Thanks, I’ll try a spritz another time. Mulberries have more punch in taste than blackberries, more intense. And they stain fingers more too
However, it’s not as dangerous picking them, apart from ladder dangers, but there’s no prickles to contend with. I’ll do a shot comparing the two berries side by side….. if I can stop myself from eating them first!
January 31, 2013 at 6:19 am