Why it works

I have a very simple rule when shooting still-life images that works every time and determines whether the picture is successful or not. I ask myself if I could live with it framed on a wall in my house?

This image on the left is one of my favourite pictures, and I am sitting in my office typing this article while looking at a framed print of it on my office wall – so this one definitely passed the test. For me this picture encompasses many of the criteria I have explained about successful still-life photography.

Five rusty old knives found in a friend’s French kitchen and placed on an old workbench in a barn with an open door. Everyday objects that are not particularly beautiful or precious in themselves, taken out of their ‘comfort zone’ and made beautiful. This is a simple image, but as I said earlier, the act of displaying the objects like this makes them much more than the sum of their parts, and somehow elevates them to things of beauty and interest. It was taken during a break while shooting a cookbook and probably took me about five minutes. There is nothing fancy about the lighting or the set- up, but somehow, it works.

I cannot encourage you enough to get your work printed, and this is particularly important for still lifes. They can look absolutely stunning and make a good subject for a conversation.