CREATIVE PROJECT
Light, shoot and edit a still life scene for a stunning oil painting type effect
Light, shoot and edit a still life scene to create a Renaissance oil painting effect
Oil paintings have an aesthetic which is highly theatrical, and they often look as if they are taking place under stage lighting – a theme which can be pushed further by the content of the image. Meanwhile, still life shots have a timelessness and peaceful style which never ceases to draw and hold the eye. When married together, these two aspects can produce a simple image with a strong narrative, which can be both literal or metaphorical, depending on the viewer’s outlook and their mood.
This style of image can be carried across to the photographic age, and is a joy to work on, especially in recent months, where venturing far from home has not been a reality. The major issue with creating photographic still lifes with modern digital equipment is just how sharp and chromatically accurate they turn out! While these would usually be appealing characteristics of a camera, they can strip away the painterly feel we associate with the work of the master Renaissance painters. If we are going to make a pile of fruit look artistic we need to think more about how the shape, colour and form can be manipulated to work with other objects, to tell a story.
There are some technical challenges when shooting this style of image too, so let’s explore how we can use household objects to convey a mood, while controlling exposure and lighting.