Still Life Photography Lighting: A Simple Tutorial for Stunning Shots – Watch on YouTube
Still life photography can seem simple at first. But creating eye-catching images often comes down to one thing – lighting. In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to use still life photography lighting to take a humble subject, like an apple, and turn it into something dramatic and beautiful. We’ll be using Adaptalux’s macro lighting system to take full control of the scene.
The Setup
To begin, place your subject on a clean, reflective surface. For this example, we used a glass-topped coffee table. This gave us two advantages. First, it provided a reflection of the apple. Second, it allowed us to light the apple from underneath – a simple trick that can make your still life images stand out.
Before you start, clean your surface thoroughly. Dust and fingerprints can spoil your shot and create extra work in post-processing.
Cutting Out Ambient Light
To really let your still life photography lighting shine, you’ll want to block out as much ambient light as possible. Switch off overhead lights, close the curtains, or shoot in a darkened room. The goal is to make sure all the light hitting your subject is under your control.
We adjusted the camera settings to help with this. Using a narrow aperture (around f/11) and lowering the ISO (around 200) helped darken the background and set the stage for adding controlled lighting.
Adding Light to the scene
Now it’s time to build up the lighting for your still life shot. We started by placing a red Adaptalux Lighting Arm beneath the glass. The glow from underneath creates a dramatic effect that complements the colour of the subject and adds a lot of visual interest.
Next, we added two white Adaptalux Lighting Arms from above. One served as the key light, lighting the front of the apple so its shape and colour stood out. The other acted as a rim light, placed towards the back and side of the apple to create an outline and enhance the reflection on the dark side of the apple.
A diffuser on the key light helped soften harsh highlights. The rim light, left undiffused, gave a crisp shine along the edge, especially where condensation had formed on the apple.
The great thing about using this kind of still life photography lighting is how easy it is to adjust. With continuous LED light, you can see the changes live on your camera screen. This makes experimenting with angles and intensity simple and fun.
Advanced Techniques: Focus Stacking
To capture more detail across the depth of the fabric, you can use focus stacking. This involves taking multiple shots at different focus points and blending them into one image. It’s especially useful in macro photography where depth of field is extremely shallow.
Focus stacking isn’t essential, but it can help create images with more clarity throughout the frame. Just be aware that complex textures like fabric can sometimes confuse stacking software, leading to small errors or artefacts.
Fine-Tuning Your Image
The final step is to adjust the lights by small amounts, moving them bit by bit to get the look we want. This is where creativity comes into play. Different light positions give different moods – so don’t be afraid to experiment. You can see from the images below, how moving the light creates a totally different feel!
We took a series of images to stack in post-processing. This helped ensure that both the apple and its reflection were in sharp focus from front to back. Using focus peaking on the camera made it easy to see what was in focus for each shot.
In editing, we removed any unwanted reflections of the lighting arms and cleaned up marks on the glass. The final image had a pure black background, soft reflection, and that dramatic glow from underneath – all thanks to carefully controlled still life photography lighting provided by the Adaptalux Studio.
Try It Yourself
Still life photography is all about patience and experimentation. Whether you’re photographing fruit, flowers, or objects from around your home, lighting makes all the difference. Using a flexible system like the Adaptalux Studio lets you take full control and get creative with your shots.
If you’re looking to improve your still life photography lighting, consider giving the Adaptalux system a try. You’ll find that with a few small changes to your setup, you can create professional-looking images that really stand out.
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