Make Everyday Objects Look Amazing

Share:000

“Finding the light” is a term that we hear thrown around frequently in photography.  When we talk about finding the light we can be referring to quality, color, direction, or intensity.  Once we learn how to see these properties of light, we can make everyday objects look simply amazing. Kate Densmore is here today to show us exactly how.

Using Light to Make Everyday Objects Look Amazing
by Kate Densmore

When my sweet daughters aren’t being cooperative, or I am just looking to slow and down and take my time creating a photograph, one of my favorite exercises is to take images of everyday objects. I like the challenge of seeing something that is simple and ordinary, and using light to elevate it to something extraordinary. Along the way I’ve found some tips that help.

#1. Find Shadows

Just like anything else you photograph, using light to enhance the feel and moment when photographing an ordinary object is important. It’s also a great challenge in seeing light, and using light in creative ways. When I am setting an object up to photograph it, I look for shadows and how they enhance the details or beauty in the object.

One of my favorite objects to photograph is eggs. The curve and shape they have naturally lends itself to being a wonderful way to study light and shadow, and how light wraps around things.

This is one of my favorite egg images. I like the simple arrangement and the repeating pattern, but my favorite part is the juxtaposition between the light that hits the eggs and the light that hits the empty cups. They are opposites of each other, and it’s what makes this image have extra interest. #2: Look for Drama Dramatic indoor light is something that I love playing with, especially since I live in the Pacific Northwest and our winters are long and dreary. I discovered this spot in near my front door of my house last winter, and it has become one of my very favorite places to play with indoor dramatic side lighting.

Unfortunately, my human subjects rarely want to sit in front of the cold door and let me play, so I use anything else I can get my hands on to practice with. All that practice and playing has resulted in one of my very favorite images – my oldest daughter’s favorite bear, looking very real and well loved.

#3: Practice a New Technique

Objects can also be a great way to practice lighting techniques that can be hard to master if your main subjects are always very cooperative. I love to take indoor backlighting shots of my daughter in my kitchen, but if she isn’t interested, there is no reason why I can’t take pictures of her sippy cups in pretty light. While the fronts of the sippy cups reflect light differently than my daughter’s face would, it is still a great way to practice settings and managing proper exposure in this situation.

It’s also helped me gain a better understanding of white balance. One of my personal weaknesses is seeing color, so practicing taking photographs of objects in different lighting conditions in my kitchen has helped me “see” color temperature and white balance better, which has in turn strengthened my understanding of light.

#4: Try Challenging Conditions

Stationary objects are easy to practice the slower shutter speeds and high ISO that is usually necessary in low light situations. It can also be fun to use the low light itself as a subject.

My daughter loves her star nightlight, and using it as the subject in this image was great practice exposing for a really low light situation, without the pressure of a moving subject.

This image came about one night when we had a power outage. I live in a very remote area of the country, and power outages happen all the time in the winter. Candles can be really fun and good practice to play with. The flickering translates to an image in different ways depending on your settings, and it can be a beautiful way to photograph an every day object like a canning jar in a new way.

#5: Have Fun

Photographic objects around your house can be a really freeing way to “break” the rules and try new compositions and other techniques.

If you can create a connection and find beauty in an ordinary object, than it can only help to increase your skill and ability to do so with other objects.

Find something appealing – the light, the color, a reflection, a curve, whatever – and go from there! I can’t wait to see what you create!

Kate Densmore

Kate Densmore is a fine art and documentary photographer known for her emotive black and white images. She is originally from Colorado, but now lives on the wild and remote coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Kate is married to her park ranger husband, and they have two adorable daughters. She has a serious coffee addiction, loves to read, and holds a Masters degree in education. Being married to a park ranger means that their life is tied to the National Park Service, which has allowed them to live in some of the most beautiful places in the country. They currently call a remote area of Olympic National Park home. Kate shoots with a Canon 5D Classic and a couple of L-series lenses, and makes the best chocolate chip cookies this side of Seattle.

website | facebook | instagram | pinterest

Share:000

Categorized in: Food, Guest Bloggers, Tips & Tricks