Finding the Beauty in the Mundane
Try making a still life to find beauty in what surrounds us.
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Still life?
Think it's boring?
You're missing the point. This is the ultimate playground for any photographer who wants to truly understand light, composition, and the stories objects tell.
Still life, done right, is a rebellion against the mundane. Grab the overlooked, the discarded, the seemingly ordinary, and force it to reveal its secrets.
It is not only fun, it can be addicting.
Many photographers avoid still life like a root canal. They think it's too slow, too fussy, too… irrelevant.
They’re dead wrong.
They’re missing out on the raw joy of wrestling with light, of coaxing texture and dimension from inanimate objects. They’re missing the chance to see the world and their own vision, with a clarity they never knew existed.
Take an antique bottle. Study it. See the craftsmanship. See how light dances across its surface, reflecting and refracting, revealing every curve and imperfection. That's a story. That's a lesson.
That's a dang masterpiece waiting to be captured.
Here's a true truth: still life photography doesn’t need fancy gear or sprawling studios.
It's about seeing.
It's about understanding that everything reflects.
Some more, some less.
The way those reflections hit your eye—or your sensor—tells the whole story.
Angle of incidence equals angle of reflection.
Simple physics, profound impact.
Master that, and you'll master light. You'll learn to sculpt it, to bend it, to make it sing.
Right there on your tabletop.
This is insight.
Understanding the intricate play of light and shadow, the subtle language of texture, the cultural whispers hidden in everyday objects. Seeing the beauty hiding in plain sight and sharing that vision with the world.
Imagine a few mundane items – a lighter, a bag, a wallet – shot against a stark white background.
Boring, right?
Until you learn they were pulled from the rubble of the Twin Towers. Suddenly, those objects aren't mundane. They're iconic. They're a testament to lives lived, to stories cut short. That's the power of still life. It forces you to look closer, to see beyond the surface.
Consider a collection of cooking utensils. Forks, knives, spoons. Arranged with intention, lit with purpose, they become heroic, precious. Playful, compelling. That's a celebration of craft, a study in form. Making art out of something we see and use every day.
Still life can be done anywhere, anytime. Night, day, it doesn't matter. Robert Mapplethorpe spent countless nights capturing the delicate beauty of lilies. Alone, without assistants, he wrestled with light and composition, transforming flowers into timeless works of art.
And you can do the same.
No fancy gear needed.
A camera phone, a light, some white cards – that's all it takes. Still life is the ultimate democratizer of photography. It's accessible to everyone, regardless of their resources or experience.
You know, still life is a way of slowing down and looking at things that may not get a lot of attention. A single flower, a perfectly rusted horseshoe on a distinct leather background. And slowing down, taking a moment to see the overlooked is very important in these crazy times.
So, here's a challenge:
Collect five things that you find as you take a walk, or around the house. They can be totally disparate. Make a still life with them using the shapes, highlights, shadows, dimensions, and texture to reveal something interesting - or beautiful even. Turn that junk into something cool, something that tells a story.
You may be surprised.
Because that's what still life is all about. It's about seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. It's about finding beauty in the overlooked. It's about telling stories with objects, with light, with your own unique vision.
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Thanks for the great work!
As someone who thinks of “finding beauty in the mundane” as part of my photography why, I was obviously immediately drawn to this article. I have been fascinated recently with how morning light falls around my home and have been toying with extending this to doing some still life.Your wonderful photos and words have given me the kick that I needed. Many thanks for sharing, Don!