Still life photography

Apache still life. c.1907 by Edward S. Curtis.

A modern-day still life photo with red tomatoes

Still life photography is the depiction of inanimate subject matter, most typically a small grouping of objects. Still life photography, more so than other types of photography, such as landscape or portraiture, gives the photographer more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition.

Still life photography is a demanding art, one in which the photographers are expected to be able to form their work with a refined sense of lighting, coupled with compositional skills. The still life photographer makes pictures rather than takes them. Knowing where to look for propping and surfaces also is a required skill.

Notable still life photographers

• Irving Penn
• Edward Weston
• Hiro (photographer)

See also

• Fine art photography
• Macro photography
• Food photography
• Still life