A Donkey’s Day Out

A Still Life Photo Session with a Donkey @ Home

Generally, everyone thinks you need a fancy location, extraordinary subject, optimum light setup and an amazing concept to do a Still Life Photography. No, it is not. To prove the misconception, I planned a Photo session yesterday.

I put an ambiguous status in my Face book status – ‘Feeling Tired – I am dealing with a Donkey at Home today.’

My wife got a small donkey doll from Dubai last month. It was lying on my table for a month. It is small and cute with vibrant mild colors. The props attached to this subject are too cool for a still image. When there was a snowfall last week in Vancouver, I thought why don’t I try a photo session for Still Life with this toy? Contrary to common wrong perceptions, I didn’t use my studio setup or artificial lights or special backgrounds.

I planned for a Donkey’s Day out in Snow. It is all about making a picture rather than taking it.

Before that, let me explain “What is Still Life Photography?” Still life photography is the depiction of inanimate subject matter. 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. You need a mindset for this kind of photography. It varies from landscape or portrait photography, in which you are provided with the subject matter, for example, a stunning Lake in front of me with lot of variables to choose for a shot. With still life photography, the options are limited. There are far less variables, you, as the photographer have complete control over the situation, including the subject matter, but you need to think extremely creatively in order to capture it in an interesting and engaging way.

Let me explain my frame composition:

My subject: My subject is the Donkey Toy. What you photograph is completely up to you. I think outside the box without being overly ambitious. There are 2 reasons to choose it. First it doesn’t have reflective surfaces such as glass and metal. Secondly the posture, look, colour and texture are really impressive.

Location: My Town Home Drive away. I selected a spot in my townhome where there is little bit of grass that came out of snow with a snow withered dried bushes in the background.

Backdrop: Having a suitable backdrop for my subject matter will play a crucial role in the overall success of my shot. It’s best to keep it nice and simple, so it doesn’t interfere with my subject. I want to use the snow as the surface and generate a feel like a landscape with vegetation. I need a contrast background to the subject and the tones that may work in complimenting the shades within my subject.

Composing the shot: The composition element of my still life work is an absolutely crucial part of ensuring that my work is engaging and unique. Consider the rule of thirds, how can that be applied to my shot to create a strong composition. I selected the drive away space in my townhome where snow spread is clean with little bit of ornamental spiked herbs popping out of snow. Without altering the spreads to look like a white snow landscape with no distractions within the frame, just the subject and the backdrop with bushes and a bit of green plants.

The best Shots:

I tired 15- 20 shots with varied composition which yields me intricate compositions. I shot these pictures at evening 5 PM so that I have ambient light. I used 2 lenses (70-200 2.8 and 85 1.2) with Canon Mark III.I selected the best shots based on interesting composition, texture, form, color, balance, light and shadow, harmony, lighting, or all of the above.

Hope you love this Donkey; I just gave this Donkey – A day out in Snow!!!

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