For the Love of Still Life Photography

For the last few months I’ve been reinventing and redesigning my site to better reflect why I do what I do. When I first started I was basically at a loss, and I couldn’t define what it was .. even to myself. So, I started by working on the back end of my site .. going through every widget, every block, and every plugin to make sure everything was up to date and in good working order. I know that doesn’t sound earth shattering, but having been in a brain fog for so long I couldn’t remember how to do anything.

As I worked and worked (and tore my hair out) things slowly started coming together. I felt like I was waking up! It felt good!

One morning I opened Photoshop, chose a simple font, and typed

Barb Brookbank
Photography | Styling | Backgrounds

.. and that’s when I knew ..

I’m not just about backgrounds!

My first love is photography .. I love styling .. and I love having an assortment of backgrounds to play with, and ultimately, place in my Shop for sale. I want to share tips on setting up still life images, as well as editing tips, and and I’m hoping this will be a safe place for you to ask questions and share your thoughts too.

I also want this to be a safe place where I can share my images .. my favourite images .. not just the ones I hope will get tons of likes on Insta (I love Insta) but it can be brutal (agreed?)

For instance, these images bombed on Insta, but I was in love with them .. I have to admit, it was disappointing. As I wrote on Insta:

I brought all my succulents in for the winter, but for some reason I left this pot outside. It sat there, neglected and alone, and as the temperatures dipped well below freezing they turned into little frozen succulent popsicles but I love them even though they’re wizened, speckled, and faded.

"Coffee Shop" 24″ x 36″ Super Smooth 15 oz Matte Vinyl
Succulents on “Coffee Shop

And what do I like about these images? Well, to start with .. the imperfection of the subject and the rustic props. I also like the contrast of the succulent pot against the dark background, and how the light hits the little pots and autumn leaves. To make the subject pop even more, I added a strong vignette in Lightroom.

There’s also something I include in many of my images .. something I’ll discuss in a future post.

As I continue to redesign and reinvent my(self) and my site, I hope you’ll take a moment to pop in from time-to-time. If you’d like to sign up for my newsletter (which I only publish now and again) you can find the form on my Home Page.

Thank you so much for visiting!

Coffee Shop” is now available in the new 24″x36″ Super Smooth Collection.

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