Still Life in a Brighton studio-come join us!
One of my personal goals this year was to dive deeper into still-life photography and expand my knowledge of art in general. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and research, and to my surprise, I’m really enjoying it. It’s funny to think that I once disliked reading and writing—yet here I am, fully immersed in both!
Still-life photography hasn’t always come naturally to me. My commercial career began in restaurants and cafés, which provided a great opportunity to establish my name while learning to work with artificial lighting. However, I feel that still-life photography requires an entirely different skill set. High-level commercial work, personal work and still-life photography have demanded more than just experience—they have required soul-searching, technical studies, and relentless practice.
If you’re at the beginning of your journey, or if something doesn’t come naturally to you, don’t let that hold you back. Dive into research, hone your technical skills, practice consistently, and, most importantly, pour your heart and soul into your work. That’s where real growth happens.
Concept
Today, I wanted to take you with me to our most recent studio shoot in Brighton. I connected with Susannah from Dowse a few months back, and she kindly provided all the beautiful props for this shoot. We also had Pheobe on our gorgeous floral designs from Phohm. The goal for this project was to explore the artistic potential of everyday objects while delving into the essence of what makes a home beautiful. I wanted the project to feel elegant while playing with colours, compositions, lighting, and texture to elevate ordinary items into works of art.
Still life photography requires careful planning and I knew we needed to work with a set designer to really elevate the project. I was so happy when Sarah Wright said yes! I selected us a soft pastel colour palette and she started building the designs and prop list from there.
Lighting and mood
My usual lighting style is hard light with high contrast, but to challenge myself and continue learning about lighting, I wanted to take a softer approach for this project. Luckily, everyone was on board with this idea—(if the team is reading this, thanks for trusting me, guys!). If you'd like to learn more about my actual lighting setup, including strobe and camera settings, equipment that I used, download my updated artificial lighting ebook here!
The shoot day and set building
Every creative has their own way of working, but I like to start with set building and locking in the composition first to ensure a smooth workflow. I shoot tethered into Capture One, which has a live view feature, so once we have a solid composition for the camera, the prop stylist can start working their magic. While they set up the props, I focus on my lighting.
I make final tweaks to the lights once the food and drinks are on set, but since food often has a limited window, I aim to fine-tune the lighting to 90% before our hero arrives. Sometimes, we may need a few rounds of food or drinks, but we try to minimize this whenever possible. Food styling takes a lot of time and effort, so let’s all be kind to our stylists!
For this project, we had the pleasure of working with the loveliest Charlotte Fuller
Behind The Scenes
Final Thoughts
I love projects like this—you start with an idea, envision how it will all come together, and by the time you reach the finish line, it turns out even better than you imagined. I couldn’t have done this project alone, and the more commercial work I take on, the more I appreciate the power of creative teams. This is exactly why I love shoot days - creative minds pulling together, making a dent in the universe. A huge thank you to our team: Dowse, Phohm, Sarah Wright, and Charlotte Fuller!
Till next time, happy shootings!
Jenni x
