This is huge for me, especially when I’m overloaded with home and work and family stuff. When I need a break, even a few minutes of free time to play around creatively is just what I need. I need to lose track of time doing something that makes my inner child happy.
So, when I found myself with some uninterrupted time this afternoon, when I was way ahead on my work projects and everyone was upstairs napping, I sat down and watched the videos for Marte Marie Forsberg‘s new Lifestyle Food Photography class on Skillshare (it was 19 minutes well spent!), then grabbed my camera and got to work on the class project: Capture your afternoon tea in three photos.
I setup shop in the kitchen, creating a still life on our shabby kitchen table, right beside the window that hands-down gives the best light in my house. I MacGyvered a dark backdrop with a piece of dark fabric to help diffuse the ambient light, and got out a few props.
I started with two oranges, a dishtowel, and a couple small pine boughs.
But I needed more. I had a half empty cup of tea on the counter, so I grabbed that and the teapot that, truth be told, I didn’t use to make the tea but thought would add to the story of the photo (Marte talks about this in the videos).
I moved the table around a bit in relation to light. I wanted the scene to feel dark and moody, so I pushed the table into the shadows. Then I starting moving things around and snapping more photos with my phone and DSLR. This is me playing, remember? There was definitely a sense of discovery going on here (and I loved it!). I shot from above, then changed my angle, then moved deeper into the shadows. It was fun.
Delightful Lindsay!! Reading this brought such a smile to my face!! Lovely photos! I’m going to check out Marte’s video (I’ve always been curious how the “moody” ambience was created, a dark panel..brilliant!). Thank you for sharing, I’m so happy this made your heart sing, we always need that in our lives.
Thank you, April! I’ve always liked moodier photos, so this is giving me a push in that direction. What better time than winter?
you know i love these… the moody is fantastic!! i watched a bit of marte’s video… love her accent!! and playing as a way to be creative is such a good idea!! having the time is key. (also…curious… what do you use for processing?)
Hi Beth! I use Lightroom to edit all of my photos. I made my own preset that lifts the shadows, brings down the highlights, adds some matte, and tweaks the white balance. Do you use Lightroom too?
Also, I loved watching Marte’s videos! I wish they had been longer.
lindsay… i have NO clue how to do things you mention!! our computer came with photoshop elements, so i use that, but with RadLab for recipes that can be layered and tweaked, etc. i have so much to learn!! i LOVE the way you edit your images.
I wish I could help you, but I don’t know how to use Photoshop. I imagine you can do all of those things, but I’m not sure how. I learned a lot about editing from the few Clickin Moms breakouts I bought. They usually include a few editing videos (in both Lightroom and Photoshop), and I know they have or two that is just the “pros” editing. Maybe it’s worth checking out if you want to learn more and define your style. 😉
A delightful post to read and such lovely pictures!
Thank you, Marty! I’m glad you stopped by. 🙂