Photo

 
    The photos were shot by request of a women’s magazine. Three different bottles of perfume were combined in one shot. The red cap of the central bottle was made of dark ruby glass and required additional back lighting. The surface of lower part of the right flask was of grey metal colour. One shouldn’t point direct light on it because it glares. And it becomes too dark without brightening. Metal parts of the left and central bottles can’t be brightened with direct light. In the first exposition I brightened the background behind the bottles with a spot ray and illuminated the whole field of the shot from above with ambient quadro light to provide medium grey brightness. Second exposition: I brightened metal parts of the left and central bottles with an ambient light from the left side and a bit from behind. From the right, I also highlighted the inscription on metal part of the central flask and the cap of the left bottle with the help of two pieces of glass. The lower part of the right bottle was illuminated with a small light disk fixed from the right of the camera so that its light wouldn’t reflect on glass surface. At the time of third exposition I brightened directly the ruby cap from behind with a light brush to make it translucent.
     Camera Fujifilm S2 pro. Camera lens nikkor 28-105/3,5 macro. Sensitivity 100 ASA. Exposure 1/8 sec. Aperture 16. Second exposure 1/15 sec. Aperture 16. Third exposure – 4 sec with a light brush.

 
   This contrasting composition didn’t keep within the photographic latitude of digital camera. Moreover the client wanted the texture of the white eye-shadow surface to be visible. You can make the black glossy plastic surface shine by reflecting on it another, light surface. I placed the object in a capsule and brightened the nearest to me surface. The light, having reflected on the capsule, drew perfectly all the dark parts of composition. But the white surface turned out to be too white and depleted of any details. Then, without change of the camera and capsule position, I replaced the light source to another capsule side and made it as low as possible. As a result, the texture of white powder became well-marked. I corrected the exposure setting (minus 1, 5 points of aperture) and made another take. Then I combined the two shots with the help of Photoshop.
Camera Nikon coolpix 5000. Sensitivity 100 ASA. First shot: exposure ¼ sec, aperture 7,6. Second shot: exposure 1/15 sec, aperture 7,6.

 
   Capsule for macro shooting of glaring objects is made of hard white semi-transparent plastic that doesn’t change the colour temperature of light. Its parts are fixed with the help of zippers and stickers.
 
  Still life shooting, from technical point of view, is the same photographing of objects but as a result we should get pictures which are shot not only according to the rules of photography art but also evoke emotions and associations which can sometimes be quite different from the objects on the picture. Some photos provoke wish for admiring them, the other keep the viewer indifferent. I do not presume to state the rules of work of art creation. Everybody has different rules.