With COVID-19 providing unprecedented times, I've been using my photography to help keep busy and take my mind off other things. As the opportunity to get out and about is limited right now, I've been focusing on what images I can create around the home. I have numerous still life props which I've collected but never done anything with, such as feathers and flowers, so figured this is the perfect time to get creative with them. I also have a vintage lens which I picked up from a antique fair, but hadn't gotten around to experimenting with. This has lead to a number of still life images, which I've found fun and a little different to my usual shots.
Think about what you want to be the focus of the shot, and what type of lighting you want to go for. For the still life shot taken in my garden I was shooting in the late afternoon, when the sun was lower. This enabled me to shoot into the sun, creating the flare and a more eye-catching image. It took a little maneuvering to get into the right position to give the lens flare, so it helps to leave space around the scene when setting up the shot. I also didn't use a lens hood, purposefully aiming for flare, which is something I usually try to avoid. I used an aperture of f2 to throw the background out of focus, and add to the slightly dream-like feel the lighting was providing, this also helped to prevent any distractions away from the still life set up.
With the flowers and feathers I decided to use a clean white background provided by a light pad. I also used a tripod to help prevent camera shake, and it also allowed to have more control over the image: I could move the props carefully until I was happy with the composition, knowing the framing would stay exactly the same.
Have an experiment with the things you have laying around and home. I'd be interested to see your results, so feel free to share your images with me on social media.