If you are interested in capturing beautiful arrangements of flowers and other objects like me, take a look at the works created by my favorite still life photographers and use them as sources of inspiration.
The professionals reviewed below stand out among the rest for their creative manner and style. Take a look at their portfolios and Instagram pages to learn how to create well-balanced compositions like a pro.
Yukiko Masuda is one of the most famous still life photographers who take pictures with an iPhone. To give a unique feel to her pictures, she captures objects from unusual angles.
This female photographer lives in Japan and teaches classes where she tells her students how to arrange flowers in the most peculiar way. Her photos have a dreamy atmosphere. In addition, she is the leader of a team of more than 50 legal professionals who help photographers to work without breaking any laws and regulations.
Sara Tasker masterfully takes still life pictures to document the story of her life in a remote cottage. Her atmospheric photos allowed her to get over 200,000 followers on Instagram who are fascinated by her peaceful life in Yorkshire, England.
Tasker started to take her first photos on her iPhone back in January 2013, before the birth of her daughter Orla. She did a 365 photo-a-day challenge and has been taking stunning pictures ever since.
Jonathan is one of the most famous still life photographers when it comes to taking photos of drinks for advertising. You can take a look at his pictures and use them as creative still life photography ideas for inspiration. The photographer has a signature style and knows how to use lighting to emphasize the best sides of his subjects.
Jonathan received several awards for his outstanding works. His services are in high demand, which allows him to work with such well-known brands as Coca-Cola, Smirnoff, Nescafé, and Guinness. The photographer knows how to capture the mesmerizing flow of liquids as this topic has always fascinated him.
Tatiana is a photography enthusiast from Kyiv, Ukraine, who enjoys taking still-life pics styled as Renaissance artworks. She knows how to create the right composition by arranging flowers in the vase, selecting the right subjects for her photos, and using light.
In her photos, you will see buckets of flowers, regular objects, and food items. She also enjoys doing landscape and travel photography, so make sure to take a closer look at her portfolio to find the samples you might be interested in.
Shihya Kowatari is one of the most talented still life photographers from Japan who captures natural objects in the most unusual way. She tries to tell an engaging story in each of her images, which allows her to take photos of regular objects with a mesmerizing atmosphere and shining silhouettes.
The photographer knows how to emphasize rich colors when shooting leaves and flowers. She gives a dynamic feel to her photos and experiments with different camera techniques. Using the bokeh effect and focusing on silhouettes allows her to take excellent shots.
Mat is a great stilllife photographer from the UK, who is known for his contemporary art. He studied at Goldsmiths’ College and has been participating in solo and group exhibitions for more than three decades.
Collishaw demonstrated his artworks in different reputable centers and galleries. The Center Georges Pompidou, Paris Museum of Contemporary Art, and Tate, London, made his works available to the public. The photographer often ruminates on divisive issues, which is why viewers may struggle to understand what is happening in his photos.
Henry specializes in contemporary photography and lives in Brooklyn. He acquired his fame thanks to his creative still life and food photography. Henry used to work as a bartender and a model for such top brands as Prada, Hermes, and Lacoste.
Working with many professional photographers allowed him to master new techniques and start experimenting to find his signature style. While he often takes pictures of food, there is nothing regular about them, as they often are quite funny and unusual.
Evelyn is a talented visual art professional from Bratislava, Slovakia. She enjoys doing photography and is interested in art. Using rich visuals with deep symbolic meaning, she produces excellent still life photos that make viewers want to decipher their true meaning.
Evelyn enjoys taking photos with a double meaning. Among her clients, you will see such popular brands as Gucci, Cartier, and Nehera. For her creative approach, she won multiple awards. Her photos were published in Vogue Portugal, Vogue Spain, and Elle.
Marcel Christ utilizes still life photography to achieve an artistic effect and capture movement. He specializes in commercial photography and works as a director of short films, the photographer lives in Amsterdam where he takes mind-blowing fashion photos for Prada, Nespresso, and Heineken.
Marcel believes that what he does can be called “controlling coincidence.” He likes adding something unpredictable to his shots even when he takes photos in his studio.
Jenny is one of the most famous still life photographers from Sydney. These days, she mostly spends her time in London where she lives. Her photos have something unusual and fun about them. She worked with many popular brands, including Apple, Nike, Audie, and Hermes.
The photographer became interested in improving her painting skills several years ago. During the lockdown, in 2020, she presented her paintings of bananas to the public.
Robert Sulkin is a talented photographer based in the U.S. He holds a BA degree in History and an MA and MFA in Art. Sulkin has been teaching photography at Hollins University for 39 years.
The photographer had solo exhibitions and participated in many group projects. His creative style allowed him to get many awards.
For instance, he got the Best in Show award in Photospiva, Joplin, MO (2008). Besides, the Academy of Fine Arts awarded him for his participation in the National Juried Photography Exhibition, Lynchburg, VA (2013).
Krista is one of the most popular still life photography artists from the Netherlands. After getting her degree in Amsterdam, she presented her works at art exhibitions in different countries across the globe. Her clients mostly come from the Netherlands. She took photos for Dutch Design Week, Erasmus Universiteti, and Volkskrant Magazine.
Krista experiments with different arrangements of fruit, vegetables, and clothing items to redefine the genre. In addition, she likes to include ironic references to consumerism and popular culture.
The name still life photography originates from Dutch where the term “stilleven” was used to describe unmoving objects. People started to use this term in the 1600s when artists created the first paintings using such subjects as fruit and flowers arranged in an exquisite way. Such compositions often have a symbolic meaning and tell allegoric stories about human life.
This genre was popular among many photographers, but the earliest works were created by Baron Adolf de Meyer, William Henry Fox Talbot, Jacques-Louis-Mandé Daguerre, and Charles Aubry. With the development of technology, still life photography became quite widespread. These days, you can see plenty of artistic examples of this genre as well.
There are two subgenres of this genre. The first one is called “found still life.” It involves capturing objects as they can be seen in nature. Besides, a photographer can capture a bouquet of flowers on the table or fruit. The second subgenre requires a photographer to arrange objects in a specific way. To take pictures in this genre, a photographer should know how to create a composition.
Still life paintings became quite popular in the 17th century in Northern Europe. After the invention of photography two centuries later, this genre became widespread when photographers started to take pictures or regular objects put together. These days, you can find photos in this genre in interior designs and art spaces in different countries across the world.
