The set subject themes for the 2025 to 26 season are Still Life, Reflections and Local Area (Enfield).
Still Life
Still life photography is a genre of photography that focuses on capturing inanimate objects—things that don’t move on their own—arranged in a thoughtful composition. The goal is usually to highlight their form, texture, color, and meaning.
It’s similar to still life painting, where artists arrange objects like flowers, food, books, bottles, or everyday items and depict them in a way that feels artistic or symbolic.
Key aspects of still life photography include:
- Composition – How the objects are arranged in the frame.
- Lighting – Often carefully controlled to create mood, shadows, or highlights.
- Subject choice – Could be natural (fruits, flowers, shells) or man-made (tools, decor, antiques).
- Symbolism – Sometimes objects are chosen for deeper meaning (e.g., a candle for life, a wilting flower for mortality).
- Artistic control – Unlike street or documentary photography, the photographer has full control over the scene.
A simple example would be a photograph of a bowl of fruit on a table, lit dramatically to emphasize texture and contrast.
Reflections
Reflection photography is a creative style where you use reflective surfaces—like water, glass, mirrors, metal, or even shiny floors—to capture subjects in a unique way. It adds symmetry, depth, and visual interest to photos, often creating surreal or abstract effects.
Here are some ideas and tips for reflection photography:
1. Use Natural Reflections
- Water: Lakes, puddles, oceans, and even raindrops can act like mirrors. After rain, puddles on the ground are especially great.
- Ice/Snow: Frozen surfaces can give clean, sharp reflections.
2. Artificial Surfaces
- Mirrors: Great for surreal or portrait shots. Experiment with broken or angled mirrors.
- Glass: Windows, skyscrapers, or even a car window can create layered compositions.
- Metal & Shiny Objects: Polished cars, spoons, or even sunglasses can create fun distorted reflections.
3. Creative Techniques
- Upside-Down Shots: Photograph a puddle and flip the image so the reflection looks like the real scene.
- Symmetry Play: Place the subject where the reflection mirrors it perfectly.
- Double Exposure: Combine reflections with silhouettes for dreamy effects.
4. Technical Tips
- Polarizing Filter: Helps reduce unwanted glare and control reflections.
- Low Angles: Shooting closer to the reflective surface makes reflections clearer.
- Golden Hour/Night: Soft light or neon reflections on wet streets look magical.
- Manual Focus: Sometimes autofocus struggles with reflections—switching to manual gives sharper results.
Local Area (Enfield)
Images of the local area near your home, preferably taken in Enfield, but for those members who do not live in Enfield images of their local area.