Building a still life tool kit
A curious tendril reaching out from a cluster of sweetpeas, a delicate rose heavy with perfume dropping petals as you work, the perfect drape of a handful of soft stemmed phlox. Creating a still life is the perfect opportunity to capture these intricate details that make the plant world so alluring. It becomes a space for you to slow down and take in all of these details. Selecting, adjusting, turning and fine tuning all become a part of a beautiful process that can help you develop a stronger connection & appreciation of your harvests.
Here is a selection of tools that I have put together to help me during the creation of my still life images and that you may find useful to begin to curate a little collection for yourself.
Still Life Tool Kit:
Flower frogs: are weighted bases with upright pins that are usually used in the bottom of vases to help arrange flowers. The stems are gently pressed onto the pins, which hold them upright and in place. These are just perfect for creating still lifes, allowing you to achieve different heights and add dimension to your arrangements. I have a small collection of beautiful vintage flower frogs that I have found in vintage stores for just a few dollars, though they’ve become increasingly popular in recent years which means that their prices have risen.
Secateurs: are essential for collecting and trimming your subjects as you create. I like to keep a bucket at my feet, so I can easily clip away any excess directly into the bucket to keep my space tidy.
Scissors: I have a tiny little delicate pair from my seamstress days that I use to trim anything that needs more precision than my secateurs.
Makeup sponge wedges: are incredibly useful for propping up and elevating objects, adding dimension to your arrangements. They’re easy to cut to the size you need, and their soft texture allows items to drape naturally over them, creating a more fluid, organic look instead of a rigid appearance.
Tweezers: let you make delicate adjustments without the risk of disturbing intricate details or knocking anything over with your fingers.
A dropper bottle: filled with a mix of glycerine and water is perfect for creating little droplets that bead up and cling to objects, rather than simply sliding off as water does. Little drops of water add life to your produce and flowers and give them that fresh, dewy look as if they have just been brought in from the garden. My next post will show you how to create this effect.
“Blu Tack” adhesive or museum wax: endlessly useful for making precise adjustments, stabilising or propping up objects in your still life.
Floral wire: green or brown covered wire that is perfect for subtly binding things together.
Pins: Another good alternative to use to subtly join objects together although I tend to use the floral wire and museum wax more often.
White art board/cardboard: I use this as a reflector to bounce light into shaded areas to help to create a more balanced light in the image.
