There’s no denying that lots of photographers adore street photography and travel photography, with their stolen moments and improvised candid shots. I’m one of those that loves this type of photography too. You might say it’s my predilection. I think it’s what I do best too, even though I love to use other photography techniques, like staging. Now, staging is a somewhat clumsy, unwieldy term, and it includes lots of things. So, for my final article, I want to talk about my own staging work, what it is and how to do it successfully.

So what exactly does staging in photography mean anyway? Everybody has their own definition, but for me it’s about arranging objects, food items, or flowers. Why do staging? To take beautiful photos on a particular theme and especially to create photos that are different from what I would usually take. In any event, I’m not teaching you anything you don’t already know, since you have already noted that this is what is so common especially on Instagram. Now, after several trials, here are my ideas on staging for blogs, websites, or social media sites, along with some tips.

Ideas for staging themes

Flowers: If there is a topic that I love to stage, whether for Instagram or for my photo blog, it would have to be flowers! They are ideal for taking beautiful photos because of how poetic, soft, and colorful they are. In a vase, against a colorful background, held in a bouquet…anything is possible and conceivable to stage a floral arrangement and make beautiful photos. Here is the proof in pictures!

Decor / Home: these are the subjects so many bloggers adore! At the same time, this subject is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for taking beautiful photographic scenes.

Food: a very inspiring theme that lets creativity reign supreme, even though from a technical standpoint it is indeed a tough subject to photograph. Nevertheless, I love to push myself and work with this theme to create staged culinary photographs.

These are my three favorite subjects, but there is no end to the things you can stage. So let your imagination run free and let your tastes express themselves. Stage the things you love so you can make original photos.

Tips

Now to create beautiful staged photos, you need to be creative of course, and you need ideas and inspiration, but technique is also important. This part of the work is important because you won’t approach this type of photography the same way you would travel photography, or portraits, etc. Quite often, staged shots are taken indoors, so you’ll need a different technical approach and different settings, and perhaps also other tools, like a tripod, for example.

• Sharpen your technical expertise: for a crisp photo, beautiful light, cool and original settings (depth of field, overexposure…) are all criteria for making a beautiful photo. But to get there, you need to know how! So for technical skill, practice and make improvements by reading articles with tips or books…In one article it’s hard to go into a lot of details, but there are plenty of tips for taking amazing indoor photographs.

• Attend to the decor: Vary backgrounds (white, color, prints, textures like wood, metal and more), and add accessories to enhance your theme. Choose complementary colors that also correspond to the theme (like blue tones for a cooler theme, or orange tones for vibrant energy, pastel colors for a poetic feel, or green for an environmental theme…). Thee are important steps in creating a harmonious photo. You’ll also notice a preference for white backgrounds and pastel colors, but you can let your imagination run wild!

• Pay attention to framing and orienting your shots: Choose an angled frame, or side views for more volume, and deliberately stage the elements in your picture. Arrange them harmoniously: in a line or in a circle, vary your whims for unique and harmonious photos that more than anything will tell a story!

Be inspired

Some bloggers and instagrammers are really talented in putting together these famous compositions, so follow their advice and get inspired by their work so you can develop your creativity and exceed your abilities as you create brand new images. Have a look at some of these instagram accounts. They are very inspiring on the topic of staged compositions.

• Pomverte https://minimomblog.wordpress.com/
• Jesussauvage
• Amelia Nymphea
• AurelyCerise
• Jeveuxetrebonne

Here are some accounts and blogs I like to visit every day for new inspiration and encouragement to do even better staged compositions. Of course, there are tons of artists out on networks and blogs, but it would take all night to list them all! So shall I move on to the next article? Just joking! So get to your cameras, stage your pictures, and get snapping!

Click-click! Have a great time!

Céline

Blogger and photographer, Céline is never afraid to speak her mind or let her camera do the talking! She is passionate about imagery. She is a photographer, but she is also a writer, sharing her photography, her travels, and her favorite discoveries. She has a quirky penchant for kids, for photographic composition, travel, pastel photos, and oh so much more!
Now to find out more, just go to your keyboard: Blog: www.tumorapa.com | Instagram:https://instagram.com/tumorapa/ | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tumorapa-340655669401464/timeline/