Tomatoes and Vases

[Manfred M]

We picked up some tomatoes on their vines, so I built an vase / smoke / grasses images around those elements

[Round Tuit]

This image does not work for me. It is technically well constructed but lacks coherence. The vases are strictly decorative objects and have no connection to tomatoes. The two subjects have nothing in common. If instead of the vases you had a bottle of olive oil, a bowl of salad or a pitcher of water for example the picture would make more sense.

[Geoff F]

I agree with Andre. You have two unconnected subjects which do not work together, for me, even with some excellent photography.

[Manfred M]

Andre and Geoff - that was exactly the point of this image.

It makes no sense when it comes to subject matter, but the subject colours work very well together and that's what I was looking for.

That's the beauty of still life; there are no rules. I was thinking of vases, tomatoes and a few red onions as suitable materials. Maybe I'll shoot that tomorrow...

[Round Tuit]

"There are no rule" applies to all artistic photography be it portraiture, landscapes, nature, abstract etc. Still life might offer greater latitude in deviating from "good practices" but the picture still has to work. Of course, as the photographer, you get the last word regarding your creations.

I think that adding red onions will improve the picture as it will help relegate the vases to more of a background role in a still life of vegetables.

[DanK]

I certainly agree with the notion that there are no rules. However, I have to agree with Andre and Geoff--this image just doesn't work for me. The still lifes I find engaging vary in terms of how prominent the setting is. In some, e.g., some of the Dutch masters, the background is quite prominent, so the image is really of a scene, rather than just of a subject. In others, like Olivia Parker's still life of pomegranates (https://www.robertkleingallery.com/a...granates-1979/), the background is barely present. However, in general, the background is in some way related to the primary subject(s). For example, in the Parker photograph, one sees (barely) an old wood table that one might have cut the pomegranates on and blue paper wrapping another uncut fruit. In your images, you have bright shiny tomatoes in front of an entirely unrelated background. My first reaction was that they clash.

Of course, it's all a matter of taste. I've seen images by reknowned photographers that I didn't think were appealing at all.