Using simple household items and food products, Australian designer Domenic Bachmann, like a child at play, creates funny miniature iso-compositions that captivate with their mischief and fresh look at the world around them.

Illustrator Domenic Bachmann (Domenic Bahmann, 1981) was born in Munich (Germany), and currently lives and works in Canberra (Australia). His main focus is creating content for food companies, websites, apps and magazines including Time Magazine, New Scientist Magazine, SELF, Adweek and Australian House & Garden Magazine. When he's not working on editorial assignments, he enjoys coming up with fun mini-art pieces to post on Instagram and Facebook. Created with taste and humor, they resonate with all viewers, regardless of intelligence, age or nationality.

Each of his witty miniatures, created using an original arrangement of ordinary products, is like a small and self-contained joke.

He started his project called “Stop, Think, Do” in 2013 and since then, at least once a week, he has to come up with a new image. His miniature iso-compositions captivate with their fresh look at the most ordinary objects, which is typical only for children at play. Then the boundaries of reality are erased and the scale of the world changes.

His imagination more than once helped him create original illustrations advertising products of food companies or pages of specialized publications. The artist's goal is to create fun and refreshing illustrations that will resonate with every viewer, regardless of age or intelligence. " Art and design thinking go hand in hand. It is important to engage both types of thinking in the creative process. Art allows me to explore new perspectives. This creates new directions for how I approach design. ».

Still lifes are familiar to everyone. However, few people expect any surprises from food photos. Carl Warner, an English photographer who recently published his book “The World of Food,” can arrange them.

Warner's main key feature is the use of food in the most unexpected guises. As a result, the viewer observes something completely incredible, which forces him to move away from his usual perception of the world for a long time. According to Karl himself, the main goal of his work was to arouse children's interest in healthy eating.

Creative process Warner does it in stages. At the ideation stage, sketches future work the master applies it to paper. This is followed by a literal montage of the composition. Using pins, toothpicks and ordinary glue, Warner assembles the products into the shape he needs. Then comes the photo shoot itself, where the background and the resulting object are photographed separately. The final stage involves combining the resulting images in a computer program.

Carl Warner believes that his works are capable of awakening in modern adults that long-forgotten feeling of vivid imagination that was forgotten in distant childhood. However, such creativity also has opponents, who claim that the author is simply “wasting food.”

Still lifes are familiar to everyone. However, few people expect any surprises from food photos. Carl Warner, an English photographer who recently published his book “The World of Food,” can arrange them.

Warner's main key feature is the use of food in the most unexpected guises. As a result, the viewer observes something completely incredible, which forces him to move away from his usual perception of the world for a long time. According to Karl himself, the main goal of his work was to arouse children's interest in healthy eating.

Warner carries out the creative process in stages. At the stage of idea formation, the master draws sketches of the future work on paper. This is followed by a literal montage of the composition. Using pins, toothpicks and ordinary glue, Warner assembles the products into the shape he needs. Then comes the photo shoot itself, where the background and the resulting object are photographed separately. The final stage involves combining the resulting images in a computer program.

Carl Warner believes that his works are capable of awakening in modern adults that long-forgotten feeling of vivid imagination that was forgotten in distant childhood. However, such creativity also has opponents, who claim that the author is simply “wasting food.” An interesting news site where you can read all the latest and important events, taking place in Ufa! Also, for example, here you will find out the whole truth about the sensational drug syndicate that was defeated last year! You can find everything you need about your beloved Ufa, its establishments where you can relax and spend active time, and discuss any questions on the forum on the portal ufatut.ru!

What defines the beauty of food photography?

My conclusion is the composition and appetizing nature of the dish.

What is an ideal composition? This is when every object in the frame is in its place. When nothing can be removed or added to a photo without disturbing the harmony and overall impression of the photo.

Composition is divided into aesthetic (idea, design of the photograph) and technical (frame geometry, color combination and light).

The main rule of aesthetic composition is the picture should have one idea (plot) that is understandable to the viewer.

Before composing a frame, you need to understand what story you want to tell in the photograph. An idea often suggests which composition rule is best applied to implement it.

7 rules of composition that will make your shot better

1. Golden ratio

This is a basic rule of composition that has existed in art since ancient times. Let's not go deeper into his explanation. Let's just see that according to this rule, the frame area is divided by two vertical and two horizontal lines as follows.

The main objects in the frame should be placed along these lines or at their intersection points. The intersection points are called “visual centers.” It is believed that they attract a person's attention first.

2. Rule of diagonals

One of the most frequently used rules in food photography. Its essence is the location of the main objects in the frame diagonally. This technique is good because it creates dynamics in the photo. Here are some examples of diagonal compositions.

In the first and second photos, the diagonal is set by two plates of soup. In the third picture, the diagonal is very succinctly and effectively indicated by a knife.

During filming I found several features of constructing diagonal compositions:

• Rectangular cutting boards, plates, boxes, trays, etc. - a good basis for a diagonal composition.

• The diagonal can be set not only by objects, but also by color.

In this photo there is a diagonal of green created by the pesto in the jar and the sprig in the background.

• The diagonal in the frame can be set by the lines of the background boards or the location of the edge of the table.

• The diagonal can be set or emphasized with cutlery.

• There are often diagonals in the food itself, and this can and should be shown.

3. Rule of triangles

This is also a very popular rule in food photography. Its essence is that the main objects form a triangle. Let's look at examples.

4. Spiral

Surprisingly, this rule of harmony was derived through mathematical calculations. Let’s not go into scientific complexities, but simply agree that photographs with a spiral composition look very interesting. The composition can be constructed so that the viewer's gaze twists or unwinds in a spiral, coming to the main object in the frame. This technique makes the frame dynamic.

5. Fibonacci numbers

A very useful, but for some reason not often mentioned compositional technique. It helps determine the number of objects in the frame.

Mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci developed a number harmony series 1 1 2 3 5 8 12 ... Remember these numbers and use them when decorating dishes and composing compositions.

In the first photo we see 1 cupcake decorated with 1 fig. 3 pieces of cake were cut off; 4 pieces would have looked less harmonious. In the second picture we see 3 burgers, 2 glasses of beer. Near each burger there are 2 halves of a cucumber. These are all small details, but often the feeling of harmony in the frame depends on them.

6. Rhythm or pattern

This is the repeated repetition of the same or similar objects in the frame. This is a simple but very effective compositional technique.

Rhythm always makes a photograph more lively and interesting. Therefore, try to notice the rhythm in food, interior, dishes and add it to your photos.

In the photographs below, rhythm is not the main compositional device. But in the first photo there is rhythm in the back of the chair, in the sliced ​​avocado and the tomato branch. The second photo shows very rhythmic waffles. In the third photo, the rhythm is set by the stack of pancakes itself and the lines of the grid.

7. Different heights

An interesting compositional technique is the arrangement of objects at different heights. This prevents the viewer from getting bored and adds dynamics to the frame.

The viewer unconsciously reads information from the photograph from left to right and from top to bottom. Therefore, for a more comfortable perception It's better to make the top and left side of the photo lighter, i.e. leave more space and more light there.

P.S. To master the rules of composition, you need to practice a lot. Then they will move to the subconscious level, and you won’t even have to think about them.

We'll talk about other important parts of a harmonious composition - color and light - in the following posts.

P.P.S. I always enjoy reading comments on my posts!

Photographer Denis Karpenkov, who touched on the topic last time, continues his series of articles with another important aspect of food photography: composition. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in food photography, photography in general, or just wants to make their amateur photos better.

From the very beginning, just the word “composition” sounded like a prayer to me.
It filled my soul with awe.
And I still feel pain when I see how frivolously he is often treated.

Wassily Kandinsky

This article is an introduction to our further conversation about composition. It provides the most general information, based on which it will be easier for us to talk about more specific aspects of the composition.

When you get good light in your photos, they will become more picturesque and more artistic. However, if you want to make your photos more coherent, convincing, and easy to understand, you should think about composition. What does it mean? In the broadest sense, it is the organization of space and objects in the frame, which ensures the best perception of visual information. Many books have been written about it, and each author gives his own definition.

The photographer uses compositional elements to control the viewer's attention. He puts emphasis on the main objects, and relegates minor ones to the background. Thus, he tries to convey his idea to the viewer with minimal losses, to capture and hold his attention. The composition that copes with these tasks is praised, the one that fails is criticized. Obviously, in the first case, she can be considered harmonious, beautiful and slender. This composition is mathematically logical and based on the laws of human perception.

These laws vary slightly depending on the region and era, but as Europeans, raised on the cultural heritage of Ancient Greece, Rome and the Renaissance, we read any graphic image in approximately the same way. We sequentially move our gaze across the image from left to right and top to bottom, from large objects to small ones, from light to dark, from bright to dull, our gaze follows the leading lines. We give preference to those frames where the principle of the golden ratio is implemented (as a result of simplification, the “rule of thirds” arose from it, according to which the frame is divided into three equal parts vertically and horizontally, and the main object of the scene is located either at the intersection of these lines, or on these lines).

These are not strict requirements, they just help to build an initial algorithm for creating an attractive composition. Subsequently, these rules begin to work at the subconscious level. Some of them can be ignored or violated and still get great results. After all, the main thing is general impression, created by photography. And as far as we know, the whole is not a simple sum of its constituent elements. However, it is necessary to start with them.

So, we are dealing with the frame plane. How to place objects on it to achieve their best sound? Before we start talking about elements of composition And ways to harmonize, it is necessary to dwell briefly on its properties.

Composition properties

1. Unity

Sometimes when we talk about unity, we mean that photography should create a cohesive impression. None of the objects in the frame should stand out and dominate the whole image. Unity in food photography can be achieved by the same style of dishes and kitchen utensils, colors, and general shapes. Unity is very important for the viewer to easily understand your work. For example, all masterpieces of graphics and painting have this property only because they were created in the same style, by the hand of one master. They are united by a picturesque handwriting, the thickness and density of lines, the shape and nature of the strokes. When we take a photograph, we do not have the ability to control the image as subtly. Therefore, very often the composition of photographs lacks unity to the same extent as in paintings. We must be very careful when choosing props, the shape and texture of the dishes. Ultimately, the composition must look such that nothing can be taken away from it, and nothing can be added to it without damaging the whole.

To understand how unified and integral the composition of your photograph is, try to compare it with the facade of an ancient Greek temple (nothing more perfect in terms of composition has yet been created by man; the legacy of the ancient Greeks is all that the Western European doctrine of composition in painting, architecture and including photographs). Please note that not a single element of the structure of this temple - neither the stylobate, nor the column, nor its capital, nor the pediment, nor its decorative design - will be perceived separately from general view. It is necessary to remember this both at the stage of carefully selecting props, thinking through their connections with the main object of the scene, and then when forming the composition.

2. Equilibrium (balance)

Equilibrium can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. It must be present if you do not want the viewer to feel dizzy when looking at your work. With symmetrical equilibrium, everything is clear - the left part of the frame mirrors the right in its content, or the upper - the lower, or, in the case of a central symmetrical equilibrium - identical areas are equidistant from the center. In the case of asymmetrical balance, you need to ensure that none of the elements of the composition outweighs all the others, or is restrained by them either due to location, or meaning (plot importance), or color. Asymmetrical balance is a rather subjective concept: you may think that your work has everything in order, but someone else will say that it is not balanced. You may agree with this opinion or not. The main thing you must understand is that there are no strict requirements regarding the balance of the composition. You will have to achieve it based only on your own visual experience and taste.

Yes, there is also crystalline equilibrium - in the form of a pattern or design, when all the elements hold on to each other like the bars of a lattice. This type of balance is very important for graphic design: photographs balanced in this way are excellent as backgrounds for text or for designing web pages.

3. Sustainability

We are used to seeing the horizon line as flat. If it's tilted, there's something wrong with either us or the horizon. Please note that in cinema, the slope of the horizon line, as well as all supporting horizontals, verticals and planes - walls of houses, floors and ceilings, pieces of furniture, tables - is used for only one purpose: to show the scene through the eyes of an unhealthy or drunk person. The first requirement for making a composition stable is to bring all horizontals to horizontals, and verticals to verticals. Avoid shooting with a wide-angle lens; in my opinion, its use is only justified when shooting landscapes. If you are shooting from above, at 90 degrees, then the lens axis must be strictly perpendicular to the plane of the table, otherwise the viewer will have the feeling of falling (you can sharpen the shooting angle somewhat in your direction, but not in the opposite direction).

There are also some minor caveats. On close-ups slight rotation of the camera axis is allowed. In the frame, it is equivalent to the observer tilting his head when looking at the dish at close range and is therefore perceived normally.

It is also important to know that since food photography is a still life, its composition is based on the principles of still life construction. And this is a genre for which, more than any other, geometry is important: all objects are combined into groups built on the basis of geometric shapes: straight and broken lines, squares, triangles, circles and ovals. There are also many examples where objects are combined based on the shapes of the letters T, L, V and others.

We are accustomed to the idea that everything heavy in our life should be at the bottom, and everything light at the top. Something weightless, like clouds or smoke, rises even higher than the lungs. What if something heavy, for example a pound weight, is placed on the mezzanine? Passing under it, we will always experience a feeling of discomfort, since with its desire downward it will threaten our safety and create a feeling of instability in the interior. The same thing happens when looking at a photograph in which large, three-dimensional objects are located at the top of the frame. They will press their weight onto objects below. And if there are not enough of them, if due to their quantity or upward movement they do not form an opposing force, the composition will seem restless, ready to “fall” at any moment.

Likewise, if we combine objects into a square and place it on one of its corners, it will be unstable, just like a triangle standing on one of its vertices. If you do not pursue the goal of creating tension in the frame, sowing irrational anxiety in the viewer’s soul, you should remember that heavy objects should be located at the bottom of the frame, squares and triangles should be level on a support, and all the lines that we are used to seeing horizontal and vertical, they should be like that in the photograph (we do not take Petrov-Vodkin’s still lifes into consideration; he had his own planetary perspective system and he solved other problems with its help).

Schematic explanations

I will try to illustrate the theoretical part with simple examples:

Unity:

1. This illustration shows dissimilar elements: a circle and an oval, five rectangles with different proportions, a triangle and a hexagon, a curved line. Some of them have a connection with each other, such as shape and texture. But in general, these elements are in no way connected with each other. They are deprived unity, they are not a composition.

2. General sign- this is what helps to unite even such different elements. In this illustration, each figure except the line has a general invoice. She became a unifying factor for them.

3. Here all the figures are grouped into a large rectangle, which repeats in its shape the rectangle located in the lower left corner. The composition is unified because right angles are repeated many times in it; as a whole, it itself is an enlarged image of its main element. This is a kind of nod to the dominant rectangular shape.

4. By a similar principle, unity was achieved in this composition. Its middle part is organized into a square placed on a corner. The remaining elements, complementing it on the left and right below, form a large triangle, reminiscent of a small triangle above.

5. If all objects have rounded shapes, you can greatly enhance this impression and achieve unity based on the repetition of the central oval shape in the arrangement of other figures. In this way, you can not only unify the composition, but also emphasize its smoothness and roundness of all its elements.

Equilibrium (balance) and stability:

In Figure 1 (above), the large rectangle on the left is clearly larger than the rectangle on the right. Because of this, it appears that the left side of the frame is heavily weighted.

In Fig. 2 demonstrated symmetrical balance, achieved by the central location of both rectangles.

In Fig. 3 shows an attempt to achieve asymmetrical balance by moving the heavier object to the center, and the smaller one to the right edge of the frame. Agree, the composition with such an arrangement of objects does not look ideal, but it is already much more stable and calmer than in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 1 (above) the left side of the frame again outweighs, one gets the feeling that the large square may fall, since there is emptiness under it. This is a valid composition option, but it creates tension and dynamics (this may well coincide with your goals)

In Fig. 2, the composition is slightly changed, but the content of the left and right parts remains unchanged in terms of the visual weight and size of the objects. However, it is more static and looks balanced.

In Fig. Figure 3 shows a way to give the composition monumentality and tranquility. All other elements of the composition act as support for the falling square. The right side of the frame can either be discarded when framing, or used as negative space to counterbalance the presence of text or rich texture (a tablecloth, for example, or old wood table)

In Fig. 1 (above) the elements of the composition are grouped into a triangle standing at the top. When you look at it, it seems that this imaginary triangle is ready to fall to the left on one of its sides.

Give it to him sustainability an arrangement similar to that shown in Fig. 2 or Fig. 3 helps.

It is absolutely not necessary to achieve such geometric accuracy when composing compositions. But remember that if some kind of figure can be discerned in its structure - a triangle or a square - then it must be stable.

Some practical tips:

1. Use dishes and props (napkins, boards) of the same style in the frame. No modern napkins next to rustic boards! (You will learn how to combine different styles in the following articles).

2. Do not leave unclear corners at the edges of the frame, or get rid of them when framing. Also get rid of everything unnecessary (everything that does not improve the composition).

3. Make sure that each object plays a specific role in the frame. There should be no forks, spoons, etc. accidentally found in the frame. I repeat, everything extra = unnecessary, it distracts the viewer from the main thing. It’s better to be a minimalist at first, striving to ensure that the minimum number of objects in the frame look good.

4. Balance the frame: if there is a large plate on the left, then create a “counterbalance” on the right: place cutlery on a napkin/slice of bread and a knife with butter/twig (as appropriate, based on the scene)

That's all we'll stop at for now. There is still a lot of interesting things ahead: analysis composition elements And ways to harmonize them. But the first place to start when working on improving your sense of composition is to get into the habit of paying attention to the above 3 basic principles, realized in the works of great painters and photographers.

Studying the still lifes of Jan Davids De Heem, Paul Cezanne and Petrov-Vodkin, you can talk for a long time about their differences, but it is better to see what brings them together: first of all unity And integrity their compositions, equilibrium And sustainability. Perhaps this manner of interpreting a still life, as on their canvases, is not in fashion now, and not a single customer will like it if you offer him something in this spirit. May be. But we look and admire their paintings, not noticing the current of time. The attractiveness of their work consists of many components, but their basis is careful consideration of the composition, starting from its most fundamental foundations.

If you are interested in the services of a photographer, you can contact Denis Karpenkov on his official website to discuss the possibility of cooperation.