Craft and Vision in Still-Life Photography

In our fast-paced world, the studio can serve as a meditative haven of refuge to slow down and tune into our senses. In this four-day workshop in Boston, artist Tara Sellios hosts a multi-dimensional, concept-driven class that delves into the process of expressing ideas into tangible, artistic form. Not limited to the traditional sense of the genre, “still life” in this workshop explores the use of materials to create a tableau informed by allusion and symbolism. 

Through a series of intentional assignments, students are tasked with creating sets that effectively communicate a personal theme or metaphor. Tara expands upon the boundless possibilities of the term “still life,” and guides participants through the technical aspects of building, mounting, and lighting objects successfully, while also working to deepen the emotional impact of their work. Participants work with provided props, tools, and organic elements to create fine-art still life scenes, and have the opportunity to experiment with both artificial and natural light to create effective lighting scenarios. 

Over the course of four days, Tara encourages deeper connection to your inner voice and heightened awareness of the tools necessary to achieve creative intent. The first day begins with understanding the art historical background of light and its depictions in paintings, before diving into a hands-on assignment of recreating a classical scene with natural light. The second day moves into building sets, where students have the opportunity to practice shaping both natural and artificial light using basic studio lights and modifiers. Day three and four involve a more hands-on, craft-focused approach while further honing lighting skills with ample studio time for students to create their own fine-art still life creations.

The goal of these four days together is to strike a balance between play and taking ownership of creative control to articulate each artist’s personal visual narrative. This workshop is designed for artists and photographers seeking to expand their technical skills, reconnect with their inner voice, and push their vision to the next level.