Still Life

I bought some nectarines at the market today. They are so colorful, I thought I'd take photos of them to create a still life.

Two nectarines. 

This first photos of just the nectarines turned out okay, but it seemed something was missing. I like the bright reds and yellows with the highlights and darker purple shadows. I like the green of the leaves, although I'd like to see more green. The main problem is, I broke the rule of "use an odd number of items". It doesn't look right with just two nectarines. So I added some other fruit - a plum and three cherries.

Two nectarines, a plum and three cherries. 

This still life photo looks better. The added plum and cherries help.  I took the shot from above the fruit because I wanted to see the leaves on the nectarines. I like the play of the bright green against the orange and yellows. I like the deep purple of the plum and the deep reddish-purple of the cherries. But the lighting didn't turn out the best. The nectarines look duller and the cherries and plum are just dark with very little highlights. So back to the drawing board.

Fruit Still Life. 

This is a much better shot! The lighting is much better! The plum and the cherries have color now. The reds and purples of the cherries and a variety of purples to bluish purples on the plum  show. The green leaves of the nectarines and how it plays against the reds, oranges, and yellows of the nectarines can be seen. The shadows of the fruit have color. I like the dark background and light foreground. 

After taking all the photos to get this one decent shot, I realized I should have worked harder on my set up. I should have draped some fabric in the background and added a bit of lace. Oh, well, by the time of thought of that, the fruit wasn't as delicious looking. So another time!! I think this shot will still work to create a painting from.