Compositions With a Teapot

This is a typical teapot still-life, with a cup placed beside the pot. Often these can look a bit dull, as it is difficult to create interest with the two rounded shapes, and arrangements can easily look awkward. However in this case the tall cane handle both complements the woven tray and adds height to the composition, and the surface pattern on the ceramic adds interest. So it's quite a nice composition, if not exciting.

Monorchrome color and simple, off-center composition make this a strong image. The mid-height viewpoint creates a 'flat', two-dimensional sense of perspective. The space to the left of the pot gives a sense of context, so don't crop it.  A more central composition could work, but I'd want some vertical space to prevent it from being static. This would make an excellent charcoal or trois crayons study. I think I'd add a littie tone to the bakelite handle so it wasn't so stark.

Using a container - whether a neat fitting box like this, or a frame behind an object, or even a distant or 'virtual' frame like a background door or a foreground window can add drama and impact to an image. A shadow box like this is particularly effective for tonal compositions, because the deep shadows allow you to develop a strong sense of form with shading.

Finding an unsual angle literally allows your viewer to see the object in a new way. While the user might see the top of their teapot, it's rarely presented as a view by photographers. This beautiful image of a green Japanese teapot, by photographer Jerneja Varsek, combines an interesting bird's eye view with tight framing and unified color to create a striking composition.

Creative cropping can rescue a pedestrian image to some extent, but planning for a close crop, by thinking about background and silhouette, can result in something remarkable. A viewfinder can be a useful tool when creating a close-cropped composition from life, to help you visualize how it will look on the page. When cropping, be very aware of the shapes and volumes created as the frame or edges of the page cut across the object.

There's a modernity about this image - both the subject - a retro coffee-pot and electric rings - and the natural shapshot framing. It can be quite difficult to make contemporary objects work as subjects - we're always going for really old picturesque things. There's something about that built-in patina that makes for an instant subject, but it can also be a bit false. Many artists use photography with flat, bright lighting and almost random slice-of-life compositions to try to find an 'honest' way to depict contemporary suburban life.

This composition is a kind of landscape format, but instead of a tree or figure in the foreground of a rolling vista, we have a coffee-pot and textured paper. With the subject pushed to one side, the eye moves freely around the composition and takes in the interesting textures and marks - the coffee rings and crumples are part of the design.