The Master in Still-Life addresses to the people who want to go in professionally for a concrete specialization. It is also suitable for those who already know the basics of photography or work, and want to start a photographic commercial activity based mainly on the production of advertising images and on the creativity around them.

In fact, the Master in Still-Life is a course that lasts sixty-four hours, with the aim of allowing the student to practise advertising photography to insert in his portfolio of images on slide plate of 10x12 (4x5 inches). These images represent an absolutely necessary visiting card for everyone who wants to be part of this sector of photography; otherwise, it will be impossible, because of the high initial cost of the professional equipment.

Programme of the course

First of all, our students will attend a series of preliminary lessons (two of two hours each) to be introduced to advertising photography, where we will analyze the problems linked to technique and composition, and those concerning their entry in the job world, as well as using big cameras, flash, fixed lights and their accessories. Then we will detect some product sectors to face photographically and we will select subjects and ideas to give birth to hypothetical images for advertising campaigns.

At this point, the class will start working on the design and production of advertising images. We select some products to market, we study their possible executive lay-out, we analyze the materials we need for the view and set, and once we have assembled the set, thanks to the collaboration of the specific class of set designing, we will pass to the study of the suitable lighting, to the Polaroid test and finally to the click on a 10X12 plate.

Every class makes fifteen advertising photographs with heterogeneous subjects; these images will be part of the student's final portfolio.
For this reason, since the beginning, the student will learn a completely different working methodology, that it is no longer based only on creativity but also on the collective nature. The ideas selected will be subjected to the supervision of the art director of an advertising agency.
Obviously, during the production of the images, we will deal with and explain all the themes linked to technique and composition that could occur.
We have included also some interventions to help the students to choose his orientation and the professional sectors to follow to enter or strengthen their position on the job world.

Themes treated:

• Food and beverage
• Presents
• Perfumery and fashion accessories
• Watches
• Tissues and yarns
• Electronics and household appliances
• Hi-Tech objects
• Materials (Glass, Plastic, Ceramic, wood, reflecting and opaque surfaces)
• Leather goods
• Liquids

Technically, the course continues with the production of simple Still-Life, increasing gradually the degree of difficulty as far as we reach the production of extremely complex images using twenty or more spots, techniques of mixed lighting, and sets, up to the introduction to the problems and the analysis of the digital photographic postproduction.
The application field of Still-Life photography is very large and required, and it allows to insert the professional man in both big areas of industrial interest to collaborate with advertising agencies and small centres through the direct search for the client in medium and small companies.

The course uses exclusively view devices of 10X12 cm. The sensitive material, such as films, Polaroid tests and developers are already included.