PRESENT NARRATIVE IN STILL-LIFE IMAGES

Mohammad Hossein Mohammad Salehi walks us through his process for creating a dramatic shot

- Mohammad Hossein Mohammad Salehi

When I was listening to music, a new idea for a shot came to my mind. It was an image that would show loneliness and sadness at the same time. With that, I took my notebook and started writing.

First, I listed all the elements that I wanted to be in the scene. I then chose the mood I wanted to work with and came up with the backstory behind the image, before starting to sketch and put my ideas on paper.

01 INITIAL MODELLING

After collating all the different references I needed, I began the modelling process, first creating the whiskey glass, cigarette packet and ashtray. To begin, I made each of the objects separately in different scenes, then imported them all into a single new scene. This method helps me make any tweaks easily.

Each object has its own story. To capture greater realism, think of the backstory for each element before placing them into your scene; where it’s been and what has happened to it. For instance, what I had in mind for the cigarette box was that it had been in a woman’s coat pocket or been held in a hand for too long, and had lost a bit of its shape. Try to be loyal to the details, such as the bottom corners of the pack’s plastic wrapping being folded. Although you can’t see it in the final render, it was made nevertheless.

02 CREATE TEXTURES