Part two of the joyfulness that comes with adding colour – Simple Photography Tips on colourful fruit photography and the mental health benefits of creativity

Five simple photography tips on photography and mental health - Camera and Phone Camera

• Choose bright fruit - perhaps a group of citrus

• Try mixing some of the colours, say orange, yellow and orange, yellow

• Maybe browse the markets and get in close

• Enjoy yourself – Slow down, experiment with angles, light, and composition, and take joy in capturing beauty

• Hang on your wall where photography and mental health combine

  
  

A couple of weeks or so ago I posted an article on the joyfulness that colour can bring, by walking with you around photographing some bright flowers.

The effects of bright colour on the brain, and thereby the rest of that body of yours, are considerable, so let's look at photographing fruit as a subject for part two of 'joyful photography'.

The benefits of creativity are that photography and mental health come together in a remarkable and beneficial way

If you've missed the previous article do have a read over the paragraphs about the sciency bits https://www.michaelblyth.co.uk/post/the-joyfulness-that-comes-with-adding-colour-to-your-life-simple-photography-tips

I'm going to use images of brightly coloured fruit to maybe inspire you with ideas for brightening your walls.

Image One - Close-up of fresh yellow lemons in a rustic woven basket,

Image One, photographed in the Mediterranean, looks as if they're lemons set vertically, which I feel adds a quirkiness to the brightness of the image.

If you look long enough, you'll see that it's actually a basket resting on a table - funny how the eye sees things differently sometimes!

It's an image that would be brighter but less rustic if you were to set it up using those ultra-bright fruits from a supermarket.

I was using an i-phone 14 pro for this image, set on macro, with the result that the top lemons are slightly out of focus.

If you used a camera and lens, you'd be able to adjust the depth of field for all-over sharpness

Image Two - Basket filled with fresh oranges and lemons.

Image Two, gently brings in a second colour to the offering. Again, 'local' fruit adds a texture that most supermarket offerings would fail to bring - but the offest is that they are not quite so bright.

Image Three - Oranges with green leaves in a rustic metal tub.

Image Three is another variation on the cheerful colours that ripe citrus fruit can bring. Photographed from above, outside a restaurant in Majorca.

The surroundings of all three images add a gentleness that is missing from the same fruits shot on a market stall, or supermarket, as shown in image four.

Image Four, although not as gentle as the other images, are a great source of bright and cheerful.

Image Four - Close-up of oranges

Go for a wander, camera if you have one, phone camera if you don't. Seek out 'all things bright and beautiful', as the hymn we had at our wedding goes - quite a while ago now, but best move of my life!