You might be looking at the title and think, “What the heck is that?” It’s okay, you’re not the only one. I thought the same thing when my professor assigned this project to me.

So what is tableau vivant? Translated from French, it literally means ‘living picture.’ It captures a scene with one or more actor, model, or subject. This style of photography is often very cinematic or theatrical. It looks like you basically paused a movie or recording of a play.

I know it might still be confusing, so here are some steps I took to plan my tableau vivant shoot.

 

Inspiration – Know the OGs!

When brainstorming my tableau vivant shoot, the first thing I did was search for other photographers who dabbled in this area. Some that I found were:

1. Anna Gaskell – Untitled #35 (Hide)

 

2. Hellen Van Meene – Untitled 0468

3. Nir Arieli – “Tension” series

 

4. Gregory Crewdson –  Untitled

For my tableau vivant shoot, I took inspiration from Gregory Crewdson’s photo “Untitled.”

 

The Shoot

So, you’ve done your research, chosen your inspiration and head out to shoot. Or at least that’s what I did. This is the final photo I composed:

Through this assignment, I investigated representations of death. For this project, I mainly used flowers for this symbolism. Flowers grow, they bloom, and then they wither. As I focused on death from a western-centric lens, I also chose a photo with the black dress because it is another representation of death and something people in the west often wear to honour those who passed.

I had many photos to choose from – I did a couple of costume, prop, and lighting changes to convey different meanings and create impactful imagery. Here are the other photos that didn’t make the cut, and I’ll explain why.

 

Rough 1

This guy didn’t make the cut because of the clothing I wore. It was a bit over-kill with the floral pattern and the mountain of 100 flowers and plants (that’s no exaggeration. I was never more thankful that she decided to study agriculture at the university of Guelph and become president of the Horticulture club). Also, the apricot was meant to be a stone (which I would have Photoshopped, of course). For those of you who don’t know, stones metaphoric in the sense of solidity that they have. While flowers fade and die, and represent the brevity of life. Stones last, and represent the everlasting memories of those lives.

 

Rough 2

Here, the lighting was dramatic, but harsh, which is why this guy didn’t make the cut.

 

Rough 3

This one just didn’t stand out enough. The pose was too plain. We need DRAMA

 

Rough 4

Okay, yes. I know it looks like I’m sleeping here. Give a girl a break! I shot all night.

 

A Good Guide

Find a mentor. Someone who can give you feedback. I don’t know what I would have done without my mentor, Cody Greco.

He gave me feedback that I worked on through editing (thank goodness I didn’t need to re-do the shoot!) He gave me feedback regarding lighting (ex. Where to lighten/darken the image to emphasize the key points, in this case the subject), colouring, and many more aspects that I wouldn’t have thought of with my photography experience.

I was fortunate enough to have another mentor, the professor. A tip she gave was to print your photos really large, and hang it on your wall. Let it sit there for a week. At first, you’re going to be in love with your work, but as time goes on, you’ll see things that need to be adjusted. When this happens, circle them so that you know what to fix for the final photo shoot or in editing.

Another tip I learned was that black velvet does not reflect light, which is why I wore a black velvet dress. No light reflected off of it, which in a way represents death as well. You can apply this information to other things too, like using black velvet as a backdrop!

 

I know this dramatic style isn’t for everyone, but of all the types of shoots I’ve done from portraiture to still-life to landscape, tableau vivant is my favourite! (What can I say? I’m a Gemini. I like my drama.)

 

Shoot Bloops

It’s okay to have some fun. Here are some golden shots of exactly that.

 

Let me know what you think! Comment below with any questions you have, any topics you want me to cover, or any tips you found helpful.