Soul & Still Life
A photography course that teaches you to take beautiful photos without having to learn all the technical aspects that frustrate and take time.
NO FANCY TOOLS
Beautiful photos simply need a basic camera or phone. Fancy equipment is a waste of money and time if you ask me!
NO CAMERA TECHNIQUES
If you know how to take a photo with your equipment, you know enough to capture lovely photos.
YES USING HUMBLE PLACES
Any location turns into a soulful photo when using my methods for noticing and styling.
YES INSPIRATION
Ideas, inspiration and seeing beyond the ordinary create beautiful photos. I think learning photography should always cherish our creativity!
I see you. You admire beautiful photos and dream of creating something like that one day as well. Photographing beautiful photos is not a gift that is given to the chosen ones; it´s a possibility waiting for you to grab it.
BEFORE
This is me before I created my styling and storytelling methods.
Most of my previous photos are like this one: simple and with few props. There is nothing wrong with that, except that the objects are not connected in any way. Random objects don´t create a cohesive story, so it´s hard to understand what is happening in the photo. I assume that this photo is about a little craft project where a piece of paper is wrapped around a vase.
What I would do today.
Instead of glasses and other kinds of papers in the back, I would include props that fit into the craft project story:
Scissors, an old book, pages of the book, a bunch of flowers, and small vases without the paper.
This creates a scene where it feels like we are in the middle of a craft project. Because progress is always interesting.
AFTER
This is me after I created my styling and storytelling methods.
Today, all my photos include a story that lets the viewer imagine what it feels like to be in this moment. They can almost taste it, smell it, and breathe in the atmosphere. It creates a deeper connection than a photo without a story can. This connection means love, support, views, likes, comments, and purchases from your viewers. For you, it offers a creative outlet to express yourself, your emotions, and open up a glimpse into your world.
What I do today.
I create stories and convey them to others through styling. My styling techniques highlight the importance of thoughtfulness. Everything you see is there for a reason.
Variety in apricots (some are sliced) to add interest and signs of life, layering objects to create depth…
Showing progress or a daily ritual in action is one of the many ways to make people feel invited into the scene. Signs of lived life are what fascinate the eye, so my methods focus on creating authenticity.
HOBBY
Photography is a dear hobby for you, but you haven´t yet found a way to connect it with your unique expression.
Recognize yourself? Soul & Still Life is for you!
DREAM
You are quietly dreaming of turning your photography hobby into a side business one day.
BUSINESS
You have a creative business, but no beautiful photos to tell the world about it.
You will learn to style and photograph scenes that feel natural and poetic. So that your photos speak from your heart.
I see that you are a creative soul, wanting to be free and express from your soul. Your heart desires to create a life, a photograph, and connections that are slow, meaningful, and beautiful. This photography course helps you to bring your unique story to life and capture it in a soulful photo.
Who is this for?
This course is for you, creative soul, quietly dreaming of turning your photography hobby into a side business one day. Or photography is a dear hobby for you, but you haven´t yet found a way to connect it with your unique expression.
This course is for photographers who want more than technical skills. It’s for those who long to capture soulful still life photographs, shaped by Nordic aesthetics and guided by storytelling, light, and emotion. Suitable for beginners and intermediate photographers.
Let me help you get there with Soul & Still Life.
The idea of expressing yourself through photography affects how you see, notice, and feel.
Start living a life that is more meaningful for you. When you understand the importance of slowing down and noticing the humble details, a whole new world opens up for you. A world where you feel content and inspired.
You can only create scenes and moments that you see - let me help you to see the potential even in humble places.
Learn to notice.
This humble home turns into something special when I decide to see beyond it all. When the morning light shines, the world feels perfectly still. I close my eyes to what surrounds this scene and focus on what´s good and interesting in my chosen spot. Something that I have dismissed now offers me the most magical background that no other place can do. It´s about noticing and embracing the beauty in all places.
You are not alone in this journey; you will be part of a small community of creative, kind, and encouraging souls.
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If simplicity feels like you, the coming lesson next week is something you could benefit from. I believe grouping similar props is worth exploring in your still life photos. It creates simplicity but allows you to show multiple props. For example, in this photo, you could group the nectarine from the back with other slices of fruit. Then all the fruit is on the plate. Same props, same story, but fewer elements filling the space. This creates a calm feeling.
Excerpt of the feedback a student received from me.
The work of students.
Work at your own pace with my support.
7 chapters over the course of 7 weeks. Work at your own pace and go back to the material anytime you want. We go through the modules together during the 7 weeks. The course requires 1-2 hours of study per week. I hold your hand and support you as you take your steps during this journey. Once you sign in to the course, you get access to all the chapters and the workbook right away.
Weekly Assignments.
To ensure you get the best out of this course, I created a workbook that follows the lessons. After completing the lesson, open the workbook to find photography assignments. They are created to help you with hands-on practice, which is very important in photography.
Group Chat
We communicate with each other in a group chat. There, you ask questions, share your weekly assignments, and receive feedback from me. You can write your questions at any time you like. It´s a place of support, encouragement, and inspiration to grow and develop your skills even more.
start your journey
Soul & Still Life
Soul & Still Life includes a seven-week guidance in a group where you can ask questions and receive supportive feedback. Each week, you will get a photography assignment.
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Together, we will discover what it means to photograph with soul. We begin by exploring the philosophy behind soulful photography and connecting your images with presence, meaning, and emotion.
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This week, we create something very meaningful: we clarify and define your style so that you stand out with your unique voice.
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This week, you will reflect on what kind of emotions and stories you wish to convey through your photos. Together, we bring the stories alive and create a specific and unique way for you to express yourself.
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This week, you will learn how to style scenes that feel effortless and true to you. We are experimenting with authenticity, exploring the beauty of imperfection, and seeing how light can complete and elevate the scenes.
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This week, we will practice framing techniques that add depth and meaning to the photos. We make your unique voice stronger by creating compositions that bring clarity and poetry to your images.
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This week, you will learn to use what you have and see the potential in humble places. Together, we step outside and get inspired by our surroundings and seasons.
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This week, everything will come together. We reflect on the journey we have walked so far, and I will prepare you for the coming: how to continue from now on. We will talk about facing insecurities and comparison, and rediscovering inspiration when it´s lost.
Want to know more in detail what the course looks like? Take a look at the excerpt.
What to pack for an outdoor photoshoot?
Excerpt from Chapter 6: Still Life Photos Everywhere
Before I start to pack, I create a story as we learned in Lesson 5. I highlight keywords to notice the meaningful details and find symbols for each of them. It´s important to create the story beforehand because carrying the whole prop collection to the location is not possible. With the help of the story, you know exactly what you need to pack for your outdoor photoshoot.
If my story includes cups, plates, or bowls, I prefer taking the ones that don’t break easily, or if they happen to break, they shouldn’t be the kind of plates inherited from my grandma. I like to have something on the plate or in the cup. Food is such a great prop in all photoshoots, especially outdoors, because then you get to enjoy it afterwards. It doesn’t have to be a fancy cake; you can go with something very simple, such as pears or strawberries. Plus, cake is so much harder to bring to a location that is far from your home than fruit.
The same principles of showing life and usage apply to the outdoor photoshoot as well. Always have something in the cup, leave marks of life by filling it only halfway through. I like to grab a bottle of water with me, but since water is hard to see in a photo, I take tea or instant coffee to dye the water. One tea bag or a teaspoon of coffee is more than enough to create an illusion of a lovely coffee moment.
Below you can see a photo of the props I packed for an outdoor photoshoot. My story goes like this: Someone, well, me, enjoys a calm picnic moment after wandering on cliffs. There is a quiet little corner by the rock where the sea breeze can´t find me, and there I eat a delicious cinnamon bun, fresh pears, and a warming cup of hot chocolate.
This is how the photo turned out. I couldn´t find any flowers or lovely branches I could cut for a vase, so I left it out. Also, on my way to the location, I stopped at the bakery to get the cinnamon bun because it plays a significant role in the story.
Every time I shoot outdoors, I pack some kind of fabric with me. That can be a tablecloth, a picnic towel, a pillow, or a linen napkin. The fabric adds softness and texture to the photo. A fabric is great when you can´t carry heavy loads to the locations. It´s light to carry but also very versatile because it can be placed in many spots. On the rock, on the ground, or on the bench. Anywhere where you want to distinguish your styled scene from the environment.
As you can see, a blanket and a basket create contrast with the different textures of stone and grass in the photo. Your eye notices them right away because they are different from the surroundings. They lead the glance to notice the important spot in the photo and focus on what´s on the fabric.
Fabric creates a place within a place. In nature or the built environment, many places are quite large, and by placing a fabric, you root your scene to a specific spot and create a smaller, more intimate space. The pears could be placed anywhere on the rock if there were no fabric to specify the spot. Now, the fabric limits the possibilities by creating a small space in a huge nature.
Thank you for being here. Wherever your vision is today, it is already enough. If your heart is longing to photograph with depth, soul, and simplicity, I warmly invite you to begin the journey in Soul & Still Life.