A Year of Beauty- Photography Challenge- Year 2

[Samtian]

September/October is here so break time is over!

Time to start with some fundamentals. Photography has it's own set of "rules". Which of course are meant to be broken, but it's really helpful to know some basics. Starting with the rule of 3rds in composition. What you do is place your subject on one of the "imaginary" lines that cut a photo into thirds ( 9 sections). I do this rule often, but sometimes parents don't like it in their pictures and want the subjects centered. Included is images with the lines showing. Just basic set up so you can see it. One of the easiest ways to get something on one of the lines is to crop it down. When you crop an image you usually get the lines that show up, using those lines tells you where the "thirds" are, and just line your subject up with one of them. 

If you want to get really technical I encourage you to look up the Golden Ratio and learn about it. It has many names and it is way too mathematical for my brain to comprehend. To my knowledge I don't think I have ever taken a golden ratio image. I have golden triangle but not ratio. Check it out! photoworkout dot com/golden-ratio-photography/  

Hopefully you can see the lines...I should have thought it out and used a dark background. 

What a great first year we had!! Even if I dropped the ball sometimes! I decided to change things up this year with the themes. They will be a little more challenging this year.

2023-

April- DOF 2 images.

May- Flash/Artificial Light.

June- What you see vs. What I see

July- Break

August- Break

September/October- Rule of 3rds.

2022 challenges-

April- Lipstick

May- Eye Shadow

June- Primer/Foundation/Concealer/CC/BB

July- Highlighters

August- Brushes

September- Sheet Masks

October- Hair Care

November- Fragrance

December- Nail Polish

January- Blush/Bronzer

February- Candles/Wax Melts/ Diffusers

The challenge and "rules"-

1. Flat lays and staged photos only. I'll post examples below. But no faces or people allowed in your photos. (Though you can include photographs).

2. All photos you take must be your own. 

3. Post as many images as you want, you have a whole month to get creative with each theme. Post one, post everyday, doesn't matter.

4. Let's talk gear and products! Tell us about your image. List the products and colors, talk to us about your concept and how it came to be, taken with your phone or DSLR? 

Here are some helpful reads- digital-photography-school dot com/flat-lay-photography/  and digital-photography-school dot com/tips-for-getting-started-with-still-life-photography/

Here are some of my example images I've taken in the past-

Gucci Bloom Eau De Toilette 1 oz/ 30 mL 

Floral Street Sunflower Pop Eau De Parfum Travel Spray 0.34 oz/ 10 mL 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Thank you! I'll be sad when I run out of them. 

[itsfi]

I feel ya on that @Samtian. I think I have one unopened bottle left and I’m using it veeery sparingly. Which scents are those - one looks like Silver Iris.

[Titian06]

Great set of pics and explanations, @Samtian !  George sure does love to help you! 😄

[Samtian]

@Titian06 Lol yes he does!!! He helps everyone 🙄. And thank you!

[itsfi]

June - What You See vs. What I See  

Wanted to post something a little light-hearted and silly, but still in keeping with this month's fabulous challenge theme and, even though it may not look like it, there is a beauty connection to these shots.

What You See:

What I See:

These photos were taken as part of my putting the ROSE INC Lip Cream Longwearing Matte Liquid Lipstick with Squalane Mortal Flame (gratis) to the test, pitting it against a meal of ramen, gyoza and iced matcha green tea. [To be completely transparent, there was some transfer, which was to be expected as the product did not claim to be transfer-proof, but transfer resistant. Some of the product came off when I wiped my mouth with a napkin but it didn't transfer onto my spoon, chopsticks or glass of iced matcha green tea. 👍]

Thank you so much @Samtian for coming up with such a unique, hands-on, and amazing thread! 💖 I've really been learning a lot from this challenge and the monthly focuses have made for some fabulous exercises! 

[Titian06]

You're right, @itsfi , I'm definitely looking at that big bowl of food! 🤣

You're also right in that the Rose Inc lip cream does not come off when eating and drinking. 💞

[itsfi]

Lol @Titian06, this was a particularly fun one to shoot. 📸 Test out a liquid lipstick (and one I ended up liking too!), practice taking photos, and I get to have some yummy food?! 

[Samtian]

@itsfi That is so awesome I love it! I have been non-stop busy this month it's crazy! I'm determined to do a few next week on my days off though!

[itsfi]

@Samtian, excited to see your photos, but rest up, first. You work so hard!

[lilymartin123]

It looks amazing..

[itsfi]

June - What You See vs. What I See

Okay, this was a fun one to research, read about, and see examples, but a more difficult one for me to execute, as I think I was going outside the scope of the challenge with many of the shots I initially took. Oops. 😯 I seemed to have a better handle on it when I focused my brain on the "pullback" concept. 

What You See:

What I See:

I'm interested in doing more of these "What You See" and "What I See" photos and will aim to fit in a few more this month - love getting to get in some photography practice.

I have a question @Samtian, is it still in keeping with the scope of "what  you see / what I see" if there are additional materials or props, or changes in layout, design or position of products in the "what I see" shot? I am thinking yes. I've seen examples where the photographer adjusts lighting in the "what I see" shot but I haven't seen things added or rearranged to the "what I see" shots. Is that right? 

[jaaayp]

@itsfi so aesthetic!!!!

[itsfi]

@jaaayp, thank you! The design and packaging of Dior products lend themselves to photographs - they're so pretty on their own. 😍 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Ooh I love this! Lighting is included in that because cell phones/human vision/cameras all see light differently so nothing about the scene changes. If you change out items/props or rearrange things a new what you see would need to be taken. Position doesn't matter so much, if you mean like where the behind the scene is taken from vs the actual picture. 

[itsfi]

Ahhh, thank you @Samtian! This month's topic has been an interesting one to delve into - both reading up on it and putting it into practice. 💗

[sister13]

This is lovely! @itsfi 

[itsfi]

Thank you @sister13. It was such a fun photo challenge! 📷

[Titian06]

After looking into what this concept is, I think you portray it very well in your two pics, @itsfi !  The terms that came to mind for me are "big picture" and "little picture" or "macro" and "micro."

[mantia]

Yes, it is very lovely ...

[itsfi]

Awww, thank you @Titian06! I like the "big picture" "little picture" distinction. 😊 It's like the forest and the trees, in a way. 

[mantia]

Wow ! it's sound very good for the makeup lovers ...