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 

[MvLL]

@Samtian , @fatimamummy Yes indeed, Merit has created a really Fab formula! 

[CookieGirl1]

Those look great, @fatimamummy.

[fatimamummy]

Thank you @CookieGirl1 

[Titian06]

@fatimamummy - I like the abstract collage; the colors are so pretty! 🥰

[fatimamummy]

Thank you @Titian06 

[Samtian]

Week #2, I call it 50 Shades of Purple. (I don't actually have 50 purples.) I really wanted to try something out of my comfort zone, Digital Photography/Art, which is a very hot topic in the community world. But anyways, I went with this comic book pop art style. I really like it. This is a one off type of thing, I will be sticking to more traditional photography for the rest of the challenge...so I think. I might try some oil painting textures. I also thought of doing a pop art like the artist Andy Warhol but went with this one instead. 

Last week I went with monotone, so this week I knew I had to do a bold complimentary color scheme. This was also very frustrating. I'd have them lined up and the UD would keep rolling. It's not in perfect alignment like I wanted because all the tape in this house mysteriously disappeared. 

 

I did this shot with a Canon 7d Mark ii and the Canon 1.8 50 mm lens. 

Lipsticks Used Bottom to Top- KVD Ozzy, KVD Roxy, UD Troublemaker (lives up to it's name), and Maybelline Touch of Spice. 

Spoiler

Before Image Unedited-

[itsfi]

Wow @Samtian, I love that you went outside your comfort zone; it's inspiring and what you created as a result is fun and very cool. 😎 

I'm sorry you were frustrated with getting the UD to stay put. I think it turned out fabulously and I wouldn't have known if you didn't say anything. 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Awe thank you so much!! I can't wait to try this technique on some portraits!

[lmaster]

Wow!! @Samtian so cool

[Samtian]

@lmaster Thank you!!

[fatimamummy]

It is beautiful and very artistic @Samtian , Yellow and purple look so good together and I like the texture too

[Samtian]

@fatimamummy Thank you!!

[Skunk12puzzola]

Lovely Andy Warhol style 💜💛 @Samtian 

[Samtian]

@Skunk12puzzola Thank you!!

[Titian06]

So cool, @Samtian ! 😎  I love the purple and yellow combo! 💜💛

[Samtian]

@Titian06 Thank you!!

[Ispend2much6]

@SamtianNice!  I like it.  It looks like something you'd see in a photography book. 🙂

[Samtian]

@Ispend2much6 Oooh thank you!!!

[MvLL]

Nice! @Samtian  That Daffodil yellow background is a perfect foil.   re. tape/adhesive: often Sample-cards or junk mail have that clear glue-stuff that readily rolls-off. Perhaps handy for photos of rollin' I.s?

[Samtian]

@MvLL Thank you, I'll have to keep that in mind!

[Saradestin]

This is so cool @Samtian !! Unique and artistic! I love the contrast between the purple and the intense yellow. 💛💜💛💜