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 

[itsfi]

@greeneyedgirl107, I was late in picking up the Lorac pro palettes. Had my eye on them when they were first released but wanted to hold off until I worked through more of my existing eyeshadows. The Lorac shadows are nice and I do like the color stories to a few of them. All the Ulta stores in the city have permanently closed and the closest ones are anywhere from 30 - 60 minutes away so I do not get to them often, if at all. I ordered this one and another one based on swatches I saw online. I noticed that the brand has a corresponding "mini" version of each of the larger palettes - if I'm remembering right, there are 6 shadows in those palettes. Th Lorac palettes are available online but I've found that store inventory varies by the particular store - when there were 2 Ultas in the city, one carried the palettes but the other did not. 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@itsfi Thanks for the info!  I didn't realize that Ulta carried anything from the brand at all.  I've bought so few eye palettes in recent years that I'm wondering if I should track down ones I didn't bother to buy initially, or that I have FOMO about.  Several would be LORAC.  

I'm so sorry that all your Ultas closed down.  That is just awful!  My local mall has closed a lot of stores (and it was never an amazing mall to begin with) but I'd be so disappointed if Ulta closed by me.  That said, I do the majority of my Ulta shopping online, but I like to go in-store to browse.

[Samtian]

@itsfi I love how it makes you try new things! You are going to love next months! I like how you magnified it, I did something similar! 

[itsfi]

Just saw the theme for September’s challenge @Samtian. Loving all the themes but I have a few things 😉 that come to mind for this month’s sheet mask theme. lol. Going to post a note about this month’s photography challenge theme on the mask thread.

[itsfi]

Awwww, thank you for saying that @Samtian! Venturing out of my comfort zone isn't something I'm great at, even if I know I should, and it's definitely not my first choice, but it's good for me and good for growth. Thank YOU for giving me, giving all of BIC, a platform to be creative and to grow. I appreciate that more than I can truly put into words.

Yeah, this magnification thing is something I'm going to have to work on more. I *think* I have an idea of what I should have done to get the shot I was aiming to - part of it involves taking the photo straight on and close up, instead of at an angle at a distance. I'll try to keep working at it with other photos I take. 

[Titian06]

@itsfi - Actually, I like the original photo better!  The angled palette and brushes are great.  My eyes go right to the white tips of the brushes and then the brush handles.  Then I look at the wonderful palette.  BTW, what palette is this?  Those colors are right up my alley.  The small/close-up pic, my brain keeps trying to widen the space.  I personally don't like close-up closeups.  With that said, I can't believe how clear and in-focus the pic is!  My pics never come out like this.  You definitely have a gift! 😘

[itsfi]

@Titian06, ah, thank you. That is very kind of you to say. Lighting plays the biggest part for me when it comes to my pics. 📷 

Oh, I think you would looove the colors in this palette. It’s Lorac PRO Palette Noir. ♥️

[itsfi]

I keep my brushes in various places - drawers, brush rolls, and other fun things that I've converted or repurposed into a brush holder, like an empty candle jar, or a flower pot, like this one. 😁

Photo Details:

Spoiler

Product(s):	Mix of brushes from the Sephora Collection, Real Techniques, and Sonia Kashuk
Camera:	iPhone X
Background:	Table top
Prop(s):	A flower pot I turned into a brush holder
Other Material:	--
Lighting:	Natural, indoor lighting, early afternoon
Editing:	Cropped at the sides

[juliotani]

Super cute brush holder 😍

[katshepp]

I love this little pot! so cute- I use multiple little pots or else I get disorganized and can't see my brushes haha 

[itsfi]

Thank you @katshepp! 100% agree - it’s so helpful to be able to see our brushes, isn’t it?! I love using pots, candles, mason jars, vases, etc. to hold brushes. It’s a great way to repurpose things. 👍🏼 

[tsavorite]

@itsfi , This pot is perfect for holding your brushes!  Clever!  It's a nice photo!

[itsfi]

@tsavorite, thank you. I did initially pick up the pot with the idea of putting an ivy-like, pothos plant in there, but ummm... plans changed?! lol. 

[QueenMarceline]

@itsfi Aww I love this brush holder. How cute ❤️

[itsfi]

@QueenMarceline, thank you. It is fun to see this on my table when I get ready in the mornings.

[Samtian]

@itsfi ooh that is a pretty holder!

[itsfi]

@Samtian, thank you. I couldn't resist picking it up. 

[ather]

@itsfi  This is the cutest brush holder!!!!! 

[itsfi]

@ather, thank you! I filled the holder with some coffee beans to help the brushes stay upright, so it's nice to be able to get a whiff of coffee too. 😁

[Titian06]

Great pic, @itsfi ! 🥰  I love the flower pot! ❤🌷❤

[itsfi]

@Titian06, thank you! Maybe one day I'll end up using this for actual flowers 😂🤣😂 but it looks so fun to have the brushes in there.