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]

@Titian06 Awe ❤️

[itsfi]

@Samtian, what a fantastic idea! 😍 You are a marvelous photographer. Looking forward to seeing everyone’s pics. Thank you so much for the info on the helpful reads. ♥️

[Samtian]

@itsfi Thank you!!!

[misslenax]

I think this is a great and fun idea! Would definitely love to participate, however I’d have to take time out to do this, like maybe on days when I don’t work. I don’t have anything professional like a camera or props but I guess we can work with what we have? I’d love to see what everyone comes up with!

[Samtian]

@misslenax We'd love to have you! And you don't need a camera to take great pics! I'm planning some very basic shots without props. It's all about creating art no matter what you have. I only have a few days I'm able to participate as well because of work, so that's why we have a whole month for each challenge. So everyone has time. 

[eshoe]

@Samtian can you share any *hints* about what April's theme will be? I am thinking of props and would like to start to get organized for Friday, woohoo!

[Samtian]

@eshoe 😄 maybe... 🙂  😘💋

[haleyvvvv]

Fabulous idea, @Samtian!! I look forward to all of the pictures!! 

[Samtian]

@haleyvvvv Thank you! It'll be fun seeing everyone's different art!

[AznAngelLiz]

What a wonderful idea! I'll definitely be stalking this thread when time permits, everything in my world is crazy at the moment and this will be a good escape. 

[Samtian]

@AznAngelLiz Hope things calm down for you soon. It makes me happy to hear it'll help you escape!

[sister13]

Fun! Great idea, I’ll join (when I can)! @Samtian 

[Samtian]

@sister13 Sweet! Can't wait to have you join!

[Titian06]

@Samtian - I love this idea!  I'm terrible at photography--my talent lies elsewhere--but I look forward to what others' create! 💖📸💡

[Samtian]

@Titian06 Thank you! 

[lmaster]

This will definitely be a challenge for me 🤣 @Samtian great thread and beautiful examples!!

[Samtian]

@lmaster Thank you! I like a challenge...every once in a while lol. 

[Saradestin]

Such a great idea @Samtian !! 😃 I am terrible at that but, like others have said, it will be fun to participate anyway and, specially, learn from other’s creativity and enjoy their beautiful creations! 😍

[Samtian]

@Saradestin I agree! I think it'll be good to challenge ourselves in ways we aren't used to. 

[faeriegirl]

I love this idea @Samtian! I am not very good at flat lays so hopefully this will help me improve!

[Samtian]

@faeriegirl I'm not either! So it'll be fun to try and get creative and learn from others.