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 with Jasmine, Tuberose, and Neroli 1 oz/ 30 mL 

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

[SportyGirly125]

@lmaster Thank you Boss Mama!

[Skunk12puzzola]

This is the cutest photo, omg @SportyGirly125 beautiful!! 💄💕💄 those lippies deserve a picture like this ✨

[SportyGirly125]

@Skunk12puzzola Thank you so much!

[eshoe]

The softness in your photo is so pretty, @SportyGirly125. I especially love how the swirls of the gloss and the orchid shades mirror each other.

[SportyGirly125]

@eshoe Thank You. It was @Saradestin who encouraged me to post it on here. I still need practice with flat lays. 

[eshoe]

I am glad @Saradestin  did, @SportyGirly125! I love the creative outlet of this challenge, I am learning as I go and the inspiration here is so helpful. 

[danielledanielle]

Very pretty, this should be an ad for it.

[SportyGirly125]

@danielledanielle Awww thanks so much. I’m still learning how to do flat lays. I need all the practice I can get. 

[CookieGirl1]

@SportyGirly125 THAT alone makes me want them.

[SportyGirly125]

@CookieGirl1 Awww wow thanks so much for the compliment. 

[Saradestin]

Gorgeous @SportyGirly125! The lippies shades and the orchid flowers match to perfection! Beautiful composition! 😍😍😍

[SportyGirly125]

@Saradestin Thank you so much. If it wasn’t for your compliment I would have never posted it on here. 

[Saradestin]

I am so glad you did @SportyGirly125 !! This gorgeous picture needed to be seen and enjoyed by everyone!! 😍😍😍😍

[Samtian]

@Saradestin Agreed!!!!

[Mcakes]

Ok I’m sorry if you’ve already seen this but I’m really in love with this lipstick shot! 

GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Original Me Clean High-Performance Matte Lipstick Original Recipe 

GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Anaheim Shine Clean High-Performance Satin Lipstick Original Recipe 

[itsfi]

@Mcakes, I love the placement of the lipstick, the top and the packaging. And the angle that you shot this gives it a cool look and feel - almost like they are supersized. How fun would it be to have supersized makeup pieces to run around and play with?

[fatimamummy]

@Mcakes  It is beautiful and I don’t mind seeing it again at all

[Samtian]

@Mcakes I'm in love with it too! 

[faeriegirl]

Great picture @Mcakes!

[lmaster]

@Mcakes fantastic photo!!

[SportyGirly125]

@Mcakes Love this 😍😍😍