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 

[Skunk12puzzola]

This is beautiful @Saradestin !! 💕💗 the lippie's packaging is cute with the 🦋....and the reflex on the table is just 👌. Please don't underestimate your potential lovely ✨

[Saradestin]

Thank you @Skunk12puzzola ! I love how it seems like the butterflies are flying away from the lipstick… 

[blackkitty2014]

Oh my goodness @Samtian ! This is a great thread. I’m not talented liked ya’ all but I will admire all these beautiful photos. Yes 👍 to all the eye candies 🌹❤️💄💗

[misslenax]

 

 I couldn’t decide which photo was better so I decided to upload both. I know the theme is “lipstick” but I just felt like I was missing something in my photos. Hopefully this will still count though! 

[faeriegirl]

Nice photos @misslenax !

[SportyGirly125]

@misslenax So elegant and classy.

[fatimamummy]

They are both beautiful but if I have to pick just one, I’ll go with the first photo. I love how nicely lipstick colours and copper tones of your props compliment each other

[Saradestin]

I love them! I don’t think they are missing anything! 😍 Great job @misslenax !!!

[blackkitty2014]

Beautiful photos @misslenax 🌹

[lmaster]

Gorgeous photo!! @misslenax 

[eshoe]

I love your choice of accent objects, @misslenax. The smoothness of the compact and the sparkle of the stones lend interest. Your composition is beautiful, too! And I don’t think I could have picked one over the other; they are both stunning.

[AznAngelLiz]

@misslenax Oooh I like the accent pieces, and the lipsticks too 🙂

[Titian06]

Pretty, @misslenax ! 😍

[itsfi]

@misslenax, I can see how you had a hard time deciding between these two pics. Both shots are beautiful. 😍

[Samtian]

@misslenax Oooh I love love love it!!! Lipstick just needs to be in the photo is all 🙂 add all the props you want! 

[Samtian]

The first month will focus on Lipstick! Here's my first attempt. I'm not happy with it haha. But it'll be fun to see my progress ( I better progress!) throughout the challenge. The mono on mono trend has been really popular in the fashion/photography industry right now so I thought I'd give it a try. This is HUDA BEAUTY Power Bullet Matte Lipstick El Cinco De Mayo 

[faeriegirl]

I love it @Samtian !

[Samtian]

@faeriegirl Thank you!!

[SportyGirly125]

@Samtian Oh I love how powerful just this picture looks.

[Samtian]

@SportyGirly125 Thank you!!

[fatimamummy]

This is amazing @Samtian ! I wouldn’t have thought a monochrome photo can look this beautiful. Red on red is stunning ❤️