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 

[itsfi]

@CynthieLu, thank you! Masking time can be a nice way for me to relax and these worked (and photographed) beautifully.

[Sunnysmom]

This makes me go “ahhh ommmm” @itsfi ! Love pic and want to try them too! 🥰

[itsfi]

@Sunnysmom, thank you! I lucked out - all these masks were great.

[Titian06]

This is such a pretty and relaxing picture to look at, @itsfi ! 🧘‍♀️🧊

[itsfi]

@Titian06, thank you! All the masks were great too - the one wash off gel mask was super refreshing and hydrating! Great, more masks on the list! 😂

[Samtian]

@itsfi Ooh that is beautiful! I'm going to try to look at some flat-lays later today for inspo. 

[itsfi]

@Samtian, thank you! Looking forward to seeing what you are inspired to create! 😍

[LelandGreen]

Hello guys, My name is LelandGreen. Pimples keep coming out on my face again and again, do you have any solution for this?

[Samtian]

@LelandGreen Hello. What is your routine?

[CynthieLu]

Supet cute sheet mask 🧡🍁🍂  it hits that seasonal feel of pumpkins and autumn leaves and it smells like honey, all good things I think 😁 I tried to match it up with a topaz bracelet a mini vulspa candle and a hand painted rock, they all had gold or oranges tones I thought went with it well, the background is a hand painted plate that had a bit of orange in the flowers 🙂

Taken in low light in my living room on my Samsung galaxy 

[SurprisedLemur]

That mask is so cute! I'll have to check my local marshall's stash...

[katshepp]

super cute!

[BlondeCafe]

Adorable! Screams cute Halloween vibes 🍂

[lmaster]

Super cute!!! @CynthieLu 

[CookieGirl1]

@CynthieLu Great pic (and that mask is adorable!!!) 😁

[CynthieLu]

Ty @CookieGirl1 it is so adorably printed too 😻

[CookieGirl1]

@CynthieLu oh, even better!

[itsfi]

@CynthieLu, great photo! 😍 I love how everything ties in together for a fabulously fun and festive fall feel! 🍁🍂

[CynthieLu]

Ty @itsfi I was def fall inspired as soon as I picked this one up 🍂🍃🦃

[itsfi]

Sliding this in with a few hours to spare. Phew. This photo is of the newest addition to my Japanese brush collection. Eihodo is based in Osaka, Japan. For the photo, I took the opportunity to pay homage to the brand's origins with my choices for the prop and background material. 

Details:

Spoiler

Product(s):	Eihodo Kingyo (Goldfish) Powder Brush, Makie Series
Camera:	iPhone X
Background:	Japanese notepad / ledger
Prop(s):	Japanese notepad / ledger and Japanese calligraphy brush
Other Material:	--
Lighting:	Natural indoor lighting; late morning; clear, bright, sunshine-y day ☀️
Editing:	Rotated photo for landscape orientation, cropped at top and bottom to center photo

[juliotani]

Nice one, any info I can see this brand in here?