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 

[SurprisedLemur]

Your skin must be sooo nourished and happy after this 😄

[katshepp]

I love Farmacy!! 

[itsfi]

@faeriegirl, I love a good honey masking sesh!

[BlondeCafe]

Ooo I love this honey theme. I love this brand but haven’t tried the honey mask yet! 

[lmaster]

Great photo!! Very inspiring @faeriegirl 

[CynthieLu]

Oh 🍯 this is sweet looking @faeriegirl 💛

Lovely picture!

[Titian06]

Nice picture, @faeriegirl ! 😍  I like the symmetry! 🧘‍♀️

[itsfi]

This is from a masking sesh I did a couple of months ago. Photos of my mask time usually center around a specific ingredient or purpose (hydrating, exfoliating, etc.). With the former (ingredient focused), it's not uncommon that there's some similar colors, but I don't often pick my masks or products for my masking by color. This happened to be multi-masking day when I did and I think the color coordination here, both in the masks chosen and in the photo, turned out pretty well. The bright, natural light gives an overall fresh look and feel to the photo and the green creates a calming sense too.

Thank you @Samtian for this month's theme. I shall be back with more photos another day. 😁 

Photo details:

Spoiler

Product(s):	Dr. Belmeur Real Calming Face Mask - Summer Mugwort
Camera:	iPhone X
Background:	Table top
Prop(s) and Other Material:	VOLUSPA Mini Havana Mint Mojito Glass Jar Candle 5.5 oz/ 156 g (this particular tin was from a trio set and doesn't appear available separately), two Axis-Y wash off masks and some flowers (I don't know the varietal, but Trader Joe's refers to them as "filler flowers"
Lighting:	Natural, indoor light, with sun coming from the right side; mid-morning
Editing:	Cropped at the sides

[tsavorite]

@itsfi ,

This photo is divine!

[itsfi]

Awww, thank you so much @tsavorite for your wonderful compliment. Appreciate them. Appreciate you! 💖

[SurprisedLemur]

Hmm you're putting me in the mood for some green masking 😁

[itsfi]

It's all about the greens @SurprisedLemur! 😁

[katshepp]

Love this! Is it wrong to want some of these products just to recreate the aesthetic?? haha

[itsfi]

Awww, you’re so sweet @katshepp. Thank you, thank you! 

No, it’s not wrong. 😆 Wait, was that a rhetorical question?!! Lol. 

Still going with it not being wrong! 🤣 

[BlondeCafe]

This flat lay has such a perfect dreamy spring aesthetic. This voluspa candle likely captured the feeling to a t. I need to try this calming mask 

[itsfi]

Thank you @BlondeCafe! Oh, the Voluspa mint mojito has such a nice scent, as does the mint one from Nest - they're not overly minty, just enough to calm the senses and create a relaxing vibe. 

[lmaster]

@itsfi this photo makes me feel so calm, love it

[itsfi]

@lmaster, awww, thank you. It made for a good masking sesh, and photo op! 

[missy94612]

@itsfi 

I don't know if you planned it this way but it's great that the sheet mask is called Real Calming because it's describes the vibe of this photo. 💚

[itsfi]

@missy94612, hahahaha! I wish I could say I planned it. I didn't even see that when I shot the photo; didn't even see it until you pointed it out. 😂

[CynthieLu]

This is a whole feeling of serene @itsfi 

💚 amazing photo!