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 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Haha I hear ya on something rolling off! It was a really great lesson. 

[CookieGirl1]

Oh wow, @itsfi, I love your Kilian collection.

[itsfi]

@CookieGirl1, it’s a beautiful discovery set. I was happy to see Sephora carrying it this year. 

[Sunnysmom]

These are wonderful @itsfi ! I’m crazy about B/W too. Good reminder. I never do it on my phone I don’t think!  

[itsfi]

@Sunnysmom, thank you. The effect of black and white photography can be stunning. 📷 

[Titian06]

I love the B&W pics, @itsfi ! 😍  I'm a fan of B&W photography. 📸

[itsfi]

A black and white photo creates such a beautiful look and feel @Titian06. 😍 I need to remember to turn on that feature on my phone camera more often. 📷 Along with turning the 'flash' feature from auto to 'on' from time to time. Ha!

[fatimamummy]

A bit of a festive touch with a perfume from last year’s holiday gratis,  photo taken with phone camera (iPhone 12 Pro Max)

[Saradestin]

Beautiful @fatimamummy! ❤️

[Samtian]

@fatimamummy Thats so cute!

[fatimamummy]

@Samtian  Thank you 🤍

[Titian06]

@fatimamummy - Another beautiful photo! 🥰  You have such a gift! 

[fatimamummy]

Thank you so much @Titian06  I really appreciate your kindness

[Sunnysmom]

You are so talented @fatimamummy , I also love to see your creative pics! 

[fatimamummy]

Thank you so much @Sunnysmom  Means a lot 🤍

[tsavorite]

@fatimamummy , This is beautiful!  Well done!

[fatimamummy]

Thank you @tsavorite 

[itsfi]

You have such a gift @fatimamummy! I could just stare at your photos all day long. I thought this might be taken from your camera. Impressed with the quality of your phone camera. 😍

[fatimamummy]

You are so sweet @itsfi  Thank you. Yes the camera on this phone is really amazing and ability to capture Raw images makes it even better

[itsfi]

More photos for November's Photography Challenge: Fragrance   

The first photos I posted for this month's challenge were of two travel size fragrances, each with a seasonal theme - autumn and winter. I mentioned to @Samtian that I would try to take and post fragrance related photos for the other seasons 📷 and voila, here they are - spring and summer. I really liked how one turned out; the other … meh. Work in progress. 

For me, lighting has always played a significant part in how my photos have turned out. The night I took this photo, the sun had set and it was dark outside by the time I was home, so indoor, artificial light it was. It's not bad; I like the angle of the spray bottle but it's not the look and feel I had in my mind. That said, it's given me more to add to the list of things to work on when it comes to developing my photography skills. 📔📷

Spoiler

Product(s):	NEST New York Wild Poppy Eau de Parfum Travel Spray 0.27 oz/ 8 mL
Camera:	iPhoneX
Background:	Sundress
Prop(s):	Flower shaped reed from a diffuser
Other Material:	N/A
Lighting:	Artificial indoor lighting
Editing:	Rotate so the photo is upright

This fragrance makes me happy. 🌻 It is sunshine in a bottle. It was part of a gratis package (thank you @TeamBIC!) and one of my favorites within that box of beauties. There was just enough light out for me to get the shot.

Spoiler

Product(s):	Floral Street Sunflower Pop Eau De Parfum Travel Spray 0.34 oz/ 10 mL Eau de Parfum Spray
Camera:	iPhoneX
Background:	White eyelet top & denim jacket
Prop(s):	Sunflower, filler leaves and flowers (all real)
Other Material:	N/A
Lighting:	Indirect light, about 10 minutes after sunset
Editing:	Cropped at sides

[Saradestin]

Wow @itsfi ! Gorgeous and creative! 😍