A Year of Beauty- Photography Challenge- Year 2

[Samtian]

June- What you see vs. what I see- These are super fun things for photographers to share. Sometimes it is mindblowing! I'll update with images soon. Had a accident at work and it hurt one of my eyes. But anyways! What they like to do is take an image, like what a parent would take at their kids shoot (behind the scenes) or what is called a pullback. A pullback is where you show the whole area around where you are taking the picture. And then you compare the pullback vs what you actually captured. For now you can Google this phrase- what you see vs what i see photography and look at the images to get an idea of what the theme this month is. 

I was originally going to do another theme but with it not being as hot as July gets I figured best to do this one, in case anyone wants to try outdoor things! These are really fun to do because they make you think about your surroundings. From people portraits to landscapes and everything in between. You can take incredible images no matter where you are! One of my mentors recently captured senior images at a line of bushes on the outside of a small park/car chop shop and you never would have guessed it with how amazing they looked.

Your challenge this month is to think outside of the box, unless you are already doing that! Show your behind the scene (bts)/pullback and your final image. 

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

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

I've been thinking for a while now about creating a challenge. And why not mix my two favorite things in life!? Beauty and photography. As some of you know I am a photographer on the side. But my creativity for things like this are horrible! Each month we will have a different theme, and your challenge is to incorporate the theme into a creative photo!

This challenge is going to be a little different, because you won't be creating looks! Starting in April, but I'd love to get your input and if this is something you would be interested in participating in. I thought about doing prizes and voting, we can still vote for the best if you guys want. But with all the legal jargon needed for prizes I decided I didn't want to mess with that. I might send  unicorn mail throughout to those who participate often though 😼 PS- They make for great filler posts on your social media too. And active participation in the forum, reviews, and gallery ( don't forget to post your challenge photos there too!) can possibly help your chances of getting gratis...like those two beautiful perfumes I got as a gratis below *wink wink*.  

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 1 oz/ 30 mL eau de toilette spray 

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

[itsfi]

@Samtian, taking this photo was a reminder that I need to actually put this product to use. 😬 Staring at it isn't going to do that. 😅 This is going in the shop my stash bin for makeup. 

[Samtian]

@itsfi That's why I can't shop for the fancy stuff, I'd have to get two of each. 

[JoSometimes]

I love the floral theme you’ve created with the vines and the bronzer’s pattern @itsfi!

[itsfi]

Thank you @JoSometimes! The detailing of the floral pattern on bronzer stands out beautifully on its own. I tried adding other florals with it but they clashed and eventually decided on just the bronzer and a little bit of leaves peeling out. 

[CynthieLu]

Lovely photography @itsfi ooh the shade and the branch, somehow make the bronzer stand out more 🤩 magic!

[itsfi]

Thank you @CynthieLu. It was hard to find a prop that didn’t compete with the design on the bronzer so I ended up just keeping it very simple.

[Titian06]

Your photo is so pretty, @itsfi !  I love the layout and the product itself is gorgeous! 😍

[itsfi]

@Titian06, thank you. The floral design on the bronzer is really pretty 😍

[JoSometimes]

I just picked up Sephora Favorites Year of the Water Rabbit Makeup Luxe Gift Set. Since this month is Bronzers/Blushes, I decided to just showcase NARS Blush Orgasm from the set. 

Photo was shot on my iPhone SE (3rd Gen) using the rear camera on portrait mode and ƒ set to 1.8. I used Snapseed for some post-editing.

[Samtian]

@JoSometimes So pretty!!! I love all that red!

[JoSometimes]

Thank you @Samtian! Red is a lucky colour! ❤️

[CynthieLu]

Beautiful photo 📸 @JoSometimes this looks great!

Side note, Oooh the #Sephora Favorites Year of the Water Rabbit Makeup Luxe Gift Set is sooo gorgeous! 😍

[JoSometimes]

Thank you @CynthieLu! And I agree! I really like the set! I’m a little sad that the reviews are bringing it down. 

[CynthieLu]

Awww, don't read the negative ones if it's bumming you out @JoSometimes I get it thou, if I love something and see a ton of negative reviews I'm like whhhhyyy 😭

The package and the way you photographed it are lovely! I bet the contents were lovely too 

[itsfi]

@JoSometimes, the different shades of red and the pop of color from the blush and brush look beautiful. 

[JoSometimes]

Thank you @itsfi! I took advantage of the packaging and envelops inside the box. I wish I had a brighter coloured brush for the shot, but I made do with what I had. 

[Titian06]

This a beautiful picture, @JoSometimes ! 🥰  I'd love to hang this up at work so I could stare at it when I need to calm down. 😠😄

[JoSometimes]

Aww thank you @Titian06! Feel free to print it out! ☺️

[JoSometimes]

This sounds like fun! Your exemplars are really well composed @Samtian! I love the giant sun flower with the floral street bottle. 

[Samtian]

@JoSometimes Thank you so much! We'd love to have you join!

[itsfi]

This is one from the archives, going back almost 2 years. It's interesting to see how I set up my shot back then and the angle that I took photos.

Photo Details: 

Spoiler

Product(s):	Hermes Rose Silky Blush Powder
Camera:	iPhoneX
Background:	Table
Prop(s):	Hermes boxes, bag and cheek brush
Other Material:	None
Lighting:	Indirect light, from behind the camera
Editing:	Rotate and cropped the original shot and I did a little more rotating and cropping before posting this one