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 

[Titian06]

Very pretty, @fatimamummy ! 🥰

[itsfi]

Time got away from me this month and I didn't get a chance to try a shot I had worked out in my head for this month's theme @Samtian but I've added it to my list of homework / photos to work on for another day. 📸 I did take this shot the other day and liked how it turned out in black and white. 

Spoiler

Product(s):	Voluspa Magnolia Grapefruit candle
Camera:	iPhone X
Background:	Table
Prop(s):	Journal and pen
Other Material:	lid to candle jar
Lighting:	Artificial light, indoors - black & white lens
Editing:	Zoomed in & cropped

The candle has a very pleasant sense (and scent lol) to it. Hoping to see this available at Sephora at some point.

[fatimamummy]

It is beautiful @itsfi , I love black & White photos, They have a timeless feel.

[itsfi]

Thank you @fatimamummy! I agree, there's something so beautiful about black & white photos that I love. 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Looks fantastic! A little birdie told me next month is a free for all/catch up month. 😉

[itsfi]

Thank you @Samtian! Ahhhh, thank you to the little birdie for the intel. I have a few things I want to catch up on and some things I want to try again. Going to go through my notes this weekend and then try to plan time for some photo shoots. 😉 

[Samtian]

@itsfi I cannot wait to see!

[Titian06]

Nice pic, @itsfi ! 🙂  Love the butterflies on your journal.  Where did you find that?

[itsfi]

Thank you @Titian06! 🙂 The journal is a nice one; has a small pocket in the back and the paper has some weight to it. 👍🏼 I got it on amazon. If you do a search “Keegood dotted bullet journals notebook” it should show up in the results. 

[itsfi]

I decided to do something a little more lighthearted and went into my archived photos for this one, which was originally a post I made to the mask thread. Did some minor editing to focus the frame just a little more on the candle. 

Photo Details:

Spoiler

Product(s):	Cereal Candle (brand unknown)
Camera:	iPhone X
Background:	Kitchen counter
Prop(s):	Plate of mochi donuts and a sheet mask
Other Material:	Chopping board
Lighting:	Indoor, natural light & the lit candle
Editing:	Cropped at right and bottom to reduce the space in the frame taken up by the props to try to focus the shot more on the candle

[fatimamummy]

It’s so beautiful and unique 

[itsfi]

Thank you @fatimamummy! I get a little more whimsical sometimes with my photos of sheet masks. I couldn't resist adding the cereal candle to the frame. Ha!

[CynthieLu]

Wait wait wait, is the candle a bowl of cereal? That's awesome! @itsfi 

[itsfi]

So fun, right @CynthieLu! 😆 People are so creative! The candle comes with a faux spoon too! 😂 

[CynthieLu]

It's those little details that really make something stand out @itsfi, whaaaaat a faux spoon 🥰 I love it more now! 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Oh man I want that candle haha!! This is awesome!

[itsfi]

Lol, it’s such a fun candle @Samtian! The whole mask sesh was great to put together. It took some time because I didn’t know when the mochi donut place would do their cereal flavor mochi donut. 🤣 

[CynthieLu]

 

This candle I can't burn, it smells so pretty, like Bergamot 🍊 It's my favorite little thing 😍 

I picked this backdrop, I thought the wicker had a pleasing contrast to the colours of the tin 

[fatimamummy]

@CynthieLu  Wicker is providing a beautiful background and compliments the pattern on candle tin. Beautiful photo!

[CynthieLu]

Thank you so much @fatimamummy

This one turned out soo nicely 🧡🤎

[itsfi]

The mini packs such a beautiful scent @CynthieLu. I understand you not wanting to burn it, but it smells so good when lit. The close up shot, atop the wicker is very pretty.