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]

@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?

[tsavorite]

@itsfi ,

Wonderful photo !  Beautiful brush!  Wow!

[itsfi]

Thank you @tsavorite! I had a couple Japanese fude makeup brushes and then fell down that rabbit hole a few years ago (ahem, thank you BIC! 😆) and have been picking up a few more here and there. 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Oh wow that is stunning! I love how you themed it!

[itsfi]

Thank you @Samtian! I was going to go another route for props but they didn’t have the right prefecture (Osaka) so I decided on these and I’m glad I did. 

Here’s an up close shot of the handle with the koi fish:

@Titian06