Its been some time since I hosted one of these so please let me know if I screw it up... :)
Do some of the camera setting intimidate you? Do you want to learn how to develop your photography skills and learn how to use your camera effectively without always going back to the "auto" function. These challenges are for you.
This week's challenge is Story Telling through DOF, composition and Lighting.
Now while this is not a straight camera setting challenge it will hopefully teach you something. Something which I feel is lacking in the main reason why volunteered to do this.
From my point of view, photo should tell a story. It should have emotion, feeling and stir the mind.
For those of you that have been following me for some years you would know that in the early part of my project are created images which while at times confrontational, created interest and stirred the imagination.
Your job is to go along and do that now. I want you to go along create images which tell a story. A story that can only be told through one frame. A frame that is well composed and uses techniques like depth of field and lighting, so your subject in your story is well-defined.
Now you must be thinking, how the hell do I do this and what the hell is he talking about.:)
You let me give you a couple of examples.
As you can send this image is composed in such a way that I'm sitting at the front of the image on the back is marginally out of focus. This is done through the use of the aperture, and more importantly setting new aperture to the lowest number possible. Setting the lowest number to blur the background, and in doing so you isolate the subject and bring the attention on the viewers eye to that subject.
Now if we look at this image, it uses the same ideas and techniques.
It was the background using the aperture but also introduce the concept of light. Light in this case is used to darken the background to allow the foreground subject to stand out even further.
Now this is where it gets be complicated. To do this I used fill Flash. Now while this might be a foreign concept to most of you is one of the subjects were covered in previous challenges and I think I might have hosted. :)
In short, fill flash is a flash that is designed to not overpower the subject but only a little bit of extra light. In the shot is applied to me it wasn't strong enough to go along and fall onto the background, so I was able to stand out while the background remained relatively dark.
This is also an important feature when it comes to shooting into the sun, as fill flash is almost essential.
This will require you to go along and adjust your flash compensation and reduce it to some level which is acceptable to your personal taste and image you select.
The key thing that joins East to photos together is the composition of the photos. I compose them so that the subject is on the left-hand side while on the right-hand side of the image it allowed for the story to flow through.
This is key to the storytelling ability of a photo and is something which I'd really like to see you try.
Now I'm the 1st to admit that this is not going to be easy and not for the faint hearted, but I feel it it is very important as all images should have some story they are to capture the imagination of any viewer.
Now please if you need help with this, drop me a line is I'm more than willing to help you through this and would love to see some really amazing images come from this.
Now for the official stuff. :)
This challenge starts NOW (I dont like waiting) and will go through to Friday the October 17th. All photos must be taken during these dates to be considered. Enter as many as you would like- the idea is to practice & learn. TAG YOUR PHOTO CSC14-15 (If I dont have this right please let me know ha ha ha) AND post your picture in this thread to receive feedback from other experienced photographers specific to this challenge.
I will then select the finalists and you will have 2 or 3 days to vote.
Expect to receive constructive suggestions on how to improve your skills.
How to post your photo on this link:
1) Go to your page that has the photo you wish to post.
2) Copy the “share” code in the bottom right section of that page.
3) Return to this thread and paste the code under comments
Have fun and I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!!!
*Note - If the links do not work, copy and paste them in your browser. I have had problems getting links to work in the past.
@agima Brendan, thank you for volunteering to host this challenge and provide feedback for those entering. And thanks again to those that participated in and voted for my Green-eyed Lady for the macro camera setting challenge. Looking forward to seeing lots of stories.
Ok - I'm going to enjoy this one... A good challenge on the fundamentals... Question for you... Do we have to use fill flash? Or do we just need to pay attention to the light and how we're using it, whatever the source happens to be?
@northy Hello. I used fill in mine but you don't have to. As long as you pay attention and use available light - This can be anything. Flash,, bounce, reflector, wall, natural placement, etc
Yep! I don't use fill light much unless I need to freeze action and it's the only light going... But that said, it might be good for me to practice with it anyway... We'll see what I come up with... I *do* love to control the light... Tx :)
Hi Brendan, here's my attempt to describe in 1 photo what goes on with my kid after school :) I used DOF as well as multiple exposures and layering in PS.
The story is about how I photographed this Doe.Exif info on the photo page.The Doe's photo is in my main album.Probably doesn't fit all challenge criteria because I used only natural lighting.But it is what it is.:)
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
Does that help
I know the shots I take these days I almost control all the effects of light be it natural or artificial.
The image should be able to stand on its own two legs and tell a story I'm not sure this one does that