Inspired by Clare Gadsby’s fabulous image @pistachehttp://365project.org/pistache/365/2020-05-07 I researched how to create a camera challenge that involved techniques that we do in this time when most of us are inside our homes almost all day. Clare "did a 'colour forage' round her house and then arranged everything she collected as a flatlay” and she credits being inspired by Philippa Stanton @#5ftinf Instagram Live show in which she talks about: Colour, Texture, Atmosphere, Composition. I was mesmerized by the array of objects, the varying lines, shapes, and textures that Clare arranged into a dynamic composition on a textured board as background. I then tried to conceptualize broadly beyond an artist challenge and take it into a camera challenge.
On February 8, 2020, Tanya Friendland had made a Picmonkey Blog entry on “the internet’s chicest trend” — Flat Lay Composition. How could we resist an opportunity to participate in the chicest trend of the moment? https://www.picmonkey.com/blog/10-flat-lay-photography-tips
Staging: Purposeful arrangement of items into a visually meaningful composition.
Flat Focus: Traditionally, photographing still life has more often been about capturing three dimensionality. But in this form of visual collaging, we take three-dimensional objets and flatten dimensionality while keeping the varying surface depths of the objects in focus.
Light and Shadow: If you have tried flat compositions of any type, whether its documentation photos of pages from a book or a meal you might want to instagram, working with light and shadows is a complication when you and your camera are between the light source and the object, and to get a perfectly perpendicular photo, you cannot easily move your body or camera without distorting the composition. How will you eliminate or artistically incorporate light and shadow in a flat-lay?
So, gather those cooking ingredients, the lifetime of special collections, the flower arrangements to deconstruct, or the delightfully happenstance objects that together suggest a mood. Let’s have fun, and tag the entries with “technique-flatlay"
Will be entering this for sure. I did a flat lay on my Instagram last month which I was very happy with but I have an idea of two for which I can do for this.
@salza@lkr333 -- I'm glad you'll join in on the fun! @juliedduncan -- I checked out that website and you're right, not all of his work is flat lay but all of it is interesting, and those that are, are quite artistically beautiful @spanishliz -- haha -- indeed, those are socks lying flat and photographed straight on. A challenge might ne how to control lighting or do you want to feature the light blue one? Yours are mostly blue, mine are mostly black but I could do a similar flat lay! @jackies365 -- clever -- did you paint the background? And it seems you used directional natural light?
While you did not state the date the challenge ends, you did say images taken in May are eligible. So, I hope it is all right that I made the ending date Sunday, May 31st in the Weekly SH*T list.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
Thanks Junko for choosing one of my previous attempts.
Looking forward to seeing the other entries.
@spanishliz -- haha -- indeed, those are socks lying flat and photographed straight on. A challenge might ne how to control lighting or do you want to feature the light blue one? Yours are mostly blue, mine are mostly black but I could do a similar flat lay!
@jackies365 -- clever -- did you paint the background? And it seems you used directional natural light?
@jackies365 -- that's dedication to your art -- paint your original background.
I had fun playing with this.