Challenge 4: Use Negative Space

Creative Challenge 4: Use Negative Space

This week the creative challenge involved using negative space as an essential element in an image.  I  was inspired by the challenge to shoot this high contrast image of our cat, Thomas napping in the sun. I played with our blinds to adjust the way the light fell on Thomas and shot from a number of angles until I got the image I wanted. Because the majority of the image is left dark dark, my eye goes right to the strip of light on the chair leading to Thomas' sleeping face. Enough detail of his head and body remain to let me know the image is of a cat but the focus remains on his face because of the use of negative space for the majority of the image. I love the artistic feel of this photo and doubt if I would have shot in such high contrast light conditions if not for the challenge. So I thank Lindsay Adler again for her creative inspiration!

 Until next week stay creative and keep challenging yourself!

Challenge 3: Tell a Story

Creative Challenge 3: Tell a Story

This week my challenge was to tell a story with a single image. As a scrapbooker I have always tried to tell a story with my photos so I really struggled with what I wanted to say that I hadn't already tried to say with my photos. My daughter was home over the holidays and had me watching the One Direction "This Is Us" DVD and some of their recent music videos. Their video for Story of My Life, especially the behind the scenes version, stuck with me. Thinking of how much family photos mean along with knowing how rarely I let myself be photographed made me feel I have been preserving a very lopsided family history for my daughter. I know exactly why I'm not in photos - I'm terribly uncomfortable in front of the camera with my fear being evident is almost every adult photo of me. This week I decided I needed to figure out how to be comfortable in front of the camera as both a way to face my fear and to be able to help the people I photograph who may be feeling just as uncomfortable. As with my other creative challenges I also challenged myself technically this week. I decided to set up two medium Apollo softboxes with my Nikon Speedlights. I recently bought the Odin Phottix flash triggers and decided it was time to figure out how to use them. My grids for my softboxes had arrived this week and I wanted to try adding that additional control of my light so I put grids on both softboxes for this challenge. After setting up my lighting it was time to try to get a photo of me that I liked, but that also told my story. I found that the more I applied posing techniques and reminded myself to relax my shoulders, hands, mouth, etc... the more relaxed I started to look in the photos. After looking through all of the photos this is the one I chose to tell the story of my fear of being on this side of the camera.

When I was done taking photos my dogs, who had been crying on the other side of the door, finally got to come in the room so I took a few more photos with them. Suddenly I wasn't thinking about whether the light was aimed into the direction of my hair part or which side of my face is my best side. I was simply enjoying the moment with my dogs. I think I have another goal this year - to learn to be this comfortable in front of the camera without a dog in my arms.

Until next week stay creative and keep challenging yourself!

Challenge 2. Create a Portrait of Someone Without Showing the Face

Description

For the second of my Creative 52 weekly projects, Lindsay Adler challenged me to communicate the essence of one or more individuals without the ease of allowing their faces or expressions to tell the story for me. 

Inspiration

My daughter was a dancer throughout her school years. While I took many, many photos of her competing, I never seemed to take the time to capture the essence of her as a dancer. I saw her ballet shoes and suddenly knew what my photo had to capture. While attending the Unleashed Dallas workshop I had the opportunity to shoot a photo of a dog's silhouette in front of a huge soft box. I hadn't tried to set this technique up at home since I don't have a large enough light source. However, I thought I could do something interesting with my 7' shoot through umbrella and a two Nikon speed lights. While I probably did everything technically wrong on this shot, we both love the results! The spines of the umbrella, that I'm sure would disappear if had more light coming through the umbrella, add an interesting patten that draws my eye toward her profile. The angle of her profile leads my eye to her pointed toe and the laces of the toe shoe. I love how this photo captures so much of the dancer I continue to see in her.

Until next week, stay inspired and be creative!

Challenge 1. Create an Image Based on a Single Color.

This is the year! I have finally have figured out what I want to do with this blog and am ready to get started. Last fall I had the opportunity to attend a Creative Live workshop in Seattle. The workshop was all about shooting in crappy light and the presenters were Lindsay Adler and Erik Valind. I left inspired but apparently needed a bit more of a push to get myself motivated and start applying what I learned. Lindsay provided the next push with her book Lindsay Adler Creative 52.

The book is a list of challenges conveniently paced to last me the entire year. The logical part of my brain concluded it would be easiest to start at the beginning of the year so I could easily keep track of where I am supposed to be. For 2014 I will be completing a weekly challenge from Lindsay's book. In addition, I plan to document photography techniques and tools that I am using as well as any post production skills that I add along the way.

With all that said, it's time to start with Challenge 1. Create an Image Based on a Single Color.  As Lindsay described the challenge "your image should scream a specific color." Now anyone who follows Lindsay knows she loves red. Being a Nikon shooter, I'm not such a fan of that particular color. However, I decided to overcome my aversion (it's time to face my photography fears) and make red the focus color of my photo.

Andrea is home from school and I grabbed her for my first model. Her hair was recently colored and has great red highlights. To eliminate other colors in the photo I used a black background and had Andrea dress in black. In ensure the red highlights dominated the photo I  had to light  them. I set up my flash with the Rogue XL Flash Bender strip box to add a punch of light to her hair. The flash with the Rogue Flash Bender strip box was set on top of a cabinet slightly higher than Andrea with the head of the flash aimed slightly down towards Andrea's hair. I had her step a few steps in front of the flash set up to limit the amount of light spilling on the her face. After taking some posed shots I decided that movement in the hair was needed to really show off the highlights. I had Andrea flip her hair to get the movement I was looking for. It took a number of tries to get the combination of hair movement, position and facial expression I was looking for. However, I think this photo shows it was worth the effort.

Thanks to Erik and Lindsay and all of the Creative Live team for the original inspiration, Lindsay for the additional inspiration of manageable weekly creative projects and Andrea for her willingness to model for me and her trust in me to do whatever I ask of her. Until next week, stay inspired and stay creative!