I think these are anemone. I don't know - I didn't plant them. But they showed up this week in the back yard -- in an area we dump leaves. It was a nice surprise. I think I will leave them there. Also, it is not the current assignment, but I did try to do a "fill the frame" with this picture.
I have to admit - this assignment does NOT thrill me. If one were to do an inventory of all the family photos then I would probably show up in about 10%. And that is not by accident. Let's just say I am no longer the size 2 my husband married :)
So, I tried to think of some random thing that I liked (hands, foot, elbow, whatever) but came to no conclusion. So, I thought of how I might define myself (aside from mother and wife). I am a reader. Love it love it love it. And, when my husband comes home at night from a long days work - this is how he usually finds me -- baby in bed, shower taken (maybe), and book in hand. Hence, the following photo.
I am really having a creative block - not able to find anything to photograph. Everything is so...gray. But today while I was out I saw this 18 wheeler. I am not usually attracted to these, but the red was overwhelming - so shiny and clean and unlike the gray background. So, I followed him past my exit until I was next to him, rolled down my window and held out the camera and shot. That was the best I could do considering my son was in the car with me. So, when I looked at the picture it was not at all what I "saw" until I cropped it. Something about the shiny red just really draws me in.
Original:
Cropped:
Viewpoint: Before photographing your subject, take time to think about where you will shoot it from. Our viewpoint has a massive impact on the composition of our photo, and as a result it can greatly affect the message that the shot conveys. Rather than just shooting from eye level, consider photographing from high above, down at ground level, from the side, from the back, from a long way away, from very close up, and so on.
I am not pleased with the quality of this photo, but I wanted to document that I tried Viewpoint. I like it, and I think I will continue to try it. This photo (as others this same day) has lighting issues. I am just really struggling in the manual mode. I am unsure each time where to read my exposure from. Anyway, I did try it - my son is standing up on a bench and i am laying on the ground beneath him.
ISO 400 | 1/250 | f/5.0 | 26mm
Balance: Placing your main subject off-centre, as with the rule of thirds, creates a more interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene which can make it feel empty. You should balance the 'weight' of your subject by including another object of lesser importance to fill the space.
ISO 100 | 1/80 | f/16 | 95mm
I got this as my son took a short rest between toddling up and down the front steps of our house. I tend to put him to the side of photos on a regular basis (see the unbalanced shot below). This time I put him to the side but included the porch column to balance the right side. The blue in the security sign also balances some of the color. At first I considered cropping out the sign (even though I like the color balance), but I like the statement it makes.
Unbalanced:
Update:
Based on feedback I cropped the sign and shadow out and I lightened up the shadow on is face:
