THINKING CAPS ON

[barbara_heide]

hi there,

for me the most inspiring suggestion was : " 3 of a kind"... this could be anything and open to everybody's possibilities...


cheers

Barbara

[borisalex]

Hi Guys!

I just want to share this, I found it today at:

http://www.digital-photography-school.com

This is maybe helpful for finding FACES!!

1. Dive into your subject’s life
Study the things they love. Look at their favorite things. Appreciate them.
2. Put yourself in their shoes
You may not have grown up the way they do. You may have different values. But for a moment, be subjective. Don’t allow yourself to be removed from their story.
3. Understand their perspective
Everyone has different viewpoints. Lay aside your preconceived ideas and do your best to really be true to your subject’s story.
4. Take the emotion of their story and capture it
A truly successful portrait photographer can take someone who is quiet and demure and capture that – even if the photographer is bubbly and vivacious. You add your style to the shoot, but in the end, a portrait is about your subject and not about you.
5. Go after energy
Use elements of movement and motion in your portraits – don’t be content with all your elements being still and static.
6. Use your subjects in their natural environment
Their favorite room. Their backyard pool. Their treehouse. Their farm. Where your subject is most comfortable, they will be most natural as well.
7. Go for the unique
Spitting skittles. Surrounded by stuffed animals. Surrounded by cosmetics. These are all scenes and settings from Michael Franzini’s portraits. Don’t be afraid of ideas that haven’t been done before. Those are the portraits that stand out most.
8. Establish strong connections
What experiences can cross over differences of age, culture, and upbringing? Focus on these to make your portraits strong.
9. Respect their story
Your subject may make choices that you would not. Your subject may come from a world completely foreign to you. What matters most is that you give respect to them and their story. If you can show this, your subject will be comfortable letting you into his or her life.
10. Create art
Above all, each person’s life is like a book with many chapters, many characters, and many unexpected twists. The beauty of creating a portrait is showing as many elements as you possibly can, in the most artistic way possible.
I’m grateful for these lessons Michael Franzini taught me on the Art of Story.


Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.c ... z1q3qECEIY

This for good for to photograph like your own family in their surroundings, like the children playing with toys, or parents doing gardening, or daddy washing always his car.....! This is not only portrait photography, it should include what people do and their demeanor!

On the other hand Scott is right , there faces on trees, architectures, cars, clouds, flowers (daisies), animals..etc! Its up to everyone to find them!!

I hope it is helpful what I said here!

Have a great weekend

Boris

[brett1963]

Faces are starting to sound more interesting to me.

[laryl]

so much talk about faces.. even though a lot of it isn't pro.. the thought sends me into
a very uncomfortable zone so I'm shivering in the corner here! I just foung this thread
today..... didn't know you were all thinking already but that's good you are!

faces.. would I? could I? .. dunno. Do I have a better suggestion, no.. I'm a mind blank!
I'll be watching!
And thanks for all the wonderful comments on my pad images so far.. it's been great!

[lynnh]

Just want to remind everyone that we did FACES challenge last March.

If we are going to repeat a challenge, that's fine... but maybe we can go to something less recent?

[borisalex]

Lynn, thank you so much for the reminder, you are right!

So forget FACES, we need something new!!

I wish you all a Happy Springtime, with this video I made:
http://vimeo.com/39145370

[wennere_01]

Lots of good and interesting ideas so far. Here´s one that came in mind today:

What´s about contrasts? Manage to get two opposite things within one shot. There are many pairs possible, such as: long/short, far away/near, thin/thick, old/new, lucky/unhappy, weak/strong and so on.

Just a suggestion

Werner

[brett1963]

I like that idea.

[lainesphotos]

Lots of good and interesting ideas so far. Here´s one that came in mind today:

What´s about contrasts? Manage to get two opposite things within one shot. There are many pairs possible, such as: long/short, far away/near, thin/thick, old/new, lucky/unhappy, weak/strong and so on.

Just a suggestion

Werner

I like this idea too

[jolka]

Just want to remind everyone that we did FACES challenge last March.

Me reminded it too

Or how about seeing faces in inanimate objects (I know Jola D. had a gallery with these kinds of faces).

Just to remind, we were doing Faces Challenge in March 2011.

[1designguy]

Lots of good and interesting ideas so far. Here´s one that came in mind today:

What´s about contrasts? Manage to get two opposite things within one shot. There are many pairs possible, such as: long/short, far away/near, thin/thick, old/new, lucky/unhappy, weak/strong and so on.

Just a suggestion

Werner

Sounds right in line with the "Standing Out from the Crowd" idea. I like that Contrasts has a broader sound to it. Nice Werner.

[bdean]

I've been thinking about it a LOT since I read the idea. I'm also voting for "Contrasts". I'm a little scared wondering if I'll be able to find enough to fill the month and maybe way out of my comfort zone but that's what a challenge should be, right?

[jdonnelly]

Am I right to assume that the consensus seems to be leaning towards Contrasts/Opposites?

I guess what I'm looking for is someone with more authority than me to confirm "yea or nay."

If that's what it's going to be, I'd love to be able to start giving it a bit of thought now.

Thanks so much,
Janet

[laryl]

I'm hoping we decide soon.. if it's contrasts/opposites I'm going to be scrambling!! eek I can't imagine 30 of them but I guess being creative there are lots of possibilities

[wennere_01]

I made the suggestion of contrast/opposite things within one image for april a couple of days ago. Have thought about it a bit more in the meantime. So for those who are not sure, here are my ideas how we could do it, if we like:

1. The contrast shown should be named, such as old/new, cold/hot for example; or explained if it isn´t so obvious.

2. You don´t have to show a different contrast each day. You can also show different examples of the same contrast. You can even take one contrast for the whole month. For example full/empty can be two bottles of wine the one day and the view on a highway the next day, empty in one direction and crowded in the other.

As far as I see the problem is not the number of different contrasts, there are numerous. The problem might be to notice them and capture them in the right moment. I admit you won´t find a rainbow each day with heavy weather on the one end and sunshine on the other. So if you don´t mind, here are some more suggestions:

Sometimes contrasts are not so obvious at first sight. To give you an example of what I mean: Here´s a contrast of dreamworld/reality. An advertising for holiday shown at a place in the city, where people meet who can not afford such dreams, drinking their beer, wasting their time:

http://www.pbase.com/wennere_01/image/142359506

If you don´t manage something outside, there are lots of simple things you can find or arrange at home. Cold/hot can be icecream with a cup of coffee or simply the cold and hot water buttons in your bathroom.

You might also ask two people to act for you in different ways for a number of contrasts....

This is not to convince you for the topic, it´s just what came in mind. So whatever will be the decision for april, let´s have fun.

Werner