7. Essentials - Practice (Copy)
The task.
Your challenge is to make images using one or more of our 3 essential skills:
finding a clean background
filling the frame
rule of thirds
There might be some overlap (which isn’t a bad thing at all).
*And remember, don’t just take one photo. Take one, then move slightly, or a lot, experimenting with how you can make a different and maybe better picture by moving your body position/camera position (like we did in the first practice activity).
The subject.
FOUND ITEMS
Found items are basically objects that you find lying around your home. More specifically, they are details that represent important aspects of family life. This activity is similar to the first activity, in so far as the subject is also a stationary object - but this time the items should have more meaning to you.
It’s surprising how impactful photos of such objects can be. They can sometimes reflect the developmental stages of your kids and important aspects of daily life, better than photos that include people can!
Some examples of found items:
homework on the table
half eaten dinner still on the plate
gumboot lying on the lawn
washing on the line
toys left in the bath tub or bathroom floor
puzzles left on the kitchen table.
hand holding cereal spoon
the mess on the floor your child leaves after eating…
The reason
Not only do ‘found items’ form an important reminder of day-to-day life, they also offer us something else; a chance to practice the 3 essential skills in an environment where we can take our time. The same strategies apply to photographing people, but as their movements and expressions are less predictable, the success rate of creating a good image is noticeably lower! *I’ll share some of my less-than-good images in the final lesson.
Like in the example below, you might consciously choose to include hands or feet as a secondary element in your photos, but just remember the main star of the show should be the found item.
RULE OF THIRDS
Favourite toy truck of the moment, is a reminder of the developmental stage of this young boy. The truck is on one of the rule-of-thirds power points.
To make the activity relevant, find items that are important to you, so the images you create are ones you could imagine looking back on in years to come.
Below are some examples of photos of found items, and which of the essential skill(s) they use.
Examples
FINDING A CLEAN BACKGROUND
Favourite toys from childhood still safely stored away.
FINDING A CLEAN BACKGROUND
Boy plays with his favourite toys of the moment.
FINDING A CLEAN BACKGROUND
A friendship bracelet that has special significance for a teenage girl.
FILL THE FRAME
A close up of a dad and his daughter building a train track.
FILL THE FRAME
A close up of the three objects on the table (plus hands).
RULE OF THIRDS
Mum helping her daughter tie shoelaces.
Reminder
Again, please pause here and only move on once you’ve had a chance to take at least 5 different photos you’re happy with. It will usually take a few different attempts to get the right shot, so make sure to play around with different angles and ideas. If you’d like to see some examples from previous students, please click here.
And students with the feedback option - please make sure to use the link in your personal course page to submit your images.
There are two more lessons in this Course. Lesson 8 introduces our extension strategies. While not essential they are still great additions to our composition toolbox. The final lesson shows you some unseen images from actual photograph sessions, reminding us how easy it is to make mistakes, but also how easy it is to improve them.
Up Next: Lesson 8
Estimated time required 15mins