I bet you all thought I had forgotten about the September Challenge!
Nope, I’ve got Jeremy keeping me on my toes.
You know, these monthly challenges were the bread and butter of PhotoChallenge.org, in the beginning. Yeah, the very first challenge I cast was in the month of October, in 2007. The actual challenge was for everyone to focus on one area of photography that they wanted to improve upon. I chose black and whites. I shot only black and white, all month long. It was a great challenge! I learned a whole lot too!
After that, we did another challenge in December, and the every-other-month pattern stuck. So here we are at the next month, ready for a new challenge. But, we’re already shooting a fresh challenge, EVERY SINGLE DAY! Yes, yes, I know. Several of you will do both, maybe even trying to blend each challenge. Others of you will try one or the other. That’s cool too.
Whatever you do, keep shooting! I’ve been a bum lately, only shooting occasionally. However, this September Challenge, I’m gonna shoot!
Ok, let’s get to it. Since that first challenge taught me so much, I want to spread the wealth. I want to see you all shoot a black and white each day. For the truly top notch among you, I’d love to see a commitment to shoot only black and whites, all month. Can you do it? I think so.
The basic important stuff is that you need to tag your work properly on Flickr. Just make sure to add the tag, “SeptemberChallenge2009″ to each shot. Then add “SeptemberChallenge2009-01″ to each day’s submission, making sure to update the last number dor each day.
Let me tell you, I love to shoot my kids! Shoot photos, that is…
How you doing? Are you keeping up? It looks like only a few folks are continuing to participate in this month’s challenge. That’s fine with me, mainly because I facilitate these Photo Challenges because I need the motivation to try new things, and shoot on a schedule. I figured, a while ago, that there were others who like a little push too.
So, if you’re still wanting to participate, get out and do it! There’s no rule against joining a challenge mid-month. So, feel welcome.
This week’s focus, during our month long portrait shooting, is children. We’re trying to challenge our gift and shoot the kids. Darren has a good blog post at the Digital Photography School, for shooting kids. Oh yeah, and here’s another sweet article on shooting kids.
This week we’re shooting with a “couples portrait” theme. I had planned this shot out for about an hour leading up to the perfect time to shoot. In our backyard, we have the small vine growing behind my kids. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, giving me a great light from just over their shoulders. Made for a nice rim light. Then I used my Vivitar 285hv, triggered with Pocket Wizards, just camera left. I shot the Vivitar through a nice white umbrella, to diffuse the light a bit.
Now that you’re getting prepared to shoot your portraits, I guess you’ll want to know what types of portraits I want to see.
Week One:
Close Portraits. Include no more than your one subject’s shoulders and face. The goal here is to frame your shots with almost only the subject’s face. This isn’t really a style of portraiture, it’s more of a skill that will enhance your creative portrait taking. Sometimes, just moving in a little closer can produce some wonderful tension and/or composition.
Week Two:
Couples Portraits. If you look around, you’ll notice that many photographers shoot portraits, but almost always limit themselves to solo shots. Rarely do you see photographers including more than one subject. So, I want you to spend the second week shooting pairs of people. They don’t have to be a “couple”, although engagement photos can be a nice way to get your feet wet with a new portrait business. Shoot siblings, best friends, co-workers, etc. There are many options.
Week Three:
Children. Ah, the dreaded kids! This week may be difficult for some of you. If you don’t have kids, you may be limited in the amount of subjects available to you. Plan ahead! Take some time, right now, to think of a few people in your life who have children. I’d suggest you ask them permission as soon as possible. Consider offering them copies of the shots, as a favor. There are two issues to really focus on. The first is the logistical issues. Where to meet? Arrangements with the parents, etc. The second is much more important. How do you photograph a child? I wrote a couple of articles for BeAGoodDad, that might be helpful. Also, the Digital Photography School has a good one to read too. Take the plunge. When parents see amazing photos of their kids, they’re willing to drop down their cold, hard cash for them. Guess what, if you’re good…you get that cash!
Week Four:
Environmental Portraits. These kinds of portraits are some of the most exciting and unique. They’re seen most in advertising. Think of the shot of a runner in a Nike ad, etc. One of my favorite enviro-portrait shooters is Thomas Hawk. His stuff is pretty cool. Darren Rowse wrote a great post at The Digital Photography School you should read. The Washington Post even covered the topic back in 2006. And Flickr has a group dedicated to them as well.
To continue your preparation, I’d suggest you go back and take a look at last year’s DecemberChallenge. Additionally, below I’ve tossed in a few of my favorite portrait-takers. Each of them shines in their own way. When I’m seeking new ideas, or searching for inspiration, I always peruse the work of really great photographers. These are just a few.
Oh yeah, you want to know what the prize is going to be, don’t you? Well, I have one item selected. However, I’m trying to get a few more. So, hold on just a few more days and I’ll fill you in soon.
Each of these weeks’ themes will challenge you, no matter what level of photographer you are. You’ll grow, and by the end of the month, you should be able to recognize that growth. With the exception of the environmental portraiture, you have the freedom to shoot all of this on location or in a studio. If you’ve been a lover of the Strobist’s work, you should be ready to apply what you’ve learned over there. You’ll never know how good you really are, until you take the plunge, and start shooting with a little challenge!
In recent challenges I have sent you all out to shoot the challenge, and then stepped back to see what happens. It has been interesting to see those photographers who commit, and keep up, without any constant reminders. Several of you are committed to growing as a photographer, and you do what it takes to achieve growth. Good for you!
Now, I understand that many of us have lives, outside of our photography. Me too! I have wanted to contribute more to the challenges myself. So I’m not trying to criticize those who haven’t been able to completely meet each challenge. You, growing as a photographer is the goal.
Looking back at the almost full year of photo challenges, I am satisfied not just with my own efforts, but with you efforts too.
You started out with your own theme, several of you joining me as I shot B&W, all month long. Then we all shot a portrait-a-day. What a challenge that was, for me. I’m confident that I learned more during that challenge, than all the others combined. We have continued on, shooting a wide variety of themes, each one bringing anotherlayer of talent and skill to our tool chest. It is the portrait challenge that I keep going back to, though.
So, without any more tension…
For the month of September, 2008, we will be shooting a portrait-a-day, again. This time, there will be a prize! For the first time ever, here at PhotoChallenge.org, we’re shooting for a prize. I have amassed a team of judges, to assist me with selecting some of the best portraits, shot by you.
Bill Wadman, one heck of a portrait photographer. (not that he doesn’t shoot other things well too)
These guys will be helping me judge your work, at the conclusion of the Challenge.
Of course, with the addition of a prize, there will be an increased need for you, the participant, to follow the instructions of the challenge. Here they are:
Each photo must be shot during the month of September, 2008. As great as your past work is, the purpose of this challenge is for you to plan, organize, and shoot your submissions within the time constraints.
Only one shot per day may be submitted. You aren’t being required to shoot every day. But, if you do, you increase your chances of winning. Plus, you’ll grow that much more.
In addition to shooting a portrait, each of the four weeks will have a different type of portrait for you to focus on shooting. (The last 3 days of the month will be open to any portrait submission you choose.)
You’ll have to be a Flickr user. This makes it so much easier for me to organize the work. If you have issues with this, please contact me directly.
You must tag your submissions properly.
You may shoot more than you submit. We’d love to see all your work. For these photographs, you can follow the regular procedure. “photochallenge” & “septemberchallenge2008″ are all appropriate tags.
Of course, you can add the all to the PhotoChallenge.org Flickr Group pool.
The actual submissions you choose, must be submitted to the PhotoChallenge.org Flickr Group pool AND be tagged with, “septemberchallenge2008-submission”.
To quickly close, I recommend you take a look at the Digital Photography School’s recent resource packed post about portrait photography. This post is more than just a good article. It is a resource you’ll probably need to bookmark and go back to, several times.
