Photographing water: such as pond, sea, waterfall, water drop, water splash, anything with water.
Please feel free to shoot anything for this month’s challenge, but if you struggle to think of any subject to work on, I still provide a photography brief as an alternative option.
Photography Brief : Water splash on light bulb
In this practise, we are expecting the members to produce exactly the same image as shown below.
Here is the tutorial video which should includes everything you need to create the above shot
Low key photography is a terrific challenge for both the novice and the experienced. It is a very simple technique that brings instant drama to an image but could take a lifetime to master. Like most other forms of photography, it is all about illumination and elimination.
A low key image is one that contains predominantly dark tones and colors. Like high key images, low key photography conveys atmosphere and mood. Low key lighting creates striking contrasts through reduced lighting. Shadows are now the primary element of the composition.
Here is a useful article : Welcome to the Dark Side
Please feel free to shoot anything for this month’s challenge, but if you struggle to think of any subject to work on, I still provide a photography brief as an alternative option.
Photography Brief : Floating Suger on a Cup
In this practise, we are expecting the members to produce exactly the same image as shown below. (you can use a different colored background but it has to be dark for low-key)
Here is the tutorial video which should includes everything you need to create the above shot
For the June Challenge, the following 2 options will be offered. Members can choose either of them to practise or try both of them if you have more time.
- Photography Brief : Floating Lemon
- Photography Theme: Interior/Exterior Building Photography
(1) Photography Brief : Floating Lemon
In this practise, we are expecting the members to produce exactly the same “floating lemon” image as shown below. (you can use a different colored background if you don’t have grey backdrop)
Here is the tutorial video which should includes everything you need to create the above shot
(2) Photography Theme: Interior/Exterior Building Photography
If you are not interested in the photography brief, you can try this Interior/Exterior Building Photography theme. Hopefully, members could produce a few images of buildings that can be sold to the real estate agencies or National Trust 😛 (Interior or Exterior) You can start this project with photographing your own house, normally the HDR technique will be used for this kind of shots. Here are some useful tutorial videos:
HDR Photography
Generally speaking, there are 2 photography techniques to freeze the motion: “use a fast shutter speed” or “use a fast flash duration”.
A fast shutter speed is typically whatever it takes to freeze action. If you are photographing birds, that may be 1/1000th second or faster. However, for general photography of slower-moving subjects, you might be able to take pictures at 1/200th second, 1/100th second, or even longer without introducing motion blur. For modern cameras, the shutter speed can be set up to 1/8000th second, which should be fast enough to freeze most the move objects. However, using such a fast shutter speed requires a lot of environmental light (like sunlight), and typically it can only be done outdoor. Otherwise, you will end up with underexposed photos.
Flash duration is one of those terms you hear in the world of flash photography but may not know exactly what it is, or why it matters. It’s really quite simple, and pretty much exactly what it sounds like. The measurement of time from when the flash begins to fire until it’s completely off is what’s known as flash duration. Like a light bulb filament slowly burning off when it’s turned off, a flash tube does the same thing, but much quicker. The reason flash duration is important is because in certain situations where you can control the ambient light, it can act as your shutter speed. This allows you to freeze motion without exceeding your camera’s sync speed.
For members who never used fast shutter speed or flash, I recommend you to start with photographing the slow-moving birds (like ducks), moving cars/bikes or water droplets from your garden tap, etc. Just google “fast shutter speed photography”, “motion freeze photography” or “high speed photography” for more inspirations. Please let me know if you have any questions, I am looking forwards to seeing your results and hearing your stories by the end of this month.
Chenxi
Useful articles:
- When to Use a Fast Shutter Speed
- Introduction to Shutter Speed in Photography
- An Explanation Of Flash Duration
- Using Flash Duration to Freeze Motion
Useful Youtube video links:
Example images:
Useful Videos: