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May 28, 2008
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
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JUNE PHOTO CHALLENGE THEME: LAUGHABLE PHOTOGRAPHABLE
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR

As spring turns into summer, school ends, and vacation time begins, let's be on the look-out for some seriously funny moments. 

Have your camera ready, since the best funny shots happen in an instant.  You can't really have the dog back up and do it again or the baby repeat that priceless expression... you have to be ready for the unexpected.

Here are a few subjects that provide a lot of potential for silly shots:

** Animals: Animals can do the goofiest things - some animals actually seem to smile, make funny faces, act like people, or sit and stand in silly ways and odd places.  You can take a trip to the zoo to see what you find or even dress up your own pet. 

Take a look at these funny pet shot examples:

[Editor's Note: You can still get a copy of AWAI's exclusive Breaking into Pet Photography DVDs, here.  If you love animals, this could be a great full-time or part-time gig for you.  You should check it out.]

** Kids and Babies: Of course kids doing unusual or silly things are another subject with great potential for humor shots.  You could ask a kid to make a funny face or simply catch them by surprise. 

** Funny Adults: People find themselves in strange situations all the time.  Some people are acting.  And some people are just funny.  Take your pick.

 

** Funny Signs: You'll see a lot of interesting signs when you travel.  Snap a few shots of the funny ones and send them in.

** Nature and Situation: People who find themselves in strange or ironic situations can be funny.  On occasion, you can find ironic humor in nature as well.

Now when I ask you for humorous, fun photos, I don't mean that anything goes.  Remember to...

(continued below...)

...keep these three things in mind when you're taking your silly shots:

1) Composition - You need to take the shot quickly, but that's no excuse for lousy composition.  If you'd like to go back over the basics, see this article on the Rule of Thirds: http://tinyurl.com/36xx6w.

2) Lighting - The better the lighting the better your exposure can be - keep in mind that direct noon day sun is not the best light for photos.

3) Focus - Make sure your subject is the point of focus in your shot.

Also, title and captions can play a critically important role, so be sure to take the time and give your shot the honor of having both.

Now get out there, have some fun and a few laughs, and get that one great funny shot to bring back here for this month's challenge: "Laughable Photographable."

Submissions for June's challenge are due by 8:00 a.m. EST on Monday, June 30.  You can submit your photos by clicking on the "Enter to Win" tab on our website: www.thephotographerslife.com.

Look for a list of May winners in next week's Photo Tip.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits.  She is known especially for her imaging of children. Her concern for people is reflected both in her sense of purpose and the images she produces.  Her images have been seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, websites, ad campaigns, and even on TV. Her work has also appeared in several local exhibits and gallery shows.

Shelly's also doing a one-day photo add-on at the end of our Ultimate Travel Writer's Workshop this July 24-26 in San Francisco.  We have just three seats left... so call Terry today at (866) 415-1425 to reserve your spot -- or register online here.]

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The Right Way to Travel is a FREE newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.

(c) 2008 American Writers & Artists Inc.

245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com

To LEARN MORE, visit:
www.thetravelwriterslife.com
www.thephotographerslife.com

Posted by The Photographers Life at 4:53 PM | Permalink

I gave you a few of the tricks I picked up from last year's Ultimate Travel Writer's Workshop that helped me land my first (and many thereafter) paid bylines.

Here it is, in case you missed it: http://tinyurl.com/48c9pu

Today, I thought I'd switch gears and give you some of the pointers I picked up about including photos with your articles.

Here are a few things I thought I knew about travel photography before the Ultimate Travel Writer's Workshop, and why I know better now...

THREE THINGS I THOUGHT I KNEW ABOUT SELLING ARTICLES WITH PHOTOS

1. TAKE MORE PHOTOS

** What I already knew: Including photos with your article can sometimes be its strongest selling point.

** What I learned: Make sure you take both horizontal and vertical photos of the same things so the editor or designer can choose which format works best for their layout.  This came in handy when I started writing for Oregon.com.  It was easy to snap photos in both formats... and it made me look like a real pro when I let the editor know I had both portrait and landscape photos to choose from.

2. PUT PEOPLE IN YOUR PHOTOS

** What I already knew: I knew that photos with people in them were engaging and attractive... but I thought I had to have a model release to sell photos of people with an article.

** What I learned: You DO need a model release to sell photos as stock.  But you DON'T need one to sell them to a magazine or newspaper. 

You should always check the writer's guidelines because some of the biggest glossy publications require a model release on the photos they use. But, in general, you can legally sell your photos of people in public places to most travel magazines, newspapers, and e-zines without a release.

3. THE SHOTS CAN MAKE THE STORY

** What I already knew: Take your camera everywhere.  That way, if you get a story idea, you're ready to snap a few relevant photos.

** What I learned: You can come at your stories photos-first, too.  When I was in Potosi, Bolivia, I got some really great shots of the silver miners there.  They don't belong in the story I was planning to write on Potosi but, because the pictures are so good, I'm now thinking I can go back to my journal entries from those days and come up with a second story idea about the miners.

The same is true for my last trip to Paris.  As we were walking through the Pere Lachaise cemetery, I took pictures of everything - the stones, the curvy walkways, the tombs, the flowers.  But when I got home I realized that I've also got a lot of pictures of people not just walking through the path and stopping to look, but sometimes sitting on the grass and hanging out.  Who hangs out in a cemetery?  I didn't realize this was the thing to do, but there might just be a story in these pictures somewhere.

If you're a travel writer, you may not consider yourself a photographer.  But there are a few simple things you can learn to make more attractive photos that will help you sell articles.

Professional photographer Shelly Perry's going to be with us at the Ultimate Travel Writer's Workshop this July 24-26 in San Francisco to help you do just that. 

Click here for more details on the Ultimate Travel Writer's Workshop: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/sanfrancisco

Even if you can't make it to the workshop, you can still have Shelly look at your shots and tell you if they're saleable... or what you need to do to make them sell.  Just sign up for Unlimited Photo Critiques and start with as few as five photo critique credits or as many as 50.  Get all the information on that program here: http://www.acceleratedtrainingservices.com/puc/website

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The Right Way to Travel is a FREE newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.

(c) 2008 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com

To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com

Posted by The Photographers Life at 2:02 PM | Permalink

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May 21, 2008
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
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LIGHTROOM RESCUE REMEDY
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR.

Last week we took a look at adjusting underexposed photos in Photoshop with Levels and Curves. As promised, today we’ll look at the Lightroom rescue remedy for those underexposed shots…

The first thing you will have to do is import your photo into Lightroom (for instructions on how to do that click here).

I’ve chosen a couple other shots from this month’s challenge to work with.  Let’s start with this great action shot... has it got story or what?

Once the shot is imported in Lightroom, you’ll want to open it in the “Develop” module.

At the top of the screen, you’ll see the histogram, and right away you can tell the shot is somewhat underexposed (since most of the peaks on the histogram are to the left, and there isn’t anything to the right, where it’s circled above). The histogram should generally cover the whole range from light to dark.

So, the first thing I would do for this photo in Lightroom would be to adjust the tone. For this, I go down to “Exposure” and move the slider to the right a bit -- in this case around +.85.  I never like to adjust the exposure to either extremity, and all adjustments should be done with a “gentle hand.”  See the area between the two red lines below:

Then I add just a touch of “Fill Light.”  Here I move the slider to 20.  I darken down the blacks just a touch with a slide to 5.

Then I drop down to “Brightness” and put in a little more light by sliding it up to +25 and bump up the contrast just a tad with a +11.

Remember, this is just an example. When adjusting your own photos, don’t follow these numbers exactly. Look at the photo as you work the sliders to see where it looks just right.

This way, little by little, you have a lot of control over the areas you are lightening and darkening while you maintain or increase the brightness and contrast.

The last step I would take for this photo is to adjust the “Tone Curve.”  Just like last week in Photoshop with the “curves adjustment layer,” I would raise the highlights a little and drop the dark areas.

You can do that by clicking and dragging along the Tone Curve line, about where I circled it here.  Drag the upper part up a little more and the lower part down a little.  These should be very slight adjustments.

Before and After:

Here is one more shot I took from this month’s Photo Challenge…

Again, import the image into Lightroom and open it in the Develop module.

Here’s the histogram for this photo:

Notice how far in from the right it is? But notice also that the dark areas, or the blacks that are to the left of the histogram, are not “blocked up.” They’re not all the way to the left -- meaning this image has a full range of detail, which is good.  That detail just needs to be pulled out of the image for best impact.

So, again, start with the Exposure slider.  As you move it to the left, notice what is happening with the histogram -- it is moving more to the right as well. Remember to make easy adjustments.  I usually don’t like to adjust exposure more than +1.00.  In this case, I go to +.95.

I adjust the other sliders here also: fill light to bring out a bit more of the shadow details, and a blacks adjustment to bring the histogram to the edge on the dark side.

The image still has a way to go before the histogram is covering the whole light to dark spectrum, so I adjust the brightness and the contrast as well.

And I do the same as before with the “Tone Curve.”

What I notice now, though, is that the image seems to have a funny color cast – it’s a bit cyan looking. Remember last week I adjusted the color cast in Photoshop with the eye-dropper in the curves box?

You can do the same in Lightroom.  Look just below the histogram – there you will see an eye-dropper (see it circled in the image, below).  You can try the eye-dropper by finding an area that should be middle gray and clicking.  It’s a bit tricky to learn and takes a little practice.  But experiment as much as you want -- in Lightroom, remember, you don’t risk changing the original photo.

Notice also, when you’re moving the eye-dropper around on your image, the thumbnail to the left is changing colors. This is giving you a preview of what the image would look like if you clicked there.

The other option you have is to click on the white balance drop-down button (to the right of the eye-dropper, where it says “custom”). 

If you’re shooting in RAW, you have several preset lighting options to choose from.  You can roll through them and see if any of those do the trick, but my general preference is to use the eye-dropper since you have more control.

Now, having made the color adjustment, I check the histogram one last time to be sure it’s okay and I don’t need to make any last-minute tweaks on my previous adjustments. 

Before and After:

Remember to use a gentle hand with all your adjustments – and have fun playing around in there!

ENTER TO WIN!

This month’s photo challenge theme is Game On.  If you have a picture to submit, log on to our website and click on the “Enter to Win” tab.  (Note: First-time users need to register on the "register" link on the right side bar first. Once you have a username and password, click "Enter to Win" to upload your photo. Only one photo per applicant will be considered. No purchase necessary to register.)

Photos are due by 8:00 a.m. EST, Monday, May 26, 2008.

Before you send your photos in to the monthly Photo Challenge -- or try to sell them -- you can have them critiqued by a pro, so you’ll know how saleable they are and how to make them sell like hotcakes.

Click here for all the details!

[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. She is known especially for her imaging of children. Shelly’s concern for people is reflected both in her sense of purpose and the images she produces.  Her images have been seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, web sites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Her work has also appeared in several local exhibits and gallery shows.

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The Right Way to Travel is a FREE newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.

(c) 2008 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com

To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com

Posted by The Photographers Life at 1:02 PM | Permalink

Here are a few of our favorite photos from Paris… 

Like I said in yesterday’s e-letter, I broke my lens on Day One of this Paris photography workshop (see it here: http://tinyurl.com/4f36mm).  But as it turned out, two attendees came to the workshop (one in our first group and the other in our second) with the same camera I have and multiple lenses. They were kind enough to lend me theirs.

The first lens I borrowed was a 75-300 mm telephoto lens which, on a digital camera, is a really far zoom.

While everyone else was getting great shots of the Eiffel Tower at night, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur, I could only get pieces of the church and tower.

These are my favorites, though…

And, of course, a zoom lens like this is great for portraits because the longer you can extend your lens, the more shallow you can make your depth of field (the distance between the closest part of your photograph that’s in focus and the farthest).

See how, in both of these pictures, my subject is in sharp focus and the background is blurred?

Here are a few of Bonnie’s pictures…

She was big on reflections:

And I really like this one of Mont St. Michel…

Posted by The Photographers Life at 11:53 AM | Permalink

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May 16, 2008
The Right Way to Travel
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Last week's photography expedition in Paris, France, did NOT start well for me.

On Day One, I accidentally left my camera bag unzipped and when I picked it up off the floor, my camera rolled out.

It wasn't a hard roll but it must have hit the ground just right because it broke my lens.  Now the lens won't focus.

Fortunately, professional photographer, Rich Wagner, looked at it. He says it's fixable. I can send it to Canon and (for a fee) they'll fix it and send it back.

However, I was still in Paris (on a photo workshop, mind you) with a camera that was useless without a lens.  So I started to look for a new one.

Rich recommended I get a "fast" lens.  Fast lenses are great for portraits and for photographing things in low light.  (Learn more tips from Rich and many other professional photographers at one of our live events. Click here to see our 2010 Workshop Schedule.)

Here's what that means...

Lenses are generally classified by their focal length and their maximum aperture.

A 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 zoom lens like the one I broke has a lens focal length between 28 and 135 mm and a maximum aperture of f.3.5 - f5.6 depending on how far I extend the telephoto (zoom).

Aperture, if you don't know, is like the iris of your eye.  The more you open up your aperture, the more light you let into your camera.  And conversely, the more you close it, the less light you let in. 

And aperture is measured in f-stops.  F-1.0 is the widest aperture setting you can get -- the most light your lens can let in.  And f-22 is the smallest -- the least amount of light you can let in. 

So on my camera, with my 28-135 mm f3.5- f5.6 lens (the one that's broken), I can't open it up all the way.  I can only open it to f3.5.  That's the maximum aperture for that lens.

So what does "fast" mean?

Fast, when talking about a lens, actually refers to the greatest amount of light the lens will let in. 

Think of it this way...

If your camera needs more light to hit the digital sensor in order to make a correctly exposed image, then it has three choices:

** 1)  It can open up your aperture and let more light in through the lens...

** 2)  It can slow down your shutter speed and let the light that's coming in from your lens sit on the digital sensor for a longer amount of time...

** 3)  It can speed up the "film speed" or ISO on digital cameras.

So if your camera measures the light in the room and thinks it needs an aperture reading of 1.4 but your lens only opens to 5.6, it'll slow your shutter speed to get the shot.  And a slow shutter speed -- if you're hand holding your camera -- will give you a blurry image.

Most photographers consider a fast lens to be one that will open up to at least f-2.8.

That's a lot more light than what I can get with my (broken) f3.5 lens.  (Remember, 1.0 is the largest aperture setting you can get.  So 2.8 will open up a lot more than 3.5 -- the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the opening on the lens.)

And an even faster lens would be one that can open up to f-1.4.  (To get f-1.4, though, you'd have to give up the zoom feature and use a "fixed focal length" lens.  You won't be able to zoom but a lens like that would let you hand hold the camera even in a dim restaurant.

So Rich recommended I get a 24-70mm 2.8 lens.  That's a lens with range from  moderate wide angle to moderate telephoto (great for street shooting in Paris) and a larger maximum aperture (the f-stop, or the 2.8 number) for shooting in dim restaurants and cafes. 

Now, is that "fast" lens an absolute necessity for getting great shots in a restaurant or café?

No, not necessarily.  Something faster than what I already have would be a nice addition to my toolkit for portraits and shooting indoors.  But I don't "need" it.

Here, for example, are a few other ways you can get better shots in low-light -- without buying a faster lens...

** 1. Use a tripod, which would allow you to take the picture with a slow shutter speed without worrying too much about camera shake.  (If you don't have a tripod, you can try bracing my camera against something sturdy like a table, wall, or light post.)

** 2. Experiment with different ISO settings that will allow light to sit on the digital sensor longer without slowing the shutter speed.

Here are a few pictures to show you the difference...

This was a grab shot in a restaurant on Mont St. Michel with ISO 100.  I was hand-holding the camera (no tripod):

And here are two shots to illustrate the difference between hand holding a camera in low light vs leaning the camera against something solid...

Here's a shot with ISO 400 hand held. It's a bit blurry:

And here's the same shot with the camera balanced against the bridge. It's a lot clearer:

They're a little tilted, but you get the point.

Remember that no matter what lens you get, you still need to learn the basics of good composition and exposure in order to take great pictures.   I've seen absolutely amazing (and salable) photographs taken with small point-and-shoot cameras and utterly dreadful photos taken with a highest-end pro equipment.

It's the photographer -- not the camera -- that makes a photograph. 

Ready to Turn Your Pictures Into Cash? Click here for details on taking photos that sell regardless of your camera size.



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(c) 2008 American Writers & Artists Inc.

245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
http://www.awaionline.com/contact

To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com

Posted by The Photographers Life at 11:42 AM | Permalink

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May 14, 2008
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
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BRIGHTEN UP - THERE IS HOPE FOR UNDEREXPOSED PHOTOS
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR

You'll remember we covered how your camera reads light and interprets what it sees to achieve "middle gray" and proper exposure. You can find that article in our archives, here.
 
Most of the time your camera is fairly accurate.  But what happens if you have a once-in-a-lifetime shot that's underexposed?  Is there a way to save it?  The basic answer is yes - or you can at least make it better.

Obviously, you'd rather get the exposure correct -- or as close to perfection as possible -- before you take the picture.  But today, we are assuming that isn't possible.  So let's look at how you can fix the shot in Photoshop for better results.

Take this shot from this month's Photo Challenge, "Game On," for example:

It's a great action shot... and, in this instance, it appears slightly underexposed.  See how there is no bright white snow?  It all appears slightly grayish.

In this case, the fix is simple and uses the same tools I recommend using for all your pictures (for more information about digitally developing all of your photos, click here).

A quick Levels and Curves adjustment should solve the exposure issue in this shot.  Here's how:

**1)  Open the file in Photoshop - then, right away (before you do anything else), save it as a .PSD file.  That way you will always have your original to go back to.  While Lightroom is non-destructive to the original photo, Photoshop is not.  So be sure to work on a copy.  (I'll send you more information on working in Lightroom next week.)

**2)  Up in your menu bar, choose Layer - New Adjustment Layer - Levels.  In the Levels box, drag the slider on the right (circled in red) in to meet the black part of the Histogram.

**3)  Then, in your menu bar, choose Layer - New Adjustment Layer - Curves.  The Curves box will appear.  I nudge the part of the line that controls the darks (notice how the lines on the sides of the graph go from light to dark?) down just a small bit (where the dot is circled in red).

I also bump up the lights a bit more, being careful not to blow out (overexpose) all the detail in the snow (again, where the dot is circled in red).

Here's the resulting image after a quick Levels and Curves adjustment:

Those two quick and easy tools really made the snow white and brightened the rest of the photograph. See the before and after, below:

Now let's look at another shot from this month's Challenge...

In this shot, you'll see that it's a little underexposed with a cyan color shift (notice the slight teal tint?).  This is common in underexposed shots.

For this shot I performed one extra adjustment...

While adjusting the Curves, I also made a quick adjustment to the cyan cast by opening the Curves box and clicking on the gray/middle eye dropper, circled below.  I then looked for an area in the photo that I knew was a good middle gray, clicked on it with the eye dropper, and presto!  Instant color correction.

Then I did the darks and lights adjustment as in the previous example.

Here's the image, before and after color and levels corrections:

Remember, post-processing your files is not only a necessary part of digital photography, it is also an area in which the creative process is still very much a part of the photography experience. There are a number of ways to reach every end result in Photoshop, Lightroom, and other such post-processing software, but having a basic understanding of some of these basic tools will help to get you started.

Keep an eye on the photo tip next week, as I'll go over how to make these changes in Lightroom.

And, if you're not completely comfortable with the ins and outs of working on your computer, we've put together a guide for writers and photographers to help with the basic program functions that every writer and photographer should know.  It makes inserting photos into your stories, nixing computer viruses, formatting your articles, organizing your photos and stories, stopping your computer from freezing, and countless other computer functions a breeze.  Plus, it's written in plain, simple English.  For more information click here.

ENTER TO WIN!

This month's Photo Challenge theme is "Game On."  If you have a picture to submit, log on to our website and click on the Enter to Win tab.  (Note: First-time users need to register on the "register" link on the right side bar first. Once you have a username and password, click "Enter to Win" to upload your photo. Only one photo per applicant will be considered. No purchase necessary to register.)

Photos are due by 8:00 a.m. EST, Monday, May 26, 2008.

[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. She is known especially for her imaging of children. Shelly's concern for people is reflected both in her sense of purpose and the images she produces.  Her images have been seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, web sites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Her work has also appeared in several local exhibits and gallery shows.

Now you can get Shelly to look at your photos to tell you exactly how to improve them!  You'll find more details here.

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The Right Way to Travel is a FREE newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.

(c) 2008 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929

memberservices@awaionline.com

To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com

Posted by The Photographers Life at 3:16 PM | Permalink

September 2008 Ecuador Schedule

To attend this workshop you’ll need to fly into Quito airport (airport code: UIO) on the night of August 30. We’ll pick you up at the airport and escort you to Hotel Quito.

There’s no meeting on August 30th because we’re all arriving at different times. But we’re all staying at the same hotel so you’ll see everyone at breakfast.

On the morning of August 31st breakfast will be served on the 7th floor... and from that height you’ll have a spectacular view of the city and the ever changing cloud formations that just beg to be photographed.

Note: Your hotel room on the night of the 30th is included in your conference fee and it comes with a spectacular breakfast in the morning.

After breakfast Lori Allen, the Director of AWAI’s Travel Division will be in the lobby to greet you. We’ll board our private bus to travel together to Cotacachi… the charming Andean village where we’ll be based for the next seven days.

When we arrive to Cotacachi we’ll check into the charming Meson de las Flores hotel. Your accommodation, along with a hearty and delicious breakfast every morning is also covered in your conference fee.

Then, on Sept 6th, class ends early and we’ll head back to Quito. Or, extend your stay and visit other parts of Ecuador.

Your last night’s accommodation in Quito is not included in your conference fee but it will be affordable ($59 plus tax). Hotels in Quito are not expensive and if you let us book it for you, you’ll get a reduced, group rate.

** Classes during this workshop include both photography lessons and Super Thinking Spanish courses. No prior knowledge of photography or Spanish is required.

Posted by The Photographers Life at 2:37 PM | Permalink

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The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
May 7, 2008
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ME, MYSELF AND I -- WINNING ENTRIES
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR

Last month's self portrait theme, "Me, Myself and I," was a lot of fun. I'm glad to see that people played with the idea and came up with unique and creative ways to express and share who they are. The variety of interesting entries made it especially difficult to pick the final winners... but with no further ado, here they are:

**First Place goes to Treva for "Reflective Self-Portrait"

**Second Place goes to Mysteri for "Split Personality"

**Third Place goes to Cheryl Robertson for "Waiting to Catch the Sunset"

**Honorable Mention goes to Richard for "Beyond the Blue Event Horizon"

Julia Schauer, winner of last month's challenge, is our guest judge for "Me, Myself and I."  Here is what she had to say about her pick for first place, "Reflective self-portrait" :

FIRST PLACE - REFLECTIVE SELF-PORTRAIT

"This composition is so compelling.  The depth in the black and white contrast draws you in and the soft focus holds you there. The direction of the children's attention, the lighting, and the center focus all point to an inner reflection which, along with the description, fit the theme to perfection. It's truly an inventive and beautifully done fulfillment of "Me Myself and I."

SECOND PLACE - SPLIT PERSONALITY

I find this shot compelling for a number of reasons. I am not sure what the shot is reflected off of, but the uneven surface gives the reflected image a wobbly, off-balance feel, almost like water. I also like the harsh diagonal that essentially cuts the image into two nearly even segments and the gray overcast sky.  All these elements work together to make this image feel a little tense, but given the title I find that to be appropriate.

The red coat really pops and draws us to the dual views of the person. I also like the fact that one view is more dominant while the other is more subdued, as well as the placement of the person and overall composition of the shot, though I would prefer it to be even more off center.

THIRD PLACE - WAITING TO CATCH THE SUNSET

I liked this image from the moment I saw it, especially the expectant look on this photographer's face as she watches the shifting light while the sunset takes shape. And notice the multiple dimensions of reflection - the car interior in the sky, the small exterior in the lens of the camera - it all gives this image a sense of not knowing what is "solid" and what is reflection...

HONORABLE MENTION - BEYOND THE BLUE EVENT HORIZON

This is a clean and fascinating compilation. Beyond the man arising in the distance, the repetitive shape and texture in the sand and water is perfect. The three objects, the man, the bird, and the shell or wood in the foreground also make this a strong image. Nicely done and a good example of how much fun compilations and digital art can be.

The thing to keep in mind with self portraits is intention.  What made some of these shots winners this month was the quirky, artistic, or unique qualities.  What makes for a good self portrait may very well not be the quality you would want or need for a commercial stock photo or for a magazine article. It could, however, win you a spot in a local art show or gallery. So keeping in mind how you are intending to use your images will dictate quite a lot about subject and quality.

Congratulations to this month's winners!

The first-place winner can pick a prize from the prize list here.

ENTER TO WIN!

Be sure to check out this month's theme, "Game On!"  Submit your photos by 8:00 a.m. EST, Monday, May 26th. If you're a first-time user, you'll need to register first on the "register" link on the right sidebar. Once you have a username and password, click "Enter to Win" to upload your photo. Only one photo per applicant will be considered.

[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. She is known especially for her imaging of children. Shelly's concern for people is reflected both in her sense of purpose and the images she produces. 

Her images have been seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, websites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Her work has also appeared in several local exhibits and gallery shows.

To have your photos personally critiqued by Shelly or another photo pro, go here.]

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Posted by The Photographers Life at 6:31 PM | Permalink