This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (6-12 Dec ’09)

Weekly Assignment

One of the things that we can do with photographs is tell a story. Sometimes a story can be told quickly in a single shot, sometimes it can be told in several frames. This week we finished our Storyboards assignment where we wanted you to tell us a story in 3 images. One of the things we considered in this assignment was not only the quality of the images, but also their ability to tell a story. Our winner this week was nico_loss for Cat, 1, LEGO man, 0. We just loved this shot. Not only did the story have a distinct beginning, middle and end, the quality of the shots was high as well. The images were sharp with an effective use of depth of field, and the story had humor. This one was a clear winner this week. Our first runner up was Schmelly‘s ever cooperative husband who let her break a balloon on his head. While the story was more of a sequence, the shot was well done and the red balloon really stood out against the background, as did the water. The shots were really well timed and executed, and there was definitely a beginning, middle and end. And last, but no least was Shutterbugdeb‘s really tasty looking cookies. The shots in this one were well done, nicely exposed and had a good use of depth of field. What set this one apart was the setup where the shots weren’t all in a row, making it just a little different. Well done!

We also started a new assignment this week. It’s almost impossible to avoid Technology day to day lives, and because of this, it is an interesting topic where you have the opportunity to practice taking shots of something that has become so commonplace. Use different angles, points of view, lighting, and compositional techniques to create an interesting image to convey technology. As usual, a quick reminder of the competition rules if you wish to participate in our mini-contest to have your photo featured in the weekend update on the blog. First, your photo needs to have been taken between 2 – 16 December, 2009. Second, your post in the forum must include the words “Assignment: Technology” and the date that the photo was taken in order to show that it’s eligible for the contest, and the EXIF should be intact. And last, but not least, it’s helpful if you can include some of the main EXIF point in your post (e.g. camera, lens, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc). Our next assignment will be “HOLIDAY MEMORIES”. So whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or some other part of the holiday season, show us what the holiday season means to you.

Hot Threads

• If I could tell new photographers one thing…: This thread is interesting for both new and old photographers alike. If you have some experience, come tell us what one piece of advice you’d give new photographers. And if you’re just getting started, why not have a look at the thread and see what kind of advice people are putting out there.
• Basic portrait lighting: One of our forum members is interested in getting started with portrait lighting, but where do you start when you don’t even know what terms to start looking for? One of the hardest parts about learning about photography can be knowing where to start the search. But if you’re just getting started with portraits or you have some advice about setting up lighting, come check out this thread.
• A question for the community on post-processing: While the debate may be old, I can’t help but promote this thread since the forum member is asking for a research paper. So, come share your opinions over in the forum on whether or not you believe post-processing is a valid part of photography.
• Ball head question: If you’ve been searching for a tripod, you may have come across terms like “ball head”, “pan head”, “3-way head” or even “gear head” but what do these mean, when is a particular type of tripod head appropriate, and is one of them better than others? Although this thread started out about ball heads, there are some great opinions in it about other types of tripod heads and their benefits.
• What would you do?: As it happens every weekend, we have another challenge where you get the edit another forum member’s photograph. Whether you’re new to post-processing or it’s all old hat, you’re welcome to participate in this thread where you get a chance to practice your skills and maybe even learn something in the process when you show us “what you would do”.