Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge (CCY) will be a combination weekly “tips and tricks” combined with a photo challenge.
To find out who was awarded the Gold Star Award and Features for this week, please see CCY Week 3 – Gold Star Award and Features (What All Well-Composted Photos have in Common).
To find out more how to enter this challenge check CCY Home page.
This week’s CCY Theme is Simplicity.
Essay
If you think that photographing simplicity is easy, think again. Simplicity seems easy, but it really isn’t.
Most people, especially people who are just starting out in photography, try to put as much into their photo as possible. They want to tell a story, but in their zeal they capture too much and give us so much information that we lose the main point. Putting too much in a picture is the most common mistake a photographer can make.
In this lesson I want to go to the opposite extreme. The use of void spaces in a photograph can be extremely powerful. Void space is usually a neutral color, or black or white, used in the background. Use your background to make your subject stand out. This goose photo for instance has a rather dark neutral colored background. The dark space around the swan really makes him stand out quite nicely.
Simplicity in photography usually means one object that doesn’t take up more than 1/4 of your photo, or one texture. Some things that can give you a great sense of simplicity, like reflections and shadows, don’t even show the object. They hint at what is really there and let your mind fill in the blanks.
Since I specialize in macro photography, you might think that my photos all reflect simplicity, but that is far from the truth. A macro of a flower takes up the full frame and shows off the intricate, mind-boggling geometric detail and incredible color work in a flower. It’s anything but simple.
Here is an example of a simple flower photograph. The tight bud of the flower only hints at what is to come as sunny days bring it to bloom. I used bokeh (keeping the background deliberately out of focus) to highlight my ranculus bud. I should probably take down the brightness of the background a little as that sunny patch to the right of the bud is a little distracting, but I’m showing unaltered shots to help you think about your own photos.
I really don’t care if your photo is well balanced at this point. Just get used to seeing things very simply. It will help you develop more of a photographic eye. If you have more than one subject, move, change a new subject, take something away.
Turning a photo into black and white can sometimes simplify or tone down your background. Another thing to try is cropping your photo to cut out more of the noise. The objective of capturing simplicity is to pare your subject down to just one thing, then present it in a way that is dramatic or that tells a story.
Your Turn
Show us 4 to 6 photos that you have taken that are extremely simple. Show us your uncropped and unedited versions. Sharpening and saturation is allowed.
Extra credit for Gold Star Award
Cropping: show us one before and after cropped simplicity photo. Color vs. B&W: show us the same photo one color and one black and white photo.
For those who don’t have cropping capabilities or the ability to change a photo into black and white, just mention it in your post and you will still be considered for the bonus round.
Current Series – Basic Photo Composition
- Week #1 How your camera is not like your eye
- Week #2 What All Well-Composed Photos have in Common
- Week #3 Always take more than one photo
- Week #4 Simplicity (current week)
The Next Series – All About Lines
- Week #5 Leading Lines
- Week #6 Horizontal Lines
- Week #7 Vertical Lines
- Week #8 Diagonal Lines
My Entry for the Week
For galleries, click on any photo to see larger size.
My Extra-Credit Photos
Here is my Color vs. Black and White
Here is my cropped and uncropped versions.
Qi (energy) hugs
Cee
Sliding in at the last moment, here is my contribution http://wp.me/p58fTH-1bl.
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Thank you for all the great tips, Cee I am sorry this is so late, but hope I have done it the right way!
https://nowathome.wordpress.com/2015/10/28/cees-compose-yourself-photo-challenge-week-4-simplicity/
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I actually snuck in under the wire and posted mine last night, but then I forgot to link and post here, so doung that now. You haven’t posted the new one yet so I’m squeaking in!
https://parkpreview.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/photo-composition-simplicity/
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Great entries Cee. I love the swan – the tones are great. I love macro too as you can see from my entries this week. We’ll be out of town next week and I may not be able to play along 😦 – but will join back in when we get home.
https://norasphotos4u.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/cees-compose-yourself-week-4-simplicity/
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Nora, your entry was gorgeous as always. Thanks. 😀
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Thanx much Cee
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Wow! Beautiful photos Cee. Thanks for the tips. Very useful for me.
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Glad you like the tips. Thanks.
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This was a fun challenge in an area that I enjoy venturing into.
Here is my simple response: https://venturesinphotos.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/cees-compose-yourself-photo-challenge-week-4-simplicity/
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I’m thrilled you had fun with this challenge. Thanks.
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Learned so much this week! Thank you for your tips and photos, they gave me a lot to think about! Here is my contribution for the week. https://125mileradius.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/simplicity/
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I liked your contribution this week very much.
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Oh that little girl is just adorable! Lovely photos!
My entry! https://themomhood.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/cees-compose-yourself-ccy-simplicity/
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I really learned a lot from this post. Great tips! Below is my contribution:
https://rluphoto.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/cees-compose-yourself-photo-challenge-week-4-simplicity/
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I’m glad you learned a lot. Your entry was stunningly beautiful.
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I almost didn’t make a post because of the criteria, but I changed my mind. https://odaciuk.wordpress.com/2015/10/24/cees-compose-yourself-photo-challenge-week-4-simplicity/
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I am thrilled you did participate Olga. I don’t want to leave anyone out of my challenges. I adored your entries.
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Thank-you, Cee. I was a bit hesitant at first.
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These are stunning photos Cee. I’ve not done a CCY challenge yet, but I’d like to dig into this one. Looking forward to it.
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I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. 😀
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me too truthfully 🙂
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Love the reflection in the water! Thanks for the opportunity again Cee. You’ve inspired me to write a piece called Going in to Space. Cheers http://thirtysummers.com/2015/10/23/going-in-to-space/
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Your post was wonderful! 😀
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Great topic! Cheers
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This one was a doozie, Cee! http://judydykstrabrown.com/2015/10/21/keeping-it-simple-cees-compose-yourself-week-4/
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Can’t make them easy all the time. 😀
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I love your girl shot Cee – brilliant composition.
Here is my simplicity: http://travelwithintent.com/2015/10/22/fire-beacon/
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She was actually sitting on her dad’s shoulders. 😀 Thanks Debbie.
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Good morning. Here is my entry for this challenge – I hope this meets the criteria! http://wp.me/p3CFsE-287
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Oh yes, you met the criteria wonderfully well.
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Thank you, Cee!
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It’s interesting to see how we each come up with our “final” pictures. Very much enjoying this challenge … and it really IS a challenge.
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Simplicity is a challenge. Thanks Marilyn 😀
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whoops I just read the task properly and have not quite got it right for my initial post! If it is okay I have another series of photos that fulfill the task as it was meant to be so will post them. Note to oneself think before posting!!!!!
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I find photos with this kind of simplicity so appealing but they’re definitely not easy. I find it hard to overcome the tendency to fill the frame with the subject and I often kick myself later for not backing up a little bit and allowing some empty space. This challenge will provide me with some much-needed practice on this subject. Thank you! I love the sky in the photo of that pyramidal roof!
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I know. I don’t have that many either. And the ones I do have I have used a lot. Have fun.
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The roof photo maybe a little more unsimplicified than I would have liked, but I thought the monochromatic coloring kind of helped it. I just like that photo too. 😀
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I’m glad you included it. I think it conveys simplicity and it gave me some ideas of photos I could take for this challenge, if I can get myself in the right place at the right time. 🙂
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I hear you. 😀
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Joining in this week, Cee. Thanks for hostessing and making me double post today. 🙂
https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/cees-compose-yourself-photo-challenge-week-4-simplicity/
janet
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Cee, this is the first time I’ve headed over to see what this challenge is all about. Great learning opportunity and you present your lesson simply and clearly.
janet
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Hi Janet, I am so glad that your popped by for a visit on this challenge. Thanks for your comment. 😀
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😀
http://abstractlucidity.com/2015/10/21/simplicity-in-nature-photography/
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This is a great lesson for my iPhoto class because new students do tend to over do it and this works best with the limits of smart phone cameras.
You are my co-teachers
Thanks
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Thanks Carol for your comment. Have fun with your classes.
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Will do!
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I like the photo of the swan and the middle one of the building. Dogs trying to figure out reflections and shadows are funny.
Thanks for this challenge. Here is my link. http://aseasonandatime.blogspot.com/2015/10/cees-compose-yourself-challenge.html
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Oh, this is such a great challenge, Cee! Simplicity is something I have a problem with and I so want to develop my eye for this.
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It takes a while but it is well worth learning. I know I see everything different just because of knowing what simplicity really is. 😀
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👍🏻😀
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Hi Cee 🙂
I really like simple things and those are always a great subjects for my camera.
https://mecyme.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/cees-compose-yourself-photo-challenge-week-4-simplicity/
Enjoy!
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Here is my entry to this week’s challenge:
https://cxianliu.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/beauty-in-simplicity/
Thanks for visiting and enjoy!
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