Since most of us are stuck inside our homes or yards, I decided to rerun a series I did several years ago, called Cee’s Compose Yourself Lesson (CCYL).  This is not a challenge, but I suggest you play with new ideas or ways of looking at taking photos.  Hopefully this will fill your day with a little excitement and joy.  Please feel free to play along and join in the fun.

What all well-composed photos have in common

All well-composed photos have a main subject that is instantly recognizable.  Sometimes we think we have captured our subject but there is so much “noise” in picture that it’s cluttered and distracting.

In this picture I wanted to take a candid picture but there were too many people, and the photo just looks chaotic.

Here’s another picture from the same day.  I tried to limit the number of people in the photo. I wanted to find just a couple of people to give me a true subject.  I left a few people off to the edge of the photo to give the ides of the activity, but not enough to lose the subject of the father and son fishing together.

Look at your picture.  Where does your eye get drawn to?  In upcoming challenges we will talk about how to force your viewers eye to where you want it to go.

You also want your subject to tell some kind of story that will evoke emotion from your viewers.  The most powerful photos cause your viewers to feel emotion; sadness, happiness, beauty, the “ah” factor.  Leave an impact. 

How sweet is this family photo.

This alpaca photo simply makes me feel like laughing.

Makes me feel sad or melancholy.

Doesn’t the word majestic come to mind when you see this photo of Mt. Hood, Oregon.

This butterfly makes me want to smile.

Finally, how beautiful is this dahlia.

CCYL 1:  How Your Camera is Not Like Your Eye

I’ve gathered a list of challenges and their hosts.  So if you know a challenge host, please direct them to my blog.  Feel free to contact me anytime.  I hope everyone will be able to use my lists.

Qi (energy) hugs

Cee