April Creative Photography Challenge

​How did your March challenge go?  It's hard to believe it's over, but I saw so many wonderful rainbows being built and some great color theory images shared as well! If you are new, maybe you haven't looked at the rainbows on IG.  Look here if haven't yet...serious eye candy, I'm telling you, you won't want to miss it!


Are you ready for a new challenge?  For April, our challenge is: 

Shooting Through & With Objects!

This is going to be a fun one for sure!  There are so many things you can use to shoot through, next to, inside of, etc.  The sky and your imagination are the limit!  I've seen some pretty awesome things out there, and maybe you can think of more than what I have on here.  Now, I don't have many images with these types of things because I haven't shot many...so this month is going to be as much as an experiment for me as it is for you! (I made a few examples, but these are not fabulous by any means...)

So, how do we do this?

The basic gist of this challenge is to think of everyday objects (and some not so ordinary) and use them in your pictures to get different effects.  This challenge has been on my list since December, so I will admit that I have been keeping my eyes open! 

Some ideas of objects you can use:
* A crystal ball
* A clear tube wrapped in lights
* Tissue paper around the edge of your lens
* A CD or DVD
* A convex lens
* A prism
* Giant bubbles
* A frosty or rainy window
* Fork tines
* Tree branches
* Curtains
* Clear plastic wrap or a plastic baggie 
* A shirt sleeve
* Yarn (yes, yarn!)
* Colored gels for flashes (to give the scene a different color overall)
* Flowers (kind of like the but more blurry than that)
* A piece of paper cut into a shape (to make shaped bokeh)
* A paper towel or toilet paper tube
* A glass (top to bottom, bottom to top, or even sideways)
* Steamy shower door (just be careful that you don't get water on your camera!)
* Eye or sunglasses
* Cut a hole in any ordinary item: a sponge, a paper bag, a piece of colored paper, etc.
* A plastic container spayed with some water
*Lace

I made a quick video showing you some of this stuff up close, hope it can help you get an idea of what to use and how to use it! 

Some things to think about when shooting through objects:

Don't cover up your entire lens with the object, leave part of it uncovered for the best results. (Of course, this depends on which object you're using, some may require you shooting through the whole thing!)


Make sure you have all of your settings right before attempting to hold up an item in front of your lens! It may be kind of hard to change in the middle of shooting, otherwise.  An alternative to this is to use a tripod!


Don't be afraid to try something new or different.  It may not work, and then you just move on...but if it does work, it will be pretty much awesome! And you will go down in the Creative Photography Challenge Hall of Fame!  


If you're shooting on a camera, make sure you open up your aperture as much as you can, so you can blur the object. (This means your f-stop number is as low as you can get it.) You don't want the object to be your focus, just there to give your image a different look.


If you're using your phone, you will probably need some smaller items.  Like I mentioned before, this is a experiment for me this month, so I'm not sure how everything will work.  You may need to just barely cover up the lens on your phone because it's so small.  I would recommend setting your focus on your subject, then holding up the object a few inches from your phone, then slowly move it into the frame until you're happy with the results.  I will be playing on my phone as well as my camera this month, so I hope to share what works and what doesn't. 

​To participate this month on Instagram, please use the tag: #2017creative_objects.   In case you haven't heard, there is now an Instagram hub that goes along with the challenges!  It's only a few weeks old, and I've got a great team helping me out.  We feature images that have been tagged, as well as share tutorials, lessons and tips on things that pertain to the challenge that month.  Go here if you'd like to follow along with us!  We would  love to have you!

When you post pictures, it would be very helpful this month if you mention in your comment what you're shooting through, so we can be inspired!  Also, if you have any tips or suggestions, we'd love to share them as well!  Remember, we want everyone to succeed and feel inspired to be more creative in their photography!

If you haven't joined the Facebook group yet, and would like to, go here.  It will send you to the FB group page, and you'll need to request to join.  You will have to be approved before you can get in. 

I'm  really loving that so many of you are joining in with me on this challenge!  It's so much more fun to do with friends!  I can't wait to learn and grow with you this month!