Hello Lovely! Welcome to week 5 or the 6-wk flatlay challenge! Our penultimate assignment! I am simply thrilled to see you contributing and leaving thoughtful comments on other creator's entries! Just a quick reminder, to participate: - Create and Photograph your Flatlay
- Share it on Instagram with Hashtag #naughtyteasflatlaychallenge
- Don't Forget to Tag me @mangelka to be featured
- Check out @naughtyteas gallery to get inspired
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Assignment #3 Review & Feedback Thank you for all your lovely submissions for the S-Curve Composition Challenge. There were many beautiful entries. I shared some favorites along with my notes and observations and saved them under the Flatlay Highlight @mangelka and @naughtyeas |
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In case you missed it, you can watch a Triangle Composition REEL tutorial here. |
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#5 Assignment: Diagonal Composition |
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Diagonal Composition for dynamism and depth Like triangles, diagonals are very useful and important for improving photographic composition. Diagonals in photography are tilted lines in your image. When used with intention, diagonals help create visual flow and move the eye from one end of the diagonal to the other. Thus, diagonals are great leading lines, taking the viewer toward the most essential part of the photo - your hero subject, while keeping them away from the less essential parts. It focuses the viewer's attention on what's important, thus helping them understand the story you are telling. “To crate a well-balanced vertical composition, the dominant vertical must be bisected by a diagonal (or horizontal) line to prevent the eye from quickly leaving the image. Same goes for a horizontal composition.” (the art of composition) |
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CAREFUL, TANGENTS! When setting up diagonals, one must be mindful of tangents (when items in the frame touch or cross), as they tend to capture attention: 1. Use tangents to create a point of interest. When used intentionally, within the frame, tangents are great for highlighting the hero, and when you want to draw the eye in. |
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Note the point where the 2 envelopes meet - they draw attention to the cup (hero) |
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2. Prevent accidental tangents with mindful cropping (when an edge of an object is right against the crop edge of the frame it creates a spot where your eyes are naturally drawn to, thus taking your viewer's attention away from the hero subject) |
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Consider Image on the left - where does your eye go first? Mine is going straight to the grapefruit BL, as it's touching (or near touching) the edge of the frame on the bottom, thus creating an unnecessary tension. Image on the right is more successful as our eyes are happily traveling through the frame along the diagonals created by the cutting board edges and the lines created by citrus slices. |
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3. Classic tangent mistake to avoid is a line that goes directly out the corner of the frame - it creates a visual highway for the viewer's eye to slide right off of your image and exit the frame |
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When the tree branch line touches the BL corner of the frame (left), the eyes follow it out of the image. To keep the viewer's eyes within the frame crop the image so that the BL corner of the frame does not meet the branch (right) and ensure the flowers that are in focus are farther away from the edges of the frame - TR. |
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By incorporating multiple diagonals (and tangents) in your styling you can add some drama and interest into a your composition, as well as control the energy and focus of an image by directing the eye towards your hero. TRY THIS : Use diagonals to lead the the viewer into the frame in 3 ways: 1. From the edges in toward the center of the frame (avoid lines touching the corners) 2. From the foreground, towards the background (when styling a vignette and shooting straight on or at ¾ angle) |
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Here the eye enters the frame TR, travels towards the cup and then around the fame towards the tulip bouquet and the book, coming back to the cup. Note how the sweater is strategically placed in the BL corner to prevent the eyes from leaving the frame). Here the diagonals are part of an implied triangle formed by the cup/flowers/book. |
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When choosing the props make sure: - There is a clear hero subject to give your composition focus and intention
- The colors go well together (complimentary or analogous) - use color wheel to create color harmonies (or look up color palettes on Pinterest), and lessons 8&9
- Play with different shapes and ensure ample negative space for objects to “breath” and stand out - Lessons 3&4
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Even though the bottles and the flowers are the same, there is one fully open hellebore in focus in the middle of the frame - our hero/point of interest |
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How to Level up Your Flatlays - Make your composition more interesting with little details that add texture and life to your composition - see Lesson 7
- Try out my secret flatlay formula to create dimension - see Lesson 8
- Strive for balance with use of handy compositional tools - see Lesson 7
- Use these tips to instantly improve your composition - see Lesson 4
- Learn Color Theory to enhance your photos - see Lesson 8 here
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As a reminder, my freebie resources are always delivered exclusively through email, BUT did you know that as a subscriber you also have access to my Creative Resource Library? You'll find a lot of past goodies here (password: naughtyteas) |
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If you like this email format and would like to create your own newsletter you can try Flodesk for FREE at this link ❤️ |
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Cant's wait to see what you create! Olenaxxx |
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