We continued with our Fun with Light month in our Project 52 last week with the theme of reflections. Reflections are fun to experiment with because there are so many options for reflective surfaces: mirrors, water, windows, glass, etc. Reflections are an easy way to add depth, drama, framing and tell the story in a creative way. Do you like to play with reflections in your work?

Take a look at how the p52 participants used reflections. They definitely understood the assignment!

If you're interested in joining our photography project next year, let us know and we'll add you to our waitlist.

xo,
Angie Mahlke

The month of November in our Project 52 will be all about light. Fun with light, to be exact. We studied different types of light earlier in the year, and now it's time to be more creative and have fun with it.

Our first theme was shadow play, and a large majority of us struggled because of uncooperative weather not giving us enough light for natural shadows. Instead, we had to think outside of the box and come up with different light sources to create shadows. It was a great exercise to challenge us, because without challenges, we won't grow and develop new skills.

You can see for yourself how everyone rose up to the challenge by browsing these p52 participant images.

If you're interested in joining our photography project next year, let us know and we'll add you to our waitlist.

xo,
Angie Mahlke

We finished off our color month in our project 52 with black and white - the absence of color. Black and white photography has such a different feel to it than color photography. It can evoke emotions, create a nostalgic vibe, add contrast, force attention on the details, etc. Are you a fan of black and white? Do you use it often in your own work?

Here is a small sampling of the ways the p52 participants used black and white photography last week.

xo,
Angie Mahlke

We asked our community to share their favorite SPOOKY images and they delivered!

We focused on the monochromatic color scheme in our project 52 last week. Oftentimes people confuse monochromatic with black and white, but black and white is the absence of color, whereas monochromatic colors are multiple variations of one color. Do you ever use monochromatic colors in your work?

Let's see how the p52 participants tackled this theme. If you're on the fence on whether you're a fan of monochromatic, these images just might pull you over to the mono side.

xo,
Angie Mahlke

52 Clicks | Week 42 | Analogous Colors

Last week in our Project 52, we moved on to analogous colors - the three colors next to each other on the color wheel.

We struggled with whether our colors were truly analogous, and Abi Coop shared a trick on how to check your colors by uploading an image in the Adobe Color website.

Check out some of the participants' images from week 42 of our p52. What sort of vibe do you get? Analogous colors are known for their calming aesthetic since they lack the contrast we see with complementary colors.

xo Angie Mahlke

See what the p52 participants did with complementary colors last week.

xo
Angie Mahlke

We asked our community for tips on embracing the dreaded self portrait! Check out this post for valuable advice and inspiring self portraits from our talented community members!

We will be focusing on color theory for the month of October in our Project 52. Using colors intentionally can make such a huge difference in your photography. Do you think about the different color harmonies when you pick up your camera? Do you consider what color schemes will best serve your vision while editing?

The first color harmony we tackled was complementary - the two colors opposite each other on the color wheel. Do you have a favorite color combo you tend to favor?

See what the p52 participants did with complementary colors last week.

xo
Angie Mahlke

Our month of senses in our p52 concluded last week with the sense of smell.

I love how so many things can evoke smell; and it was fun seeing how the participants decided to capture this in such a variety of ways.

Before we move onto a new theme for October, let's take a moment to appreciate some of the images from the group. Can you smell the images from week 40?

xo Angie Mahlke

Week 39 in our p52 was all about the sense of sound, and how we can either interpret or conjure it in our images.

Scroll through a sample of the participants' images and see if you can hear the sounds. Even the absence of sound can be loud.

xo Angie

We're continuing on with our month of senses in our project 52; and next up: sight.

For the month of September we will be challenging ourselves to capture the five senses in our p52. Have you ever focused primarily on the senses when taking pictures?

First up, is touch. What do you think of when you think of the sense of touch? Of course, there's the literal interpretation of hands. Another big one that always comes to mind is incorporating textures to add a feeling of touch to your images.

See how the p52 participants tackled this theme in week 36 of our project.

xo Angie

The goal of the August Lensbaby Challenge was simple: get out and shoot more. For some, this meant taking daily photos with their Lensbaby lenses, while for others, it was about picking up their gear more frequently than usual. The challenge provided the perfect opportunity for us to dive deep into our creative process while also refining our technical skills. Below is some of the beautiful work shared by artists who participated in the challenge! Get ready to be inspired!

For the month of September we will be challenging ourselves to capture the five senses in our p52. Have you ever focused primarily on the senses when taking pictures?

First up, is touch. What do you think of when you think of the sense of touch? Of course, there's the literal interpretation of hands. Another big one that always comes to mind is incorporating textures to add a feeling of touch to your images.

See how the p52 participants tackled this theme in week 36 of our project.

xo Angie

We finished up our Time O'Clock theme last week in our p52 with our final time of 8:00 p.m. What an interesting change from bright, harsh light to golden and low light.

We're shifting gears to a new theme in September, but before we do that, let's take a moment to appreciate some of the beautiful work from the participants during week 35 of our project.

xo Angie

We focused on the 3:00 hour for our Time O'Clock theme in our p52 last week. Some people chose to do a light study for the entire month, taking a picture at the same spot each time, and it's been interesting seeing how the light changes.

Check out a small sampling of how the participants tackled week 34.

xo Angie

We continued with our Time O'Clock theme last week, focusing on the noon hour. The general consensus was that this time was easier than the early hour of 8:00 am, even with the harsh full sun.

Look at the variety of images by the p52 participants. I always feel a surge of inspiration looking through the weekly photos, and I hope you do too,

xo Angie

For the month of August we will be focusing on taking pictures at specific times of the day. This forces us to stretch our creative muscles and experiment with light we may not normally use. There are no rules other than taking a picture during that specified hour of the day, any genre, any style, any subject, any location, the choice is completely in the hands of the participants.

We started with the 8 a.m. hour, which was received by a lot of grumbling for having to wake up early. Despite these protests, though, everyone managed to create such beautiful images. Take a look at a small sampling of week 32.

xo Angie

We ended our genre sampling month with macro. For some of us, this was a stretch, not having a macro lens and making do with creative techniques such as reverse freelensing or whatever lens we had available. For others, this was their sweet spot.

No matter where the participants landed with this genre, you definitely can't tell because everyone brought their A game!

As everyone was sharing their end-of-the-month collages and reflecting back on the themes, it was nice to hear the feedback that despite their initial hesitation heading into the genre sampling month, they surprised themselves - either by falling in love with a new genre or how they were able to create something they wouldn't have otherwise without the push. If we aren't pushing ourselves, we aren't allowing room for growth.

Before we head into a new month of themes, let's first take a look at the beauties from week 31.

xo Angie

Next up in our month of genre sampling was portraits. Portraits seem like an easy week since isn't that how we all start out in photography - taking pictures of people? Our p52 group is so diverse, though, that a big percentage of us never point our camera at people, instead preferring nature as our subjects. You'll see some kept this theme going and opted to use animals as subjects instead.

Since we are only focusing on the genre for a single week this year, we didn't dive deep into portraits, allowing the participant to choose which style of portraiture they wanted to focus on instead. You'll see a range from traditional to environmental to conceptual and even veering into the scary waters of (gasp) self portraits.

Which style of portraiture is your favorite? Which one do you struggle with the most?

Enjoy the variety of portraits from week 30!

xo Angie