52 Clicks | Week 28 | Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is just a fancy term for using contrasting elements (big/small, old/young, right/wrong. animate/inanimate, etc) in your frame. You can use it to evoke emotions, tell a story, add emphasis, infuse humor, highlight irony and much more. If you think you've never used this in your work before, you're likely wrong. You're probably using it without realizing it. That photo you took of your kid on a hill with a big sky behind them? Juxtaposition. That photo of your mom cuddling your baby? Juxtaposition. That photo of an old building among a bunch of new ones? Juxtaposition. Since you're already using it unintentionally, imagine if you used it intentionally?

The Project 52 participants dug deep last week to do just that, and it shows! Look at their work and see how using juxtaposition can cause tension, emphasize a certain point, aid in storytelling and much more. And if this is something that calls to you, you might just be ready to join a project like this. If so, it's not too late.

xoxo,
Angie Mahlke

52 Clicks | Week 27 | Negative Space

Negative space is a great way to emphasize a certain mood, focus attention on the subject, highlight scale, and be creative in your composition. It's easy to hear the term "negative space" and think a majority of your frame needs to be empty or blank, but it's really more about the breathing room around the subject. This could be an uncluttered background, textured space (think: big sky, grass, trees, water, etc) or a blurred background that allows the focal point to stand out.

Look at the various ways the Project 52 participants used negative space last week. Is this a compositional tool you use often? If not, I encourage you to experiment with it! We're focusing on different perspectives all month, so feel free to jump in our p52.

xoxo,
Angie Mahlke

52 Clicks | Week 26 | Frame Within a Frame

For the month of July, we will be exploring different perspectives in our Project 52. The first one was to focus on adding an additional frame within the image. The frame could be super obvious (think: door frames, mirrors, windows, etc). Or it could be something more implied (think: layering with foreground/background items). Or the framing could be something creative (think: light painting, double exposure, etc). Whatever the chosen frame, the p52 participants showed off last week with their images.

If you're wanting a challenge like this, there's still time to hop in the project with us.

xoxo,
Angie Mahlke

52 Weeks | Week 23 | Favorite Viewpoint

Most of this photography project is spent going out of our comfort zone and learning new things. New techniques are introduced. We're encouraged to try different compositions. The point is to discover the great big wide world of photography. So now that we're hitting the pause button with our favorites theme, it's been fun focusing on the things that bring us joy. It's been a great reminder that we don't always need to strive for the next goal. Sometimes we can just do what makes us happy.

Last week we explored our favorite viewpoint, and I think you'll agree with me that the p52 participants really understood the assignment! If this appeals to you at all, we'd love to have you in our Project 52.

xoxo,
Angie Mahlke

The month of April in our Project 52 is all about perspectives. Since perspective shapes how viewers view and connect with an image, it’s essentially a tool for controlling how an audience experiences and interprets a photograph. The first theme was scale. We often use scale to convey a sense of grandeur, intimacy, or to emphasize the magnitude of a landscape. Let’s see how the p52 participants used scale in their work last week.

xo,
Angie Mahlke

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