Annual Self Portrait Challenge with Kas
Day 1: Shoot wide - I’ve always been drawn to these leading lines near my garage and never thought of it as an interesting place for a photo until this challenge began. That’s one of my favorite parts of these challenges. I see my surroundings with a fresh eye and am able to see beauty and inspiration in the less obvious things. This prompt helped me to have more appreciation for my neighborhood and my home.
Day 2: Sacred Space - This prompt was meant to showcase a special place. I chose my altar that is a constant work in progress. It changes and grows with me through seasons. I come here to pull oracle cards and meditate about things I want to feel and work through. Often times, I catch myself thinking I “shouldn’t” light these candles because I only have a few and I love how they look. But lighting them for seemingly no reason reminds me that there are no rules, that I’ll lose everything one day when I die and each day I’m alive is actually the special occasion.
Day 3: Shoot from Above - I took some time to think about how I wanted to take these photos today. I started out on the staircase and made a few images I like quickly, but didn’t feel like they were anything new or challenging to me. So I went in my basement and saw a bright spot of light that caught my attention. Getting up to adjust my settings, check images and lay back down in the right place took a long time haha but it was a fun process to get the focus and framing right after many tries.
Day 4: Create Textures and Layers - I initially thought about using flowers or plants in the foreground to serve as a layer and texture, but I realized that I often do this in photos I take of others already. I wanted a new concept, so I decided to work with the blur of my color guard flag and some of my hula hoops. I have been wanting to flow with these things more lately and decided this was the perfect reason to.
Day 5: Up Close - make an image of your face that fills up the frame.
I woke up early for work and to be able to create some portraits in the sun before the end of the day. I took these photos in my yard and loved hearing the birds chirp and the warm sun on my face. I usually don’t like seeing my face in direct, harsh light, but I wanted a less traditional angle for this photo. After seeing the images, I noticed blemishes and things that are more concealed in soft light. I chose not to edit anything out. It makes me feel more human when I see images of people online that look like me and look real- blemishes, wrinkles and all.
