Inspiration.

My next photo project is a composition assignment where we must take 10 pictures, (two for each technique) of the following types. Extreme Angles, Lines, Juxtaposition, Positive and Negative Space, and Pattern and Texture.

Today, while washing my delicious celery, I got inspired! First I was thinking that celery would be great for pattern and texture. Take a look at my process!

At the time,  I was focusing on texture and pattern. Though shooting with only sunlight creates nice shadows, this was far too dark.

Here I turned the lights on in the kitchen. I added a few drops of water onto the celery to add a little freshness. Though this photo is nice, it doesn't have a lot of character or interest.

Hear I added a heart shapped sprinkle. The red and green have a really nice contrast. It is clear that the heart is the subject. Why I don't like this picture, is the heart is actually not 100% in focus. Though it draws your eye, it leaves you wanting a little more.

Hear the heart is in focus. Because of the angle of the heart, it's shape isn't definite. Compositionally, this picture isn't perfect on the rule of thirds.

Here is the same image. The rule of thirds is when you divide your picture into 9 equal portions. Subject matter will appear more interesting on one of the lines. However, the greatest interest is when the subject is placed at an intersection point.

Here, the subject is at the intersection of left and base. Visually, this is interesting. I dislike the separation from the celery in the foreground and the celery in the background. This separation is highlighted because A) I shot in macro mode (blurs background) and B) The celery in the foreground is much lighter.

Here is my favorite image. It has several things going for it. The lighting is good, creating a nice texture and pattern. Also, this is a great example of positive and negative space. The green celery is the negative space and the red heart is the positive space. When you have a significant about of negative space, your eye is drawn exactly to the subject.

Another reason why your eye is drawn to the subect are the "leading lines". Leading lines are exactly that- lines that lead you to your subject. In this image, the arrow is demonstrating how the natural lines in the stick of celery point to the direction of the subject.

Here is a really great example of the rule of thirds I showed earlier. Unlike before, this image has even greater interest because it is placed at a clear intersection point.

I was happy to go on my little artistic journey today. I started off looking for a texture/pattern image, and I ended up with a PERFECT positive and negative space image. I am very excited to work on my composition project. Hopefully I can get some more pictures this weekend :)