I’ve given up on trying to take my photos on the assigned day. Instead I’d rather focus on using the photos as prompts and trying to do something (somewhat) interesting. I took the first three all on the same day because my weekend was so packed I didn’t have time to sit down and create something good. And the last four were taken yesterday because the sky was finally nice and sunny, giving me much better light in my apartment.
Day 15: Silhouette
I thought maybe taking the picture in front of the tree would make this more visually interesting? And I ended up flipping my hair because I couldn’t figure out how else to pose.
ISO 250
50mm
f/3.5
1/200

Day 16: Long Exposure
I loved this prompt because it gave me the push I needed to finally try out light painting! Very fun too. I commented on Twitter that if we taught kids how to do this, I think they’d stay away from drugs and graffiti because I promise you, running around painting with your cell phone and attempting to pose is much more fun than ruining pretty buildings. I did this by using bulb mode, using a wireless trigger to open the shutter, using my iphone to paint my name (backwards with my left hand, mind you), sitting on the couch, triggering the flash, and then using the remote to close the shutter again.
ISO 125
35mm
f/4.0
32 sec

Day 17: Technology
For this day I decided I wanted to take a page from Ryan Brenizer’s book and use only my cell phone to light the shot. This shot is a little view into my life too, as I always have my cell phone on me and I’m constantly checking it for emails, texts, or tweets.
ISO 1250
35mm
4/2.5
.4 sec

Day 18: Your Shoes
Whenever we leave the entryway closet door open, T1 is there, pulling our shoes out and trying them on. He’s getting pretty good at walking in my high heels.
ISO 320
50mm
f/2.2
1/400

Day 19: Orange
I have a shot of this carrot soup that’s more isolated, but I liked this one where I pulled back and demonstrated what it’s often like for a mom with a toddler trying to do just about anything. T1 has learned how to pull the dining room chairs out so he can climb up on the table, which means if I want to get a picture, I better do it quick.
ISO 320
50mm
f/3.2
1/200

Day 20: Bokeh
I picked up some free Christmas lights at our ward swap meet, and so I thought I’d use them for the bokeh shot. I had this picture in mind when I thought of the T1+Christmas lights idea, but once I started shooting I remembered that to get bokeh you need distance between your subject and the “bokeh generator” (haha, not sure what else to call it) so instead I piled them on the couch and had T1 lay some distance in front of them.
ISO 2500
50mm
f/1.4
1/200

Day 21: Faceless self-portrait
I was going for some sort of “mom playing with her baby” faceless portrait, but this ended up being my favorite one. This one meets the rules a little bit better, but I don’t like it as much.
ISO 800
35mm
f/4.0
1/320

Just over a week to go! If you haven’t been taking pictures on the day they are assigned, be like me, just take them when you can. It’s fun to look at the prompt and dream of interesting ways I can create a photo around them.