You may know, already, that I am participating in the Photography Awesomesauce Winter Lighting Photo Challenge for 2013-2014. But that will be winding down at the beginning of April and I wanted to have something established to help keep me taking photos and blogging each week. So, despite making a New Years Resolution some years ago to NOT make NYR’s, this year I made one. Some photographers are doing 365 Projects where you take a photo a day. It’s a project that would be especially good for those: brand new to the photography hobby, with time to kill, or who take AMAZING shots with the first click of the shutter, and those who don’t need/want to edit their photos before sharing. I don’t fall into any of those categories. So I aimed a little lower with a 52 week project. This gives me time to assess set up, lighting, etc…, re-taking the image multiple times until I’m happy with the “in-camera” look. Then, I still have time to edit it in Photoshop, too, which keeps me in practice and learning new skills there. Plus, since I intend to share each image socially it will also keep me blogging and keep this website and my Facebook page current with the projects I am creating!
There are ALL KINDS of 52 week projects out there, too, just so you know. There are alphabet projects, choosing one lens and using it everyday/week, selecting a subject, etc….. In fact, here is list of 14 different projects posted in one blog from click it up a notch! I especially like #’s 7, 10, & 12 for my 52 week project, so I am going to combine them! I plan to do”Grateful” shoots most of the time. But, on birthday weeks I will spend time shooting the persons I love (he-he, a little photographer humor 😉 After all, I am grateful for them. And on the weeks the 10th of the month falls on I will take at least 10 photos that will go up -but they may not all be edited- and I will try to be in most of them; that’s just because I have always avoided being in photographs (even if I am not happy with the way I look, my family deserves better than that selfish behavior from me).
Today is the first post of this project and I decided that, as skin deep as it sounds, I wanted to photograph my gratefulness for makeup. I don’t wear it everyday and I don’t have a lot of it. But I feel more put together and presentable – like I care about life- when I do put it on. However, I’m going with something I’ve NEVER-EVER-EVER put on, FALSE EYELASHES (I’ll be honest, I was a little giddy about it, too). I honestly don’t think I need them, I have always had mile long lashes. They just aren’t all that thick; that’s what mascara is for, though. When applied well, I have admired the false lashes of other women so I though it might be fun to give ’em a whirl. I followed directions when I actually attempted to apply the lashes but maybe I let the glue set too long, or I didn’t apply enough of it because I just couldn’t get them to stick well. 🙁 They are clearly going to take some practice. I finally had to give up trying -for today- because I have some more photos I need to take this evening. If you know how to apply falsies, I’d appreciate any hints, trips and tricks in the comments below! But here is the photo I selected for my first of the 52 Week Project.
Many thanks to my husband, Jason Church, who is a lighting god (okay, that MAY be a stretch but he is LIGHTYEARS better than me at manipulating light) and is responsible for actually making all the camera settings and pulling the trigger (yeah, I kinda cheated by letting him make the settings – I promise, this will not be a habit). The theme, crop, and edit were my work. Thank you, Jason, I love you!
I want to hear, what New Year Resolutions did You make but most importantly what is your plan for sticking with it and who is gonna be making YOU toe the line of success?