This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (27 June – 3 Jul ’10)

Weekly Assignment

The middle of the day is usually considered one of the worst times of the day to try to take pictures because of the light. Which is why this week’s challenge was to take some Mid-Day Portraits. Let me say, seeing some of the entries in this assignment, the people who say you shouldn’t take portraits in the middle of the day must have never seen photos like these because of they had… well… who wouldn’t want to take photos in the middle of the day! Our winner this week was sunwrites‘ Elderly Woman Outside a Temple. This was actually the first shot submitted in this week’s assignment and we were just absolutely blown away. The textures on her face accentuated wonderfully by the light. The details are rich, and the expression tells such a story. One of our judges said this was an image that stuck in her mind throughout the assignment. This one simply must be viewed larger (click on the photo to do so). Our first runner up was redwasabe‘s Folk Singer. The rich colours, the way the sun was falling on the subject, and that fantastic smile, well, you can’t help but smile yourself when looking at it. It’s a wonderful portrait. And last, but not least was Caroline‘s High Key image of her daughter. It’s a bright, sunny image that just works wonderfully with the light. It creates a wonderful, fun portrait that suits a child so well. Well done everyone!

This week, step back in time because our assignment is The Eighties. You’re welcome to interpret this assignment how you will, think big hair, glam, bad lighting and terrible makeup if you’re looking for a place to get started. As always, a quick reminder of the rules. First, your photo must have been taken between 23 June – 8 July 2010. Second, your post must include the words “Assignment: The Eighties” and the date that the photo was taken to show that it’s a valid entry for the contest. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main information such as camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc. Our next assignment will be On the Go. This assignment is a special assignment because our winner will receive a G-Technology G-DRIVE mini, which is a 500GB portable hard drive. There will be some extra information about the assignment available when it’s posted next week, so keep an eye on the Assignments Forum for all the details.

Hot Threads

• Have You Ever Wanted to Quit?: Sometimes you just want to throw down your camera in frustration. Maybe it’s because you had a bad shoot, maybe it’s because your gear isn’t giving you the amazing pictures you think it should be. But whatever the case, sometimes it makes you frustrated and the only thing you can think of is giving up. If you’ve ever been there, why not come share your experience and how you got past it over in the forums. Maybe you’ll inspire someone else to keep going.
• Would You Keep a Lens You Almost Never Use?: And if you haven’t given up, you’ll probably find that as your photography hobby continues you’ll start to have a growing lens collection. So, what happens when you wind up with a lens that you don’t use very often? Do you keep it? Do you sell it? How do you decide? Come share your thoughts over in the forum and help out a forum member who’s trying to make that very decision.
• What’s the Point of a 10-24mm Wide Lens?: You may also find as you continue in your hobby that your lenses will become more specialized. But if you’re just starting out, you may wonder what particular lenses are good for. This question showed up in the forum recently about ultrawide lenses. What do you use them for? Come share your uses over in the forum and share your own creative uses.
• Best Camera Under $250?: Not everyone wants to spend thousands of dollars on a camera. Thankfully, there are a number of good quality cameras that are not only affordable, but also take good pictures. Come share your suggestions of good cameras that are under $250.
• What Would You Do: If you’ve got some spare time over this Independence Day weekend, you might want to try your hand at our post-processing challenge, What Would You Do. This challenge gives you a chance to edit another forum member’s photos and teach everyone else a little bit about your post-processing process. Check out the thread for all the details.