A few of my most favorite things.
As I pondered this week's challenge I realized some of my most treasured items are on a flat surface.
1. Painting: This is a complex crayon drawing I did at about 4 years old after seeing and Alexander Calder exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum in New York city.
2. Picture of me at the faucet at 18 months.
3. A wire sculpture of a crane I made at around 10 year old.
4. Four a my mom's amazing sculptures to illustrate Bible verses.
5. My dad's first business sign (he was not a doctor)
6. An antique coin bank we played with for hours.
You can see closeups of each item below.
Detail Shots
Assignment
Time for a genre that's rather popular on social media in recent times - Flat Lay photography has simple rules - take a shot of items or objects laid out on a flat surface from immediately above. Basically, a bird's-eye view of a set of objects that make up a cohesive whole. Think of it like setting up a mood board or if you're into food photography, setting up a dinner table with dishes, accessories and food. You could show off things that speak to you in your hobby - like a set of gardening tools or knitting yarn and needles. How about a top-down view of your desk - are you a neat freak or a proponent of organized chaos? Go for understated minimalism or bold maximalism - the choice is yours. Perhaps you could include a bit of portraiture by putting yourself in the shot along with some outfits and hats that you adore and take a self-portrait. Take things a step further with knolling - laying everything out at perpendicular, straight angles to each other. Don't be restricted to indoor shots either. You can grab some cool shots with organic, natural ground as your flat-lay background. Push your creativity by making the layouts tell a story. That's what makes for great shots.
