One of the things that I've seen a bit of disappointment over (as well as excitement for the people involved), is the part of the challenge where I chose to feature 4 makers on my round up post at the end of each day. If I could feature everyone, I really would! But it's just little old me over here doing my best and there just aren't enough hours in the day! So I thought it might be a good idea to hop on tell you a little more about how I choose the selected images not only for my challenges but also for the @heytheremaker Instagram account, so that some of the mystery is taken out of it. Sounds good? Let's go!
So what do I look for when I'm choosing images?
- Lighting - I love a well light photo with no harsh shadows. I also notice how the light could be affecting the colouring. E.g. a standard light bulb could make your colours appear more yellow rather than their natural tones.
- Composition - a well thought out shot with interesting angles, placement, focus and the use of props.
- Colour - I'm bit of a colour magpie so I'm automatically drawn to bright colours or pastel shades. But that doesn't mean that I don't love monochrome. Let's be honest, I love a bit of everything when it comes to colour use!
- Edit - I'm not afraid to say that I edit everything before it hits the main grid. A carefully selected filter or adjustment can change the whole mood of an image, fix something that was niggling you or make or break the image. Too many filters is a big put off.
So how do I actually choose?
Not going to lie, this is actually really hard! Throughout the day, during the challenges, I scroll the hashtag and screenshot photos that jump out at me. Then at the end of the day, I open my camera roll and choose 4 images that work well together and tag the makers. It could be that one day I was particularly attracted to blue images and I make a blue theme grid post, or perhaps I liked animals that day. It really is that simple. I don't go specifically looking for 'friends' and I don't go specifically looking for 'big accounts'. I simply choose images that appeal to me as I'm scrolling! Typically, these meet the criteria of what I have mentioned above. If you're not included in a round up, don't worry. I also have the @HeyThereMaker Instagram account where I feature makers daily (Monday - Friday) to showcase some of the wonderful items that you guys are making! The images for this are chosen in the same way. Except these images are pulled from the #HeyThereMaker hashtag instead! Be sure to have a look over there to get an idea of sort of images my eyes are drawn to. Click on the image below to head over and take a look!
Hopefully that cleared a few things up! If you want to know how I edit my photos keep your eyes peeled for my photo editing post!
