August Photo Challenge: Shadows
Photo by by Keith Hall via Flickr
Starting this month, we’re launching a fun new project called the PET Photo Challenge. At the beginning of each month, we’ll give you a new assignment. Some months it may involve shooting a photo that illustrates a theme (such as friendship or secrets) while others may focus on using a specific photographic technique (such as shooting in Macro mode). Whatever the challenge, you’ll then have a month to experiment and come up with your best shot (or shots), interpreting the theme in your own way. When the month is over, we’ll highlight some of our favorite entries on the website and in the magazine.
For our first challenge, we’re turning our attention to the dark side of photography—literally. This month, take a photo with strong shadows or that uses shadows in an interesting way. Pay special attention to the shapes and patterns created by shadows, the stories our shadows tell, or any surprises that may be hiding within those dark corners.
I do hope you’ll take this challenge with us! Forcing yourself to think out the box and purposefully set up interesting shots is a great way to get better acquainted with your camera—and to develop a sharper eye for photographic composition, color, and more. I always find it inspiring to see how others interpret a concept in completely unique ways. (When we did our December photo challenge last year, I was completely blown away by everyone’s creativity and humor—and even came away with a few new tricks.)
The Rules
Any subscriber can participate in the monthly Photo Challenge. At the beginning of the month, we’ll announce the new theme on the website and in the newsletter, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. In addition to photographs, you can also submit collages or other images you’ve created in Photoshop Elements. Submissions must folow a few simple guidelines:
- You must take the photo within the challenge month (after all, there’s not much challenge in digging through your library to find an old photo)
- You must own the rights to any image you submit. (If you use third-party frames or embellishments, please make sure this usage is allowed under the sale terms.)
- You are encouraged to interpret the theme creatively, but keep in mind that photos that seem entirely unrelated may get overlooked.
You can submit your entries to either the P.E.T. Gallery or Elements Village Gallery as you would for Subscriber Showcase. When uploading your image to the EV Gallery, please enter the phrase “Shadow-Challenge” exactly as shown (without the quotes) in the Keywords field.
Happy Shooting!
Kelly
Related Tags: contests
Frank
July 28, 2011 at 5:49 pm
I think it is a wonderful idea and challange. I hope I find some interesting photo ops…
Kelly, remember a house is not a home without a few “dust bunnies”.
Frank :-)
Kelly
July 28, 2011 at 8:25 pm
Thanks Frank! If that’s the case, then we certainly have a very homey house.
I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!
Steve
July 29, 2011 at 8:14 am
Oh Kelly, this is wonderful idea. I look forward to seeing everyone’s entry.
Kathy
August 16, 2011 at 10:06 am
This is a great idea – I just re-joined so I hope to find something interesting to submit. Will submission be on Sept 1st – or how long do we have to submit the photo?
This will be fun!!!!
Thank you!
Kelly
August 16, 2011 at 10:09 am
Hi Kathy! You can submit your photos anytime during the month of August. On September 1st, we’ll be starting a new challenge, so you’ll just want to submit your shadow image before then. I’m so excited that you’re going to participate!
michael
August 19, 2011 at 8:16 am
Hi Kelly… I put a photo up for the Shadow-Challange. I put the keywords in the keyword form. When I hit the keyword, I only get 2 pictures. I would think there is more than 2 people entering this contest. Try it out and see what you get. And buy the way, this is a great idea. Good Job.
Kelly
August 23, 2011 at 12:15 am
Hi Michael. I’m so glad you submitted a photo! I’ve been playing around to see if I could figure out what was going on, and I think it may be that the keyword you entered has a small typo. It should be “Shadow-Challenge” not “Shadow-Challange.” I’m going to make a note to look for both keywords (it looks like a few people made the same mistake). The current keyword system isn’t ideal and we’re working to set up a better submission process that will make that easier in the future.
michael
August 23, 2011 at 5:43 am
Hi Kelly… Daaa! Thanks for pointing that out to me. I guess I should have payed more attention to my spelling.
Arthur
August 30, 2011 at 7:43 pm
I want to submit an image for the shadow contest of August. Can’t seem to get to the right field.
Please advise.
Art gilbert
bigart32@aol.com
Kelly
August 30, 2011 at 11:31 pm
Hi Arthur,
Try this link: http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/gallery/gallery.php
Be sure to put the phrase “Shadow-Challenge” in the caption. If you have trouble, you can e-mail me at kelly@photoshopelementsuser.com