January 26 - Youer Than You Photography and Journaling Combo Challenge

Discussion in 'MOC 2020 Challenges' started by gonewiththewind, Jan 26, 2020.

  1. gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

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    It’s true. No one is youer than you. Dr. Seuss said it. It must be true.

    [​IMG]

    All rhyming and joking aside, he’s right. We are unique and have amazing stories to tell about our lives. Yet for most of us memory keepers, we have become chroniclers of the lives of our children or other loved ones, and our stories, even the smallest ones, remain untold. Our faces are often not even showing up in our albums because we’re the ones holding the camera, and we’re certainly not turning it around to take a selfie. Heaven forbid someone think that we’re vain or more interested in ourselves than our loved ones!

    The rules for this challenge:

    1. Take a photo of yourself – a selfie - and you must be the only person in the photo. Your selfie photo needs to be a new photo. You may take your photo using a mirror or other reflective surface. You may use filters, even very artistic or fun ones like you find in Snapchat, but I must be able to see two eyes, a nose, and a mouth (even if the nose or eyes belong to a Snapchat filter animal). Your eyes may be open or closed. You may be smiling or solemn. You may include other photos on your layout besides your selfie and those extra photos may include other people.

    2. Write a story about yourself to go with this photo. You must write at a minimum 50 words. Provide your word count in your credits. Use wordcounter.net to count your words easily: https://wordcounter.net/


    Should you find you need guidance with taking selfie or starting a story, I've shared some tips and other information to help you that you can view in the second post below!

    Here's my layout:

    [​IMG]



    FINAL REMINDERS:

    You should have one selfie (of just yourself) on your layout along with at a minimum 50 words that tell a story about yourself.


    Since this is a JOURNALING CHALLENGE, in addition to having at a minimum 50 words:
    1. Your journaling should be in complete sentences to qualify as complete. Word art will not qualify toward your word count. You cannot use the same word over and over. You cannot use the same sentence over and over again. Journaling challenges are meant for telling stories; if your journaling is sensitive or personal, please message me or Julie (mrs2a50) directly to discuss.
    2. Your journaling should be legible and readable. If your page is not in English, we ask that you translate your journaling to English and post the translation in your gallery credits. If your journaling has been distressed or your font is too small to read, you should post your journaling in your gallery credits. Again, if your journaling is sensitive and/or personal, please message me or Julie directly to discuss.
    Your page must be a new page in order to count for the Month of Challenges.

    Your page must be posted in three places:

    1. Uploaded to the TLP Gallery (not an outside hosting site).
    2. Posted in your page thread you created in the MOC Layouts Folder. You should have one post per completed challenge page. If you complete all 31 challenges, your thread should contain 31 posts. Please do not comment in the participants’ page threads so we can keep them clean.
    3. Posted in this thread. People can comment here if they wish.
    Pages should contain at least 75% current Lilypad product (currently for sale in the store from either permanent designers or guest designers).

    I’m so looking forward to seeing all your beautiful faces and reading your stories!
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2020
    KarenB, Ferdy, crazsquaw and 5 others like this.
  2. gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

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    Reserving a spot for questions/clarifications ❤️

    Can I use a tripod?

    Yes, you may! If you don't have a tripod, you may use another surface, like a piece of furniture as well!

    A quick clarification, please! The selfie needs to be a new photo and your layout may include other photos. Must these other photos also be new for the challenge? (I think that I might do something of an old and new approach)

    You absolutely may include older photos to go along with your new selfie. Can't wait to read your story!

    So we can tell any kind of story as long as it's about our self?

    Yes! Any story as long as it's about you!

    Can it be an older selfie? Three months ago?

    No, it should be a new selfie.

    Is an occasional swear word OK in the journaling? I don't typically take pages with swear words, but if I tall this particular story accurately, there is one swear word in it. if that's not cool for this site, I could always put a little square on top of the word and post it to the gallery with that word covered up.

    I think for your story's authenticity that you should include your swear word. I do think that covering the word up for our gallery is considerate as we do have younger scrappers participating on our site. Thank you for thinking of others!

    1. Can The Photo Be Black & White?...Sepia?..Or Any Other Color?
    2. Can We Apply Duotone Or Any Crazy Artistic Effects Or Filters?...& I Do Mean Many Filters?
    3. Can It Just Be Eyes,Nose,Mouth...Cut Into 3 Pieces?...Placed Together In The Same Vicinity Of Each Other/Or Not...To Look Like A Face...But No Hair,No Cheeks,No Chin?...


    1. Yes, the photo may be black and white, sepia, or any other color.
    2. You can apply as many filters as you'd like, as long as I can recognize your face with two eyes, nose, and a mouth.
    3. No, you may not cut your selfie into pieces.

    You said no other people in the selfie... what about an animal?!!

    As long as you are the only PERSON, that's cool with me. ;)


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    I have a few tips for you to take selfies and to help you focus on a story.

    SELFIE TIPS:

    The selfie is everywhere these days, but that doesn’t mean it’s a new idea. My husband and I were dating in the early 1990’s, and we took selfies when you turned the film camera lens toward your face and hoped you were getting something worth developing. Just for giggles and grins, here are a few of our selfies, distorted facial features and all.

    [​IMG]

    Nowadays, we have so many phenomenal technologies available to us, and we can actually see and approve of what the lens captures when we turn it around to take a photo of ourselves whether we’re taking photos with our current smart phone or we’re using a DSLR (or even a favorite film camera). Let’s take those advantages and use them . . . well . . . to our advantage.

    1. Know your best features and position the camera to accentuate those features. This could mean you’ll be taking a photo from the side, or it could mean that you are looking down in the camera. For most people though, the best camera position will be higher than your eyes, so that you are looking slightly upwards. Pull out a selfie stick from your daughter’s room, or place your phone/camera on a higher surface and set the self-timer. Maybe your arm is long enough and you can get just the right angle. Experiment!

    2. Depending on what you’re trying to achieve with your selfie, you’ll need to prepare yourself. If you want to tell a story about sleep deprivation or working long hours, then messy hair and no makeup (or worn off makeup) could be exactly the right look for your selfie. Maybe you’re wearing your pajamas because you never leave the house or you might be wearing your favorite outfit because it makes you feel like a million bucks. You might be experimenting with different makeup looks and want to see how they look with your features and lifestyle or you might be wearing no makeup all. Like I said before, we are all unique so each one of us will have differing ways of preparing ourselves for our selfie.

    3. Lighting is key to a great selfie. Search for low lighting conditions, similar to those you would find during sunrise or sunset. No matter what kind of natural or artificial lighting you have, don’t look directly into the lighting source, as this could cause you to squint and bring unwanted tension into your photograph.

    4. Take LOTS of selfies during your selfie session. Turn the camera this way and that. Turn yourself around. Hokey Pokey, anyone? Move from one side of the lighting source to the other and see what happens. You’re bound to find one or two in the bunch that you’ll like. Here are the ones that I took during my selfie session. Yes, I'm deleting the one with my eyes all crazy, but I wanted you to see that there are going to be photos that you are going to discard.

    [​IMG]

    5. Use photo apps and photo editing software to your advantage. There are some amazing apps out there, from Facetune to Perfect365, where you can edit and filter your photos right on your phone. If you’re like me and want to see the photo “on the big screen,” remember that your scrapbooking software is a powerful tool for editing photographs. Whatever method you choose, after you edit blemishes, lighting, or skin smoothing, you’ll likely want to add a filter on top of that. Filters can add unique effects and coloring to your photo and add a lot of interest.

    STORY TIPS:

    Your story and your selfie are intimately linked when you’re scrapping about yourself.

    Let’s say you are wanting to tell a story from your early childhood. Consider pairing that story with a selfie where your head is slightly turned looking over your shoulder, almost as if you’re peering behind you into the past. This is a great way to visually set up the story. Or you might simply want to wear an expression that matches the tone of the story. Are you surprised? Angry? Sad? Perhaps you want to show a spiritual journey you’ve been on. Taking a selfie with a sun flare or adding a flare to your photo in the editing process could help you visually establish the darkness and light of your journey.

    As you start writing, try composing your story in the first person. Since it’s your story, use “I” to start your sentences. (You are NOT required to write in first person, but it does help you start writing if you don’t know where to start). Include lots of details so that your story comes alive with images and feelings.

    STORY STARTERS:

    Still having trouble knowing where to start? Here are some ideas to get you thinking and writing about stories you want to tell:

    1. Music – a favorite tune or first concert
    2. School – a preferred subject you enjoyed studying or an extra-curricular activity you participated in
    3. Gifts – worst item you ever received as a gift and how it made you feel, or conversely, the best item
    4. Your choice of career or a special recognition you received from your employer
    5. Your routine during a normal day
    6. The first time your heart was broken or the day you fell in love for the first time
    7. An accomplishment or action that made you feel proud of yourself
    8. What you do to relax or if you even have time to relax
    9. Your most treasured possession
    10. An embarrassing moment

    I’m sharing these layouts with selfies I’ve taken over the past several years to give you ideas for taking selfies for this challenge and for your own albums in the years to come!

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2020
    Memaw2Wm, Ferdy, cfile and 1 other person like this.
  3. LilachOren

    LilachOren Well-Known Member

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    your selfies are so great! I do not do much selfies ....what a challenge! selfie and journaling in the same page LOL
    off to work on my page...thank you for the early post :heartlub
     
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  4. gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

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    You are so beautiful - you should definitely take more! Can't wait to see what art you create with your selfie!
     
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  5. AJK

    AJK I plead the 5th ...

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    Okeedokey! Got this!
     
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  6. mcurtt

    mcurtt give me all the paleo brownies

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    Can you use a tripod?
     
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  7. AJK

    AJK I plead the 5th ...

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    I don't either- it takes about 20 shots to find a so so one. I historically make unintentional weird expressions! Ha! But this is a super challenge!
     
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  8. gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

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    Yes, you may! If you don't have a tripod, you may use another surface, like a piece of furniture as well!
     
    mcurtt likes this.
  9. gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

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    Yes! It always happens! Did you see my selfies in the second post? With my eyes all crazy? LOL
     
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  10. *gina*

    *gina* It's all about the 3-C's

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    wow - a real challenge for me - I don't like selfies and talking about me.... so, I must think about what I can do.... :cornfused
     
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  11. gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

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    You can do it! I know it's not going to be comfortable for a lot of people, but speaking from experience, the more photos you take, the more you become used to seeing your photos, the easier it gets. As for your story, be sure to check the second post of this thread with tips for story starters. :)
     
    LilachOren likes this.
  12. Joan K

    Joan K Maybe I'll just grow down

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    A quick clarification, please! The selfie needs to be a new photo and your layout may include other photos. Must these other photos also be new for the challenge? (I think that I might do something of an old and new approach)
     
    gonewiththewind likes this.
  13. AJK

    AJK I plead the 5th ...

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    Yeah! lol. I tried the Perfect 365 app. I like it! AND, I need to wear more makeup like I used to, ha!
     
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  14. A-M

    A-M Not a lot of hustle in my hustle anymore

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    I do not like taking selfies... though I did just have some fun... sitting on my craft workstation on top of my Tim Holz glass media mat which proved it is strong as it did not break. I wanted to get my daughter's painting on the wall into the background of my photo..... now off to try and create a page with one "sort of okay" photo.
     
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  15. julianz

    julianz Well-Known Member

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    hmm will have to seriously think about whether I participate in this. I try not to post identifiable photos of live people anymore, I usually stick to places, things and pets, use rear shots, or blur faces. I keep the people for offline layouts.
     
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  16. bonnenuit

    bonnenuit Why do I always have to be Captain?

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    So we can tell any kind of story as long as it's about ourself? Hoping this fits the challenge...

    [​IMG]

    132 words
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2020
    Lisa B, Trish, 3BluEyedBabies and 4 others like this.
  17. Firstoscartgrouch

    Firstoscartgrouch Save the salmon, and the lemon butter!

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    Can it be an older selfie? Three months ago?
     
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  18. StefanieS

    StefanieS Think it over, think it under

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    My hat's off to you Cheryl, I deem you to be the Queen of Selfies.
    Off to see what I can do. 75 words
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2020
  19. Aerobigirl

    Aerobigirl Well-Known Member

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    I think I have the story for this. Now I just have to wait for decent light in the am to take the photo to go with it.
     
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  20. Aerobigirl

    Aerobigirl Well-Known Member

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    Question: Is an occasional swear word OK in the journaling? I don't typically take pages with swear words, but if I tall this particular story accurately, there is one swear word in it. if that's not cool for this site, I could always put a little square on top of the word and post it to the gallery with that word covered up.
     
    gonewiththewind likes this.

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