Thank you all for the great submissions for the Close-Up Assignment! I really appreciated the details and textures you managed to find in the mundane—it was awesome to see how everyone changed their perspective! Now that we've focused on getting extremely close to our subjects over the last two weeks, it's time to shift our focus to something completely different and infinitely more dramatic. We are looking at the dark side. The Assignment: Painting with Shadow/Negative Space The Art of Seeing isn't always about what you illuminate—often, it's about what you choose to hide. "Chiaroscuro" is a classic art technique used by master painters like Caravaggio and Rembrandt to create deep contrast, mystery, and intense mood. Your task is to create a captivating image where at least 70% of the frame consists of absolute shadow or darkness. Examples of chiaroscuro images: - A single motivated light source - Careful control of edge transitions - An emotionally charged subject (Important Note: You do NOT need expensive lighting gear for this. I already see you making some new purchasing excuses @Wittawat Sadindum & @Endri Dano :D)! You can use natural light from a cracked door, light breaking through window blinds, a single street lamp at night, or a simple desk lamp in a dark room. The goal is to be highly intentional with your contrast and composition. Visual Ideas: -Isolation >Figure swallowed by black -Memory >Only fragment visible -Fear >Unknown space dominates -Faith >Candlelight in darkness -Identity >Partial portrait -Mortality >Still life with decay (thank you @Aa B for the notes!) The Goal: To train your eye to control high-contrast scenes and to understand how letting the shadows tell the story can completely change the emotional weight of an image. 📝 How to participate: 1. Go out and shoot/edit your shadow image. 2. Create a New Post inside the "Assignments" category. 3. Title Format: Please use Assignment #13: [Your Title] 4. Number of pictures: 1 photo 5. Details: Include a short "Gallery Statement" – tell us briefly about your intent, the emotion, or the "Why" behind the image.

Glad you are here! :) How to get the most out of your time here: 1. Introduce yourself (Your first assignment): Comment below and tell us: - Who are you and where are you from? - What is your favorite camera at the moment? 📸 2. Check the "Classroom": You can already download the "Starter Kit" PDF. The video modules will unlock throughout January. 3. Check the Calendar: Look at the "Calendar" tab to see the schedule for our upcoming Live Coaching Calls. We didn’t build a lecture hall for passive listeners. We built an arena for creators. Be active, give feedback, ask questions. Let’s go – introduce yourself below! 👇 I also made a little overview video, of you are new to the skool platform.

Here is the Recording of our last livecall, where I edit and talk about some of your photos. As a little special, I also shared some behind the scenes from two of my award winning photos and how I edited them.