“A picture is a secret about a secret, the more it tells you the less you know.”
― Diane Arbus
This month’s Photography Styling Challenge required us to shoot Bedrooms. The bedroom theme is the first theme to really highlight true interior styling/staging. We have a living room coming up later, but bedroom it is now.
Now, like it happens in all my challenges, I freaked out for this one too. Diwali preparations and my child’s annual day rehearsals added to the mania.
To shoot interiors can get very very challenging especially for novice photographers like me. I like to believe I was born without an aesthetic sense of styling, so my fears are compounded when I am required to stage or style. If you ever happen to visit my house, you will notice we don’t clutter and have spare, minimum furniture. No fancy vases, no lamps. Not many decorative pieces. Sigh. In reflective moments, I’ve concluded that my sense of de clutter is an intrinsic fear to clean more 😉
Well, after myriad arrangements, stylings and shoots, here I am choosing my simplest photograph. I shot this initially and later went on to stage but after some very frustrating, harrowing innumerable moments with the stuff inside the room, somehow, this picture just spoke like a thousand words(quoting Bonaparte).
I have a host of adjectives describing this single photograph of mine but would love to read your interpretations. So what does the shot say to you, does it tell a story or has it made you curious or is it too plain and boring. Anything.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
To check out posts of other participants:
Redesigned By M
redlovinpixie
At the corner of Happy and Harried
Inge Kathleen Photography
Pies And Puggles
A Woven Life
City Girl Searching
The Delicious World Of Chefette Spicy
A Tree Grows In The Bayou
I Live Under A Rock Called Table Mountain
If you would like to join this challenge, click on the Photography Styling Challenge button in the sidebar and join in the fun!
Wishing all my readers a very Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year!
MyFoodTapestry 
Beautiful 🙂
Thank you Sonal
Sometimes that ONE perfect photo is all you need! Better to have quality than quantity, right? I love the light coming through the window and the reflection of the draperies on the tile floor. When you look around your house for accessories, you might be surprised that you have more than you think. When I did my photo shoot, I used objects from ALL around the house. I’ll detail it out in my “exposé.” ~M.
True M. I am sure I will find a lot of stuff around home. I just need an eye for it. What I’m learning most here is, I guess, to see normal mundane things and set/style them in an attractive way.
But thanks to you, I posted this month. You truly really inspire me.
Hey Namrata, better one than none! I love the light filtering in through the sheer curtains and the plant silhouetted behind them on the balcony. You could have pulled back the dark end curtains for a better look.
Like M said above, do not be intimidated by the need for props for styling shoots. Just shop around your house for accent pieces. You will be surprised to find that you have more than you think. For my shoot, I used cushions from my living room, a long-forgotten vase (it’s actually a pasta sauce jar!) and books from the bookshelf.
I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but when I saw your Morning post last month, I actually thought they would make awesome shots for the ‘Bedroom’ theme.
Roxy’s Morning & Bedroom posts are a great example. She shot both in bedrooms. Just by using different props, she created different moods for both themes. For example, she used an alarm clock, coffee and a sleeping hubby for the Morning post; a dress shoe, a pensive lady and other props for the Bedroom post.
Hope you had a great festival season! Catch you later 🙂
– Anjana.
I know my last month’s pictures would have made perfect bedroom pictures, but ‘morning’ was on my mind then :). This time I tried with my guest bedroom. In spite of taking innumerable shots with different pieces, I was just not happy. I tried shooting perfumes, candles, make up… somehow, the picture quality was demotivating, hence M and me decided to just stick with the one that stood out and spoke the most.
In an attempt to practice more(Diwali is over!!), I plan to shoot more bedroom pictures and put it online somewhere, maybe on our facebook group. Would love to get feedback from you guys. Lets see how much I achieve of what I plan 😉
Great idea to put it on FB. I was just telling M that I need feedback for my shoot session with Boy. I did it in B&W, but was not entirely happy with the results. I decided to capture motion, light and depth all at once! So, I ditched that plan, and did a bedroom styling shoot instead.
I would love to see your other shots!
Hi Namrata. I totally understand being frustrated by the disparity between what you see in front of you and what appears on the camera screen. Sometimes it’s so hard to capture the vision. I think this picture was successful, especially with the reflection of the curtains in the floor. I was reading an article about drawing the eye to the focal point of your picture through cropping. I wonder if some creative trimming of this photo would draw more attention to those wonderful details in the comforter and the drapery reflection? I never know where to crop mine and always end up with a bunch of different versions of the same photo.
Anyway, looking forward to learning more about this craft along with everyone else!
Cropping can get very tricky, I agree. I’m still groping, learning. With different cropping effects, I too have many versions of the same photograph, and it gets so difficult to choose the right one. Frustrating yet fun.
In my opinion I think you should have showcased the bed more. It looks quite interesting with the wooden base and green top. Nice photo otherwise 🙂
I agree Dillon, all the other participants want to see more of the interiors… but the other pics that I took were so disheartening and made really bad shots. One very interesting advice I’m getting is to recreate some bedroom pics that I like and try to shoot them, just for learning purposes. For the moment, ‘that’ is on my to-do list 🙂
Thanks for your comment Dillon. I love your photography.
I have the same leaning toward minimalistic decor! And I love your bed cover and sheer curtains.
Thanks Priya. whenever I try to put in too much in to a picture, they make ghastly images, check out my old photographs for proof.. 😉
Hi Namrata!
The simplicty of this shot both appeals to me, and at the same time leaves me with an empty feeling like there is so much more that could have been captured. So I’m not sure what to make of it. BUT, you’ve made me really think, and take a double and triple look at the photograph so it’s very enthralling in that respect 🙂
I know your frustrations about what is in front of you, and then not being able to translate that on the screen. All I can say is that it takes practice, and lots of it. The best way to learn it to look at photographs that you like, and then rty anbd recreate them. Once you are able to recreate the photograph, then try with your own original ideas 🙂 x
I totally agree Roxy. I did capture much more with innumerable shots, but they didn’t quite make a post-worthy picture. I almost bowed out for this month as I could not re-style and shoot my pictures, there simply wasn’t any time. But am glad M coaxed me into posting, because I love the interesting feedback. Your idea of recreating and practicing is incredible, it gives me some direction and of course motivation. Thanks Roxy.
How can minimalism be boring? Love this pic, Namrata! It is so breezy and everything I associate with Indian mornings… according to me, beautiful blinds are the best accessories a room needs. It somehow completes the photograph. I could write a creative piece with this single pic but for now, I will stop at simply commenting 😉
Hi Vaish. You’re really sweet you know. Thanks for your lovely comment. But I would have been much happier, if somehow I could contribute more pictures, different styles… well, now since our festive madness has concluded, I might try out and post a few. And then, if its poetry worthy, you could sing me a few lines… 😉
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