Friday, June 18, 2010

How I Picked My I Heart Faces Photo Walk Winner

Greeting 27 women I'd never met before and leading them through midtown Sacramento was easy. Selecting one winner from all of their photos was not easy.

I mixed a bit of attraction, gut feeling, and nitpicking together to find the one photo we would call the Sacramento winner.

I started by looking at all of the thumbnails, page by page.


I wanted to see what grabbed me. There were so many. I took an entire day to look through them. Made a few notes, slept on it and went back through the thumbnails again the next day. I found myself clicking on these each time.
photo by Rhonda Huvane

I loved the line Rhonda capture that draws your eye through the photo. 

photo by Robyn Tucker

Robyn captured a fun angle with some awesome flare.


April's strong center focus beautifully captured Marina's classic beauty.


photo by Tierra Lowry

I love the way Tierra used Marina's reflection to balance the photo.



Sarah's photo just makes me smile. Such real emotion and movement and fun in one frame.

I wanted to choose something that screamed this is Marina and was technically sound. I had to stay true to my preferences as well -- not overly processed, real, with a bit of something to set it apart.

I clicked on each to see them as large as possible. That's when I got nitpicky. I looked for focus. I wanted sharpness. I needed it to be well exposed. I wanted a photo that in 20 years you'd still hang on the wall in your living room. I wanted body parts not chopped and framing to be just so.

My final decision came down to two feet. Two feet captured at an angle that scream personality. Two feet that capture a young woman's confidence in front of the camera. Two feet that are framed beautifully and give me a bit of room to play if I was to frame it. Just enough sass to say, this is Marina. I loved too, that it was completely different than most photos from the day. Cropped square. Framed nicely, as if a square crop is what Lisa had in mind the moment she clicked the shutter. Yes, it is processsed, but not overly. I'm a suck for a great black and white!

photo by Lisa Smiley

Thanks ladies for sharing your Saturday with me! You all took amazing photos and should be proud of your work.

7 comments:

April W said...

They are all beautiful photos. I can't imagine how hard it must have been choosing. You did a great job. Thanks Katrina! I really hope that I can get down there again for another of your photo walks soon.

Rhonda H. said...

OMG!! You liked my photo!! This makes my day, especially because you know I am still so intimidated by my camera. This is really motivating. Thanks Katrina! The walk was so much fun!!

Robyn Lee said...

I imagine it was very difficult to pic just one winner, but I think you did a good job. I'm glad you liked mine though too : ) I love sun flares!

Lisa Smiley said...

Thanks for taking the time to do that! Heck, I can't even choose my own favorites from my own shoot! There were so many different styles and beautiful photos from that day! They are so fun to see. I hope Marina has her modeling portfolio all ready now! :)

Mindy said...

Thanks for breaking it down for us! There was so many great shots from that day, so glad I wasn't the one making the decision!

Sarah said...

Yes Katrina, thanks for letting us know what you were looking for! Definitely gave things to consider and think about next time, since I'm so very new to photography. Man, just looking through all the shots on Flickr again, that was a talented bunch, huh?!

Unknown said...

What a great post : ) Thanks for linking to all the walkers! I think they are what made the day so fantabulous!

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