Trying to come up with news ideas for photography projects can be tough. Much like anything in life, you can get stuck in the same old routine but sometimes you have to try new things. Attempting a photo challenge can be the way to break the mold and give you a chance to try new things. Check our list of photo challenges and hopefully you come out of it with some new ideas and some fantastic images!
30 Days of Grateful
Perfect to do right around Thanksgiving, this challenge allows you to take what you’re grateful for and capture it. It can be a reflective exercise as well as a good chance to practice photography. You don’t necessarily need to do this challenge for a month but it works to creatively capture the things you love.
Photo by @mimisuszq
100 Happy Days
Take a photo of something that makes you happy every day for 100 days. This could be pictures of your family, your pet, or even your favourite food. You can also just do one hundred days of a various topic. It doesn’t necessarily have to be stuff that makes you happy such as One Hundred Days of my kids or one hundred days of summer.
Photo by @_jenlang_
Project 52
Need a more structured photo challenge? Project 52 is a structured challenge that allows you to go at any speed you desire. You can start the project anytime you want and follow along with each week’s prompt . The project is based out of five main themes and aims to improve your photography skills in several areas. The photo below illustrates week 4 of the Dogwood 52 Photo Challenge by artistically demonstrating a quiet moment.
Photo by @tony_pacitti
Alphabet Challenge
Pick a subject that starts with the letter of the alphabet you are on. This challenge should last 26 days. Here’s a sample alphabet challenge that we created:
Use the Same Lens for a Week
This allows for you to make adjustments creatively instead of technically. You may frame things another way because you don’t have the length or the width that you would normally have. A fixed lens is the perfect lens for this challenge.
Photo by jarmoluk
Scavenger Hunts and Shot Lists
When out for a walk or on a vacation, create a shot list beforehand of things you want to try and capture. This could be the typical things such as the popular landmarks in the area, your hotel, or your view from the airplane or more unusual subjects like an interesting person you saw on the street or a really specific thing that is native to the place you are visiting.
Want to try more creative photography projects?
Check out our Photo 101 class for more tips, tricks, and photography ideas!
One Subject, Ten Different Photos
In order to stretch yourself creatively, take one object to photograph and then shoot it ten different ways. This is a good way to think about new perspectives and to think outside the box. You also begin to account for things like lighting and framing and can figure out how to manipulate them to change the tone of an image.
Photo by @rawpixel
Monthly Must-Have Shots
Divide the year into months and shoot the month based on what’s happening throughout the year. For example:
Day in the Life Project
This project is pretty flexible as you can do it every day for a year or just for one day. The premise is that you shoot your day from the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep. You can see your entire day in a new way while also creatively capturing mundane tasks. It can also act as a time capsule in a few years so you can see where you were in that particular moment in time. A way to amp this up is by choosing to capture a specific day of your life every week for a year.
Photo by @jenbacher
30 Day Photo Challenge
if you can’t commit to a full year, there are plenty of month long photo challenges you can do. Some are theme specific but a lot of them are just random themes that cause you to brainstorm and improvise before you shoot. Searching for 30 day photo challenges on Google can be pretty helpful. Try our example!
