2025 Edition
Welcome to the 2025 Photography Challenge.
Use this list to improve your photography! Shoot this list in any order, skip around, do challenges multiple times, start with the easy ones or the difficult ones, interpret to your liking, combine things!
Come up with a photography project for the whole year!
Compete with your friends!
Submit these photos on Instagram and tag them with #2025cpc
*To be able to complete ALL of these challenges, ideally you wiould need a DSLR/mirrorless camera or use your phone in “pro” or “manual” mode.
- Easy: Any photo of your choice to show your participation in the challenge.
- An unconventional angle.
- A black and white photo.
- Plant a seed and capture at least 3 photos of the plant in various stages of growth. (or find a young plant and keep coming back to it)
- Use color theory (complimentary colors, analogous triadic, etc.)
- Shoot from a reflection (puddle, mirror).
- A macro shot.
- Something that made you stop and do a double take.
- Something that represents something else.
- Someone/something “peeking out”.
- Something hiding/covering something else.
- Someone standing still in a moving crowd (slow down your shutter speed for this one).
- Someone older, with a framed photo of their younger selves in the background.
- Someone on their phone when they shouldn’t be! (be safe).
- Someone doing something that looks difficult.
- Someone having fun.
- More than Words: Capture human interaction without faces, focusing on body language or gestures.
- Use flash during the day (try using it to brighten shadows).
- Take a photo at night without using flash.
- A falling or bouncing object.
- Someone showing kindness.
- A gesture of kindness. (Example: someone holding a door or helping carry groceries)
- Someone starting their workday.
- Someone ending their workday.
- Light reflecting on the surface of water.
- Inside a moving vehicle (NOT while you’re the one driving!)
- Train tracks (be safe).
- Someone making an odd or silly face.
- Bygone Era: Something old/antique, among modern things.
- Something new.
- Limit yourself to only one focal length for the day (use a prime lens!).
- A birthday.
- Insects, birds, mammals, reptiles (go to the zoo!).
- Small subject next to a large one.
- Shoot through or between an object (glass, thin fabric, leaves, etc.)
- Track a fast moving object (bike, vehicle) and achieve background motion blur but keeping the object in focus. (“intentional camera movement”).
- Invert colors.
- A full moon
- Seeing clearly: Capture your subject through a pair of glasses to simulate how glasses help people see.
- Fog: Explore how fog can transform your scene. Like isolating your subject.
- Night shot.
- Capture the weather.
- Capture a person or a vehicle splashing a puddle.
- Shooting exercise: shoot 1 object/subject 20 different ways.
- Shoot from one exact location and angle at different times of day.
- Capture people at work.
- Vintage vs. Modern: Juxtapose old and new technology or fashion in one frame.
- Capture an animal busy doing something (bird making a nest, bee on a flower, dog playing with a ball).
- Capture a complicated or busy scene (a busy crowd, intersection, a messy room).
- Capture a simple scene (a single plane flying overhead).
- The light shining on your subject, everything else is dark. (Example: someone standing under a street light).
- Capture a culture that’s different from yours. (be respectful)
- YOUR culture.
- The outdoors.
- Capture life in the suburbs.
- Capture life in the city.
- Capture rural life.
- The unseen: Document spaces or moments people rarely see (behind the scenes at an event, early morning at a bakery).
- Texture: Focus on the tactile quality of surfaces (brick, fabric, skin).
- Take an upside down photo.
- Creatively overexpose a photo.
- Genuine laughter or joy.
- Easy: Something yellow.
- Creatively underexpose a photo.
- Make an object look small.
- Make an object look big.
- Find an oddly shaped tree.
- A funny poster, sign, sticker, etc.
- Neon lights/signs.
- Make something mundane, routine, boring look interesting.
- Fire in various sizes and forms.
- People or animals eating.
- A bridge.
- Slow shutter of moving water.
- Something that’s “not supposed to be there.”
- “Others might not know why this is special, but I do.”
- Something that was damaged.
- Something that was repaired.
- Fill the frame.
- Negative space.
- A crescent moon.
- Isolate a brightly colored object in a gray/black/white background to make it look like an edited photo.
- Shoot from a high elevation, upper floor, etc.
- Shoot from the floor.
- A Worn out piece of clothing (someone wearing it, or by itself).
- Dancing.
- Emotions: Capture how people have different ways of expressing emotion.
- Capture multiple shots of someone’s emotion changing (serious to laughing, crying to serious, etc. Be sensitive and respectful.)
- Capture the cleanest road you can find and incorporate it into your photo.
- Capture the most damaged road you can find and incorporate it into your photo.
- Capture a dirt trail.
- Capture water in its various forms.
- Someone’s shadow.
- Calm so calm it looks like a mirror.
- Capture something dangerous (keep YOURSELF safe!!!)
- Calm/serenity.
- “Inside joke.”
- Capture something harmless.
- Pose inanimate objects to make them seem alive.
- Capture parenthood.
- Capture childhood.
- Capture spirituality/religion.
- Interesting fashion choice (be respectful!)
- Formal attire.
- Machinery.
- Lens Flare: Intentionally include lens flare in your photos for an artistic effect.
- Extreme sports.
- A long corridor, alley, hallway, etc.
- Shallow depth of field.
- A team.
- A starry night.
- One color dominating most of the photo.
- Smoke/vapor.
- Old car next to its newer model.
- Freeze high speed (dog catching a frisbee, someone running).
- Long exposure: find a dark area and shoot a long exposure while you use a small light to “draw” pictures in the air.
- Playing in the sand.
- An interesting color, pattern, design, etc.
- A “perfect” triangle”
- Easy: Something green.
- Stepping into or out of a large shadow (building, tree, etc.)
- Use a “worse” camera for the day.
- People trying to get out of the rain.
- People coming inside from the heat.
- Someone applying makeup in front of a mirror.
- Easy: Your mobile phone.
- A “perfect” sphere or circle.
- New love (be respectful).
- Someone who looks deep in thought.
- Someone learning.
- Someone who looks like an expert.
- A place where you go to find solitude/peace.
- Face wrinkles.
- Evidence of “someone’s been here!”
- Symmetry in Nature: Find and photograph natural symmetry, like leaves, flowers, or landscapes.
- Interesting eye color (no photoshop!)
- Interesting hair color (no photoshop!)
- Something flying in front of or near the moon.
- Something being used for something it wasn’t made for (a shoe being used as a door stopper, trash bag as a car window).
- Excitement.
- Someone littering next to a trash bin (be safe!)
- Take a picture of someone taking a picture.
- Long exposure: a car driving by at night, making its headlights/taillights look like red or white streaks.
- Bus stop.
- People or animals playing.
- Something that made you say “ew!” out loud.
- A “first” anything.
- Leading lines.
- Easy: Something red.
- An object used to create art.
- Parallel lines.
- A “perfect” square.
- Things that look like letters of the alphabet (actual letters don’t count).
- A sign, and what it’s about, in the same photo (example: a car stopped at a stop sign).
- A sign, and what it’s prohibiting, in the same photo (example: someone loitering near a no loitering sign– be safe!)
- Take a picture like you normally would, but focus on the background instead of the foreground.
- Texture.
- Industrial/factory.
- A community event.
- Photograph from the perspective of another species: Try to imagine how a bird or an insect might see the world.
- A group/crowd photo where only one person is looking at the camera.
- Intersecting lines.
- someone flexing their muscles.
- A historical, or iconic landmark or location.
- Fireworks!
- A footprint left in snow, mud, cement (oops!)
- Urban Decay: Focus on the beauty in decay within urban environments (make sure to respect private property).
- A tunnel, or something that looks like a tunnel
- Easy: a photo taken inside your home. It doesn’t matter how or where, as long as it’s inside.
- A line or formation of people, objects, animals, etc.
- Friendship.
- Shopping!
- A musical performance (indoor or outdoor stage, on a street corner, in a home, etc).
- Easy: at least one cloud in the sky.
- “Competition.”
- Someone making a mess.
- Someone cleaning.
- Minimalist photography: Use as few elements as possible to convey a concept.
- Someone taking a break/resting.
- Recreate a photo that’s over 5 years old.
- Find a photo you like (from a magazine, online, poster, etc.) and recreate it with your own style!
- Man “takings its place” over nature!
- Nature “taking its place” back!
- Food photography.
- A beautiful landscape.
- An animal’s home.
- A series of shadows: Photograph shadows cast by different objects or people throughout the day.
- Someone “creating art.”
- Someone journaling.
- Something from your childhood, or that reminds you of your childhood.
- A creative, lazy, inadequate or simply fascinating repair.
- A rope.
- People studying.
- Remnants of a “former life.”
- Forced perspective: Make objects appear to interact in fun or unexpected ways through perspective.
- Emergency services (fire, police, search & rescue, etc.)
- Multiple photos: “we’re the same.”
- Twins or people matching.
- Something that looks like something else (a branch that looks like a hand, a building that looks like a spaceship, etc.)
- Find 2 signs that together form a new phrase or meaning.
- Frost or snow.
- “Oops!”
- Something that attracted a crowd.
- Something forgotten.
- Bricks.
- A Day in the Life: Document 24 hours in someone’s life, capturing moments from waking up to going to sleep.
- Repeating patterns or textures found in buildings or structures.
- Use string lights.
- Naturally occurring (not man-made) symmetry.
- A permanent mistake.
- “Everything is organized.”
- “Everything is organized, except for that one… and it bothers me.”
- Easy: Any photo of your choice to celebrate getting halfway through the challenge.
- A fence or boundary dividing 2 things.
- “I’m tired.”
- Someone using their imagination.
- Claustrophobia.
- A wide open space (if you’re claustrophobic, you’re welcome).
- The end/completion of a journey.
- Something that made you say, “wait… that’s not real.”
- Take a low angle photo of something very tall.
- Good eye: Find a frequently photographed location, and take a picture from a unique angle that no one else is using.
- A photo of a photographer taking a photo.
- Public transport.
- An empty parking lot, with a single vehicle.
- An abandoned building (be legal, be safe).
- A Farm/barn.
- Street Art: Photograph murals, graffiti, or any form of public art that catches your eye.
- An abandoned object.
- A well lit, properly exposed photo with almost no shadows.
- A properly exposed photo, that’s almost all shadow.
- Through a window.
- Someone jumping, but make it look like they’re flying.
- The golden hour: Shoot only during the hour before sunset or after sunrise.
- A golden hour portrait.
- Pouring rain (keep your camera dry!)
- A mid day, direct sunlight portrait.
- Someone walking in the opposite direction of the rest of the crowd.
- “Waiting.”
- A flashlight shining through the dark.
- Use a light source (or multiple) with a colored tint to it.
- Talent.
- Family tradition.
- Capture 3 or more style of shoes in the same photo.
- Something very cold.
- Something very hot.
- Something you can almost smell through the photo.
- Something special to you.
- “There’s a story here, I just know it.”
- Someone making a face after eating something (sour, gross, delicious, etc).
- Your favorite food.
- A toy/model/figurine and the real thing in the same photo.
- A small object and something big that it looks like, in the same photo.
- Water pouring.
- Food that’s gone bad. (please, don’t waste it on purpose!)
- A photo of a photo.
- “One of these is not like the others.”
- Sports car.
- New growth.
- Blue feathers.
- Fading away.
- Shoot “wide open” (aperture = f/as low a number as your lens allows)
- Someone walking away from the camera.
- Freeze high speed (dog catching a frisbee, someone running).
- Combine as many ideas as possible in one photo.
- Trying a new food!
- Easy: the ceiling of where you sleep.
- Cozy.
- Good eye: Capture a photo of sound.
- A photo you were going to discard, but found an unexpected interesting detail that made you keep it.
- “Not dressed for the occasion.”
- Medicine cabinet (be mindful of sensitive/identifying information)
- The household “junk drawer”
- Worn out from repetitive use.
- Cover up: An unsuccessful attempt at covering something up. It still shows through!
- Staying up too late.
- Getting up too early.
- Scarcity.
- Sun beams.
- Celebrations: Capture the joy and energy of various celebrations or festivals in your community.
- A sequence of images that tell a story.
- Defined in one word: Futility.
- Riding a bicycle.
- Something big, protecting something small.
- Something bright and something dark in the same photo.
- Your favorite clothing.
- Time-lapse: Create sequences of a subject changing over time (like clouds moving or flowers blooming).
- Create a composite: Use Photoshop or similar software to combine elements from different photos into one surreal image.
- Capture interesting shadows cast by objects or people.
- Your favorite brand.
- Supporting pillars.
- Something warped out of shape.
- Something warped/distorted by a reflective surface.
- Light creating a rainbow through glass or a prism.
- Use a magnifying glass in your photo.
- Abstract photography: Focus on shapes, colors, and forms to create non-representational art.
- A metal chain.
- An interesting hairstyle.
- “So close, yet so far.”
- Something beautiful.
- Take a long exposure photo of a large mountain, tree, building, etc and capture a starry night sky.
- Easy: Something blue.
- “That’s the wrong color.”
- Take a close up photo of something, so that it looks like something else. (Have others try to guess what it is!)
- Forced perspective. (look up examples for inspiration!)
- The horizon.
- A perfectly straight line.
- Light shining through something.
- Contrast in Colors: Find scenes where there’s a stark contrast between colors, like red against green.
- A natural object, that resembles something man-made.
- Clothing style from your favorite decade.
- Leaves turning color
- Stairs.
- Skipping stones over a body of water.
- A “what are the chances…” photo
- HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography: Capture different exposures of the same scene to blend them for more detail in shadows and highlights. The blend can be captured in-camera or using an editor.
- Photograph a dream you had: Try to recreate or represent elements from your dreams.
- Art in decay: Find beauty in dilapidated or abandoned places.
- From Above: Use a high vantage point for a bird’s-eye view of landscapes or events.
- Less is more: Focus on simplicity and negative space.
- Include home decor in your photo.
- A giant version of something.
- Recreate a scene from a movie, show or book.
- Somewhere you’re visiting for the first time.
- Silhouette: Capture the subject(s) against a bright background to outline their shape.
- Cloudy sky.
- Cloudless sky.
- Someone practicing, training or rehearsing.
- Composition: Rule of Thirds.
- Pareidolia: “It looks like a face, but it isn’t a face.”
- Align your photo to the eyes of your subject, even if the rest of the shot looks tilted.
- Time passing by quickly.
- Time passing by slowly.
- A big smile.
- Hands at Work: Focus on hands performing tasks, showing the detail and skill involved.
- Aging Hands: Two or more sets of hands, of varying ages, in the same shot.
- Double exposure: Combine two photos in one to create a new image (this can be done in post-processing with an editor if not available in-camera).
- Conflict. (be safe)
- Good eye: Something no one else seems to notice.
- A surface that has been covered with stickers.
- A unique mode of transportation.
- An oasis (figuratively or literally).
- Take a picture of your photography equipment (use your phone if you use a dedicated camera, or borrow someone else’s for the photo.
- Have someone that you can trust take a picture of you, with your camera (it doesn’t have to show your face!)
- Find a wall with a nice solid color, texture or pattern, and capture a photo of someone who’s clothes you think go well with that wall.
- Vacation.
- Beauty that’s gone unnoticed.
- The Invisible: Capture moments or scenes that are often overlooked by others, like the underside of a bridge or the back of a building.
- Photobomb.
- A path well traveled.
- Current state of affairs.
- Behind the Scenes: Capture the preparation or setup of an event or performance.
- Someone spreading positivity.
- A person in uniform.
- Holiday(s).
- Life in Monochrome: Dedicate a day to seeing the world in black, white, and shades of grey.
- Someone reading a newspaper.
- Someone walking in harsh weather.
- A reflective surface that’s not a mirror or still water.
- Night life (be safe).
- Light painting: Use a flashlight or other light sources to “paint” in long exposure shots at night.
- “Where is everyone?”
- Local wildlife.
- Environmental Portrait: Someone in an environment that tells a story about who they are or what they do.
- “One foot in, one foot out.”
- They don’t make them like they used to: something you think remains superior to the modern versions.
- Group photo.
- Portrait of someone at various focal (zoom) lengths. Pick the ones you like.
- Use costumes.
- Transform everyday items: Use lighting, angles, or composition to turn ordinary objects into extraordinary subjects.
- Long exposure.
- Double exposure.
- Sunset/sunrise.
- Use a neutral density filter or shoot through sunglasses.
- Shoot in aperture priority.
- Shoot in shutter priority.
- Shoot full manual.
- Capture different skin tones and complexions.
- Ask someone you just met if you can take a portrait of them (Introverts, you’re welcome).
- A photo you took unintentionally, but you were pleased with the results.
- Good eye: Find a crooked object and align your shot to the object to make it look straight and everything else crooked.
- “Consumerism.”
- A protest or activism (be safe!)
- A new haircut.
- Flowers.
- Abstract Reflections: Look for abstract patterns in reflective surfaces like cars, windows, or chrome objects.
- Lightning (be safe!)
- Air pollution.
- Harvesting.
- An object shaped like another object. (clouds, puddles, stains, etc).
- Fashion that’s making a comeback.
- Hobbies.
- Use light with a warm glow in a low light portrait.
- Take a photo of something pretty, then get a second macro photo of that same thing, exposing “flaws.” (Maybe don’t try this with a person as your subject).
- Abundance.
- Loneliness.
- Good eye: a typo on a sign.
- Use a magnifying glass, peephole, binoculars, telescope to modify your perspective.
- Take a photo of a reflection, but in a way that you can’t really tell it’s a reflection.
- Fitness/athleticism.
- A club/association.
- Find an example of product photography on an advertisement and recreate it or create your own version.
- Same as above, but use an old, worn out product.
- A wedding.
- An elderly couple.
- Something placed where it doesn’t belong.
- A moment of silence: Capture a scene where silence is palpable.
- A pattern in nature: Leaves, scales, or waves.
- A photo that tells a story: Without words, let the image convey a narrative.
- Juxtaposition: Place two contrasting elements together in one frame (e.g., old vs. new).
- A celebration: Any kind of celebration, from a birthday to a festival.
- Capture light trails from vehicles or stars.
- Panorama: Create a wide scene or stitch multiple photos together. This would require a photo editor.
- Something unfinished or in progress.
- Textures Close-Up: Focus on the texture of materials like wood, fabric, or metal.