2021 Edition

In the next year we will challenge ourselves as photographers and artists. Setting goals is the first step in that journey. Right now in this moment think about what you'd like to achieve. Are you hoping to get better at portraits? Maybe you want to be able to document your travels more coherently? Maybe you just want to give yourself a new hobby and artistic outlet.

For our first week, set a goal and make a photograph which shares and documents that goal. We will revisit this midway through and at the end of the year.

We're going to start by recalibrating a bit. Whether you just finished out the 2020 prompts with me, or you're jumping in for the first time, it's beneficial to begin with a clear mind. So, for this week, I'd like you to choose an every day object - something you see regularly, but maybe don't put a lot of thought into. Take that object and photograph it in a way which showcases its unseen importance. You can go as far as to stage it entirely, or just take a photo of it in its natural habitat. The main goal here is to look at it with fresh eyes.

Similar to last week, we're going to explore a space which is maybe overlooked on any given day. Choose a room in your home and try and show its personality in one photo. This doesn't need to be a sweeping wide-angle view of the entire space - maybe it's one corner of the space that sums it up entirely. Want to play this one on hard mode? Choose a less-lived in space, something like the bathroom or kitchen, where maybe there are fewer bits of decoration.

This is one of my all-time favorite exercises, but the first time I'm including it in the prompts. It's a bit involved, so stay with me. Choose one day this week where you will document the entire day - from the moment you wake up, to the moment you go to sleep. Aim to take at least one photo every hour. At the end, cull it down to no more than 10 photos which tell the story of your day. Then, choose just one hero photo which sums it up in its entirety.

Now I know not everyone has studio lights or even an on camera flash. But guess what, artificial light is any light that isn't natural. That could be your desk lamp, the neons of your local bodega, street lights, anything that isn't that fiery ball of gas in the sky. For this challenge I'd like you to focus on artificial light you can have some control over, however.

High Key photography refers to images in which the shadows are bright to non-existent. High key photos are very bright and often have an airy or etherial feeling. They may also be just bright and stark. Using either artificial or natural light, make a high key photograph.

As you may have guessed, Low Key photography is the opposite of last week's prompt. In low key images, the tones are darker and shadows are more present overall. Low key photos may read mysterious, graphic, etc. For this week, manipulate the scene to create a low key photograph.

Controlling natural light can be daunting as it is at first thought, well, uncontrollable. But, spoilers! You can control natural light. Find open shade, use a reflector/poster board, create shadows with your own hand. The possibilities are as boundless as your creativity.

Strong shadows can create very graphic and strong images. For this week, I'd like you to find harsh shadows created by natural light, and compose an image around that. You may manipulate the scene in any way available to you to create the image you have in mind, but try and use found natural light if possible.

Flat light creates images with very little contrast. Often we are told to avoid flat lighting in our images, but there is a time and place for everything. Forcing yourself to make an interesting photo with disinteresting light will be a challenge and a learning experience. Focus on other elements like composition, subject, story, etc.

Colors which sit next to each other on the color wheel and share similar colors are known as analogous colors: reds with oranges, purples with blues, greens with yellows, and so on. For this week, I'd like you to make a photo where the most dominate colors are analogous to one another.

Contrary to analogous colors, complementary sit opposite each other on the color wheel. These pairings are often seen in logos for sports teams, as they just look good together. Some examples would be Christmas colors (red & green), the NY Mets (orange & blue). Complementary colors often help create balance in an image. This week, you should find or create a scene which utilizes complimentary colors as its dominate colors.

While you may be familiar with monochrome referring to black and white, it actually refers to anything which uses solely one color value. Those images you see where there is overwhelmingly one color present are monochrome, for all intents and purposes. We see this technique often in those hazy sunrise/set shots, but it is also a very impactful technique for street shots.

The next three weeks are based on a little trick I often share with my students struggling with composition. When looking at a scene, if you're unsure of how to compose for that image, unfocus your eyes - instead of seeing a field with a tree, notice the textures of the scene. That isn't grass, it's soft individual elements coming together. That isn't a tree, but large pointy object made up of smaller pointy objects.

For this week, try this technique out, and find some texture in a scene. Then compose the image to highlight that texture.

Continuing with the little trick I often share with my students struggling with composition. When looking at a scene, if you're unsure of how to compose for that image, unfocus your eyes - instead of seeing a cityscape, notice the shapes of the scene. That isn't a tall building, it's a large skinny rectangle. That isn't a street, but a curved line cutting through the scene.

For this week, try this technique out, and find shapes in a scene. Then compose the image to highlight those shapes.

Again, based on the trick I often share with my students struggling with composition. When looking at a scene, if you're unsure of how to compose for that image, unfocus your eyes - instead of seeing a yard with a fence, notice the patterns of the scene. That isn't a hedge, it's a repeating pattern of small circles. That isn't a fence, but repeating lines.

For this week, try this technique out, and find some pattern in a scene. Then compose the image to highlight that pattern.

Discussing visual weight can be hard to articulate, but when we are aware of it, it becomes extremely noticeable. Here's another time when the unfocusing of eyes really comes in handy. Unfocus on a scene, does it just feel heavy on one side? You're going to need a lesser-element to counterweight the subject element. That balancing element should be obviously of lesser-import either by making it smaller or more out of focus than the subject. An intentional balancing element can also create more context in a scene.

There are absolutely times when what seems like unnecessary empty space is ideal for the photograph you're attempting. Negative space can elicit a feeling of solitude, vastness, calm, etc. When trying out negative space think about where you are placing the subject very carefully. Do you want to highlight the surroundings? Maybe placing the subject off-center within the rule of thirds is the way to go. Are you more interested in showcasing the emptiness around a subject? Try a more center-weighted composition. When done properly, negative space is an incredibly useful tool for showing atmosphere.

When the brain processes even numbered elements, it tends to couple them up, which in turn splits the image. But, with an odd number it creates a connecting element and maintains the singularity of the frame. Please note that the word "element" here doesn't necessarily mean a single object - sometimes an element can be a grouping. For example, a bouquet of flowers, a couple sitting together, a bottle of wine with a glass in tow, etc. For added compositional zen, when framing these elements do decide which is the primary subject, and balance the others off of it by making one physically larger than the other or playing with the depth of field.

We're halfway through! Congrats on making it this far! How are you going on your initial goal from week one? Often times challenges like this one will lead you off your initial track and make you reevaluate what your goal is. On the other hand, you may have become even more dedicated to your original goal. Both are okay!

The image this week should be a revisit of that original goal. If you want to do a full-on remake of the original, that's great! If you'd prefer to start over with a whole new vision, also great!

People (and animals!) more often that not freeze up when aware that a lens is pointed at them. Get those natural expressions by photographing a candid moment.

Let's do portraits! Find a willing model (yes, your dog will do just fine) and work to capture their personality in the image. Pay attention to lighting, posing, and environment.

Oh no. The dreaded self-portrait. Listen, I'm the first to hate having the lens turned on myself. That said, years back I forced myself to become comfortable with it by doing a 365 day self-portrait project. And I learnt a lot. For this week you are the subject. Be as literal or creative with this as you'd like.

Scale is simply showing the viewer how large something is (or isn't). By using an element which everyone knows the size of, you can show the viewer the immensity or puniness of an element. Common usages may be a person being completely dwarfed by a large building, thereby showing that building is impressively large. You can play this the other way, as well.

The part of view that is closest to an observer is the foreground. The background is what's furthest away from the observer. What's in between is the mid-ground. By showcasing multiple layers in a frame, a photographer can give a sense of breadth of a location. If there's no specific foreground of a scene, you can create one. Be creative and try different angles to get solid differential fore, mid, and backgrounds. When doing this, you should make a choice as to where you're placing your subject and make depth of field choices based around that.

If you're unsure of how to effectively capture a scene, it may be because there are many distracting elements or unnecessary empty bits. Try filling the frame with your intended subject. This isolates the subject and makes it very obvious to the viewer. Don't be afraid to get really close, either. Be completely unapologetic about your attempt to fill the frame. Combine this technique with patterns for a really dynamic shot.

Show your home - your immaculate interior decorating skills, your fat cat, a collection you've carefully curated, etc. We're looking for an image here that tells us a little bit about yourself via a piece of your home. Like we did early in the year, try and show the ordinary in a new way, either with angles, lighting, or staging.

So we've seen where you're most comfortable (your home), let's now explore a new space for you. It could be an area of your city where you've never ventured, or maybe you're lucky enough to be going some place entirely new this week. As you're seeing this place with entirely fresh eyes, think about what it is that compels you about that scene and try and create an image which highlights that.

Whether it be a crowded city street, or a quaint neighborhood diner's sign, there's something unique about where you live. Find that element of interest and highlight it with either context or isolation.

Humans love symmetry - something about the balance it creates is just inherently pleasing to the eye. For this week, make an image which utilizes symmetry - either the entire image, or an element of the image.

Yes, we know symmetry is pleasing, but can asymmetry be as well? But, of course! Try it out for yourself - make an unbalanced, asymmetric image. Same as last week, it can be the entire image, or an element of the image.

Stop a bird, plane, or even Superman in their tracks with just this one easy step! Using a fast shutter speed will freeze motion. No need to worry about those shaky hands, nor do you need a fancy tripod/stable surface.

Find a moving subject and stop its motion with a fast shutter speed. Can't control your shutter speed? No problem! Take this opportunity to think creatively. How else can you freeze motion?

Light trails, blurred commuters, soft water. Just a few ways to show motion. How do we do it? With a slow shutter speed. You'll need a steady hand, tripod, or just a solid surface to keep the camera still.

Find a moving subject and show its motion with a slower shutter speed. Can't control your shutter speed? No problem! Take this opportunity to think creatively. How else can you show motion?

I'm going to give you little guidance on this one because I want you to interpret it as you will. Do you read this as still life, the artistic genre? Maybe as life being still. Maybe life still going on. However you read this, you do you.

We've been at this for almost an entire year. I'm sure you've been put in situations which are out of your element already. For this week, I want that to be very intentional. Photograph a genre you aren't comfortable with or in a style entirely different than what you're used to. Just push yourself to get out of your comfort zone this week.

You may feel that you don't have a distinct voice just yet, and that's entirely okay! It takes years to truly nail down your voice, and most artists find that their voice is constantly changing. What do you think is integral to your voice at this moment? Is it how you use color, or the subjects you choose? Whatever it is, show it with this week's image.

Inspiration comes from countless places. I often pull inspiration from films, for example. Some may find inspiration in nature or music. Think about what's inspired you lately and create an image that is an homage to that. Share with us what that inspiration was and how you interpreted it.

Explore something new you learned in the past year of weekly prompts and create an image with that new skill in mind.

We've made it! 52 weeks later! Let's revisit those initial goals. How did you fare? Are you feeling more confident in your own work? More focused in where you want to go from here? I hope it was a year of growth, new photography friends, and inspiration.

For our final image, we're going to create the image from either week one or week 26 (your choice!) I'd also love it if you accompanied that image with something you've gained from this experience. Congrats on making it through!