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 demonstrates that goal. We will revisit this midway through and at the end of the year.
Let's see what makes you tick. Make a photo that shows what you love - you can be as concrete or abstract with this as you'd like. For example, if you're a musician, you can take a photo of your instrument (concrete), or maybe a long exposure of someone dancing (abstract). Try and highlight what makes this your passion so that a viewer can interpret your love and respect for whatever it is.
She's best known for photographing The Beatles in their Hamburg days. Her love and passion reads so clearly through her photographs, and always made viewers feel that love. That's something worth aspiring to with your own work - make your viewers feel what you feel when you took the photo.
For this week, take some time to look through Astrid's work, and pull anything from it that inspires you.
Something a lot of photographers struggle with is inspiration. This often manifests from the mundane droll of everyday life. To that I say: that's your everyday life, and what may be uninspiring to you may be fascinating to another. All our life experiences are different. So to recalibrate a little, find something that you interact with every day (thing, place, person, animal, etc.) and photograph that. Try photographing it from at least ten different angles, play with lighting. Choose the one best from what you've created and share that.
This is one of my all-time favorite exercises. 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.
Edward Hopper is known for his slice of life paintings. An expert in realism, Hopper creates scenes of everyday life in a captivating and thought-provoking way.
This week look over Hopper's images and draw inspiration from subdued drama, creating an image which shows the normal in a captivating way.
Get yourself outdoors and try out some of that beautiful natural light. Try different times of the day and weather conditions. You can retreat deep into the nearest forest, head to a desolate beach, or simply lean out your window - whatever is available to you, just get that camera out from the inside.
High noon is one of the more despised times of day for many photographers. The sun is, well, high, and that light is harsh, but remember, with harsh light come harsh shadows, maybe intentional lens flare, artfully blown out highlights, etc. Have fun experimenting with conditions you may not be comfortable with. Make the light work for you, not you having to work around it.
Fan Ho was not afraid of strong light and shadows - his work bent whatever light was given to him in graphic and compositionally unique ways. His depiction of everyday life was elevated to fine art with silhouettes, rim lighting, and bright backlit glows around his subjects.
Really soak in Fan Ho's strong compositions and use them for inspiration for this week's photo.
Color theory is something I'm extremely passionate about. For this week, I want you to focus on color as an abstract - that isn't to say make an abstract photo, unless you want to. What I mean is just have it in the forefront of your mind.
This week you should pick one color scheme and utilize it in your image. As a reminder, some basic schemes include: complementary, analogous, and monochrome. If you want to get a bit more advanced, explore other schemes such as compound, triad, or split complementary.
Known for his vibrant colors, Martin Parr's work documents the everyday in a hyper-real way. Often comical, his well placed colors heighten the scene from what may seem mundane to something with true character.
There are many compositional guidelines that photographers use to highlight different aspects of their images. Choose one which you'd like to try out for this week. Bonus points to anyone who also incorporates a specific color scheme.
In simplest terms, mise-en-scène is everything in front of the camera - composition, props, sets, costumes, people, literally everything visible. Being aware of every element in a scene gives one incredible control of what message is being portrayed to a viewer. For this week, notice everything in your photograph. If you can, stage the photograph and place and remove elements to further your message.
Watch at least one of his films this week and take note of how he places his actors, props, uses color, and costuming. This is where your inspiration will come for this week.
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, and try and showcase them in a way that is natural for them.
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.
Known for her self-portraits, Frida managed to create a renowned body of work using common themes, but with such a distinctness from one image to the other. Her voice was so defined that her work is some of the most recognizable.
We're coming up on the middle of the year. How has it been so far? Have you been able to keep up? Your prompt this week is to go back and find your one favorite and your one least favorite images from the challenge so far. Break down what it is that you like about the favorite, and what challenges you faced with the least favorite. Try and be extra critical, and if you're open to it, share them and ask for feedback from your peers.
For those who haven't been able to stay on top of the challenge, don't get down on yourself! Life happens, and priorities shift. Use this week as a catch up week.
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!
Time to play with artificial light! Your challenge this week is to use one artificial light and one only to light your image. You don't have to have any fancy set-up, a table lamp or the flashlight on your phone will do just fine. Subject is up to you, just no cheating with multiple light sources!
Some of the most interesting light comes from unconventional places - a bonfire, a TV set, headlights of a car, etc. For this week the main light source should be from something other than the sun or light bulbs. Be as creative as possible!
Probably the most famous silhouette is that of Alfred Hitchcock. A master of storytelling, he uses light and shadows to create tension and further the narrative. While watching a Hitchcock film, notice the lighting and how it's adding to the overall experience. This is your inspiration for this week.
It could be a novel, poem, short story, or even just a blog post. For this week I want you to pull inspiration from something you've recently read. Try and show the viewer something about the writing that spoke to you.
You can take this as literally or figuratively as you like. Think of a book character who stands out to you and use them as inspiration. You can dress up like them and flex those self portrait muscles, or depict their aura, if you will.
Poe has a very strong voice and aesthetic, and is digestible. If you haven't read any Poe, you can knock out a few of his poems in an hour. While you read his work, pay attention to the visuals coming to your mind and use those as a launching off point for this week's photo.
This week I want you to draw inspiration from either a film or a TV show you've recently watched. Notice what it is about the film or show that interests you and incorporate that into your photo this week.
There are so many stand out characters from film and TV, so you've got a lot to choose from here.
Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Dune. Choose one of his films, or study some stills from his films for your inspiration this week - pay attention to his use of scale and color.
This week, draw inspiration from a song of your choice. Is it a deep and meaningful song, or just one which makes you happy? Play off those emotions for your photo this week.
Music has a major affect on how we interact. If you don't normally photograph with music in the background, this is the week to try it out. Take note of what songs play and which images they line up with.
For this artist spotlight, choose any musician that you want to focus on for inspiration. Be sure to share with us who it is!
Reach out to a peer and ask for specific and constructive feedback on any of your images. Take that feedback and reimagine that image with their feedback in mind.
Giving feedback helps the recipient, of course, but it also helps you to dissect photographs in a constructive way, which strengthens your critical eye. With consent from a peer, give them constructive feedback on an image of their choice. Take note of what you've noticed and use those notes to create an image of your own.
Choose a peer to draw inspiration from. Choose one of their images and recreate it within your own voice. It doesn't have to be an exact replica, but an homage.
We've been at this for almost an entire year. For this week, 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! 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.
Who inspires you? It could be another photographer, a filmmaker, writer, musician, traditional artist, etc. Share with us who inspires you.
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 on 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 recreate 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!
Want the current year's prompts instead?
Back to the current 52 Weeks challenge