Like with any good relationship, that with your camera needs to stay fresh and exciting. It is easy to find yourself in a rut, thinking, “I don’t think I can take one more picture of a flower!”

When I first began taking photos, it was mostly of my daughter. I wanted a camera fast enough to capture the quickness of a toddler and was happy with my Nikon D-40 DSLR. I soon found myself in a rut and needed a new subject to shoot because, even though my daughter is a cutie, having thousands of pictures of her was enough.
After searching through different photo sharing sites on the web I found different groups dedicated to photo projects and challenges.

On Flickr.com there is a group that gives you a weekly photo challenge, called “Fun Pictures with Kids.”

Some past challenges: “Little Olympians” and “Full-On Meltdowns”

These challenges can open up a whole new area of photography.

A child’s tantrum can turn into a great picture.

It is also a reminder of how those cute little kids can turn on you at any moment!
If children are not your subject, or if, like me, you are trying to branch out from taking pictures of kids, there are other kinds of challenges and projects.

A project can be as simple as an “ABC Challenge.”

Try to take one photo for each letter of the alphabet.

This can be as simple as candles for “C”

…or a bit more complex like this lost sign for “L”

There are photo groups for almost anything. One of the most interesting that I found was the “League of the Empty Chair” where members have posted over 9,000 beautiful pictures of empty chairs.

If empty chairs don’t interest you here are some other ideas for photo challenges:
• Neon signs can be fun, colorful and give you some practice at nighttime photography.
• You can photograph what you eat. Food can be colorful and full of texture.
• Pick your favorite color and take pictures of items you find in that color
• Turn the camera on yourself. Try to capture your different emotions.

These challenges and projects can be worked at your own pace. They are great ways to explore different kinds of photography, and best of all they can be fun!

I challenge you to take on one of the four items I listed above, and show me your results on our forum!


Elissa (aka Punk Rock Mom) is a blogger, wife, mother, knitter, photographer, a Scorpio and all around cool person. You can follow the adventures of Punk Rock Dad, Punk Rock Mom and The Phi at Punk Rock Parents.