10 Winter Photography Projects.
Ideas to keep you inspired and motivated
This time of the year can be a difficult time to keep yourself motivated with photography so here are 10 Winter Photography Projects & Ideas
1. Do A Self Portrait – And I’m not talking the typical selfie
Ok, so you like to be this side of the camera but get to feel like what it’s like to be photographed. You could try different locations, indoors and outdoors, ti see what you come up with. Come on, here’s a great opportunity to use your self timer
2. Enter a Photographic Competition
There are always competitions going on, sometimes in your local area but also national and international competitions and some have some amazing prizes. As the saying goes “you’ve got to be in it to win it.”
3. Photograph a sunrise.
One of the best things about a winter sunrise is that it rises up pretty late (around 8am at the time of this post. Find somewhere that is photogenic like the coast, a river/canal, a field. Just rock up with your camera and tripod and then wait for the sun to come up. Take plenty of shots. If you have a graduated filter that will give you even greater photographs
4. Visit a Photographic Exhibition or even an Art Gallery
If you want to get inspired check out the work of others photography. Seeing large prints on the wall not only looks fantastic but it will get your creative juices flowing
5. Grab some gear at a bargain price on eBay.
It’s January so you’re going to find extra second hand bargains on eBay. Set yourself a relatively modest budget of around £20 to £50 and see what you can find on eBay, local charity shops or some of the Buy & Sell pages on Facebook. Once you’ve grabbed your bargain you can have hours of fun trying it out.
6. Take some night photos by Moonlight.
Yes, you’re going to have to wrap up for this one but it will be worth it. You will need your tripod, a camera with B (bulb) setting and also a remote shutter release… and quite a bit of patience! The challenge is to just use the moon as you main light source. This could be of a rural scene, a cityscape or of a single building or tree. Set you camera to f/8. The exposure required will vary depending on the moon (full, half, quarter). But start with 5-8 minutes (hence why you need the remote release) and check for your results. If only a quarter moon it may have to be up to an hour or more – I did say you will need some patience J
7. Print out some of your photographs and create a portfolio
I bet you have plenty of images on your computer and you may also have a great web gallery but unless you carry your tablet or Smartphone it’s hard to share it person to person. Buy yourself a nice portfolio case and put together a portfolio of A4 or A3 mounted photographs
7. 365 Photography Project. Take a photo a day
Why not set yourself a project to take a landscape or cityscape scene every day for a whole year. You can upload your results to the many ‘365 Photography’ groups available online and on Facebook.
8. Brush up on your Post Production / Photoshop Skills
If getting outside really isn’t for you then why not use your time to improve you post production techniques. Admittedly the manual you probably got with the software can be very difficult to understand but there are plenty on online tutorials available on YouTube. Some of the videos are better than others but you will soon find a certain style
9. Tidy up your Image Files on your computer.
Again, another one for those who prefer to be indoors. Although it may not be exciting it is a good to have a systematic order. Here is a simple system that I use. So for a couple’s wedding I did on 5th January 2014 it would be stored as follows /photographs/weddings/2014/14 01 05 Jan & Neil Smith.
10. Make the most of the cold
With the frosty morning, and in some areas possible snow on its way why not make the most of it to capture some winter-themed landscapes or abstracts. This could include ice patterns, reflections in puddles, frosty cobwebs etc
If you have any other suggestions for a winter photography project please leave a comment below.
Jeff
