24 Photography Project Ideas for 2014

 Looking to improve your photos this year? Try one of the photography projects below. Committing yourself to a project will push you to think creatively and look at the world around you a little differently as you strive to complete you project. 

Choose one to focus on each month or try a few throughout the year as it fits your time frame. Just try it. Get out there and shoot! Here is to a year of improving by taking one more shot!

See through the Eyes of a Child
Take photos from the height of a child to see what their world looks like. Take photos of them as they play, take photos from their level looking up at siblings, the fridge, cars, or below the Christmas tree. 

Paws and Claws
Ever wondered what your pet sees as part of daily life? Here is a chance to find out. Similar to seeing through the eyes of a child try following your pet around on and off for a few days to see what life looks like with 4 legs. Take a picture from their favorite napping spot. Where do they eat? What do they see as they sit in their "spot" and look at you?

All about color
Choose one color and take photos of only items of that color for a week or month or weekly for the year. You'll be forced to get creative and notice the world around you. This one would be fun in the spring or fall as colors are coming back into the world and as leaves are changing.

So black so white
Take only photos that would look good black and white images. You'll soon find that lighting will play a big part in black and white images not just the subject and/or location of your photo.

Choose an Object
Shoes, road signs of a certain type, doors,  bridges, water, barns. Choose anything you like and stick with that subject matter for a few weeks or longer to see what type of collection you can put together and how the same object can be photographed in many different ways.

Shadows
Shadows can make some so so photos or some very interesting ones. Play around with angles, people, buildings, whatever you choose just remember to include the shadow.

One Lens Fits All
Use only a certain lens for a specified amount of time. For example try using a 50mm lens for 50 days and you'll be pushed out of your box as you learn to try new things without a zoom.

Fun Food
Chef or not there are dozens of places to take pictures of food. Birthday parties, Super Bowl parties, dinner, kids eating snacks, dinner in the making or dinner served. Try a week or two of just food pictures and see what you end up with. 

Movement
Work on catching the perfect shot in motion. Expirememt with shutter speed but also with following your moving subject with your camera as you take the picture as your subject flies by. Cars, birds, running/playing children. You may find the results are too your liking.

Time of day
Early riser? Take a series of shots in the early morning hours. Sunrises, jiggers, frost on car windows or blades of grass. Spend a month or the duration of your project capturing the world waking up. No time in your mornings? Do the opposite take shots as eh world is shutting down for the day. Sunsets, nightly routines, street lamps,

Sunrise...Sunset
Do your best to capture both sunrise and sunset for a specifies period. If there is not a sunrise or sunset to speak of becuase of lack of clouds or color get creative and find a way to capture it in another way.

Trick Photography
Spend some time looking around your world and finding ways to portray something happening that really is not. The following shot shows a boy "filling" his cup from a waterfall. Be creative. See what's out there.

Capture your "Normal"
What does a typical day look like for you? Spend the day with your camera from the moment you awake and capture unique shots of the first thigh you see when you wake up, your closet, getting ready for the day, breakfast, transportation, family or pets, etc you get the idea. A normal day would be fun as would a holiday such as your birthday, Easter, Valentines.

The Faces of Love
Love comes in many different shapes and sizes and shoes itself in a variety of ways. Focus on love and capture deeds, acts, and faces of those you love and those that love you.

Frozen in time
Winter can be a hard time to get creative. Depending upon your location he world around you may be frozen, covered in snow old or new, and show no signs of springtime life for several more months. Take advantage of the challenge and take on a frozen project. Icicles, frozen ponds or puddles, frost forming anywhere you can find it. I took the following shot by my garbage can when I saw a leaf frozen in the snow/ice from a recent storm. Taken from the right angle you would never know it was not a mountain shot.

Tiny Toes and Hands
If you have children or the opportunity and permission to take photos of children focus on the small details hat make these little ones adorable. Hands are especially busy in the life of toddlers and young children. Follow them around and do your best at capturing the things they just have to hold, touch, and feel.

Photo Within a Photo
Find a picture taken years ago and match it up with its same location to make another photo. This is best illustrated by example as sent below: this would be fun to do for a parent or grandparent anniversary project.

Childhood Photos Recreated
 Recreate an old photo from your child hood or at least ten years old. Take your photo with the same people, in similar clothing, and in the same pose.

Growing….Growing...Grown.
For most of us this would be a springtime project but you could do it anytime of year depending on your location and plants available to you. Spend time in your garden or a local park and capture the same or similar shots each day as a flower or plant is growing. At the end of your project place your photos together and you ll be able to see it grow before your eyes.

Classic 365
A photo a day of anything you may. Sounds simple enough right? This is more of a challenge than one would think but a great way to ensure you are using your camera daily and looking for unique shots in the world around you.

Let Us Find Letters
Walk into any craft store and you ll find a section with last names spelled out with "letters" from things all around you. Look for shapes and other objects that could be a letter. Make it your project to find all 26 letters of the alphabet.

Make the Most of a Mini/Forced Perspective Photography
I read an article not long ago about a photographer that used her child's small toys in a series of shots she took. She placed them at just the right angle for them to appear life sized. Below Michael Paul Smith does the same thing with replicas he builds by hand. Try this win a collectible that you have, a child s toy, or perhaps a favorite toy from your childhood. Make a quick trip to the local dollar store for a plastic dinosaur and see how many life like situations you can put him in.

http://naldzgraphics.net/photography/toy-cars-turned-to-real-cars-with-forced-perspective-photography/

Story Time
Create a story for yourself or a child by taking pictures and placing them in a photo book from one of a dozen companies hat make them. This might, scratch that his will take some creative planning on your part but will be well worth it. Use a favorite toy or location and take enough pictures that you can create a story with. 

For example, A day at the zoo, local museum, beach, or park, with their favorite stuffed toy. Take plenty of pictures during your outing and then tell the story from your words or theirs. Children will love seeing themselves incorporated into a real book or even just seeing their favorite toy. You could also span this project over the course of a year and make a book of all their favorite things or all of your favorite pictures from the year. There is something about seeing pictures in print rather than always on the screen of a computer.

Find a Hobby…. a Hobbyist that is. 
Find a hobbyist of any kind and ask to follow them during their chosen activity. Fishing, hiking, boating, crocheting, working on an old car. Flex your creative muscle and try to get as many unique shots as possible.