Top Photography Ideas to Try in 2021

If you’re looking to get out of your comfort zone or you’re simply stuck when it comes to photography, we’ve got good news for you. We’ve gathered some fun suggestions to help uninspired photographers get out of the rut. 

So, if you’re interested in trying out something new, hopefully, this list of top photography ideas will help you make 2021 your year.

Look Into Local Events

One of the easiest ideas to implement is exploring local events. Almost all towns and cities have yearly events or fireworks, which might prove to be a good foundation for expanding your range. Look for sports and seasonal activities that can inspire you to test new settings on your camera and offer opportunities to create something beautiful.

However, before you start, it is recommended to check out free photography contract templates by HoneyBook in case you need them. For example, if you want to photograph someone’s private property, you should make sure you can use those photographs later on without getting into legal trouble.

Try Out Various Genres

If you’re strictly into one photography genre, now is the time to spice things up. For instance, if you prefer portraits, experiment with the landscape. Or, if you love snapping photos of babies, opt for architectural photography. You can even dip your toes into more challenging and time-consuming photography genres, like microscope photography, astrophotography, underwater photography, and similar.

If that sounds like a bit of a stretch to you, you can stay within your preferred genre but branch out within it. For example, if you love taking animal photos, why not switch from puppies and kittens to wildlife and practice shooting insects and birds instead of bunnies and hamsters. You can do a lot even by stepping one foot outside of your comfort zone.

Photo-A-Day Challenge

Have you ever done a photography challenge? If not, 2021 is the year to do it. One of the best ways to push yourself and your photography skills further is to do a photo-a-day challenge. If you can’t manage that, make it a photo-a-week challenge.

These challenges typically come with themes, so essentially, you’ll deliver 365 or 52 photos with numerous themes. For example, the first theme might be black-and-white, the second one could be shadows, the third architecture, etc. The goal is to make sure you take at least one good photo each day or week.

You can create the challenge themes yourself or find them online here.

Experiment With Settings

Both spoken and unspoken rules of photography might sometimes limit our creativity. That’s why we should challenge them. Naturally, plenty of wrong camera settings simply won’t work with traditional photos. However, you never know what you could discover until you start trying new things.

So, next time when you’re bored and don’t know where to go with your photography journey — experiment. Select the “wrong” camera settings and try shooting the same subject numerous times. Do a whole photography session with different lenses and post-processing styles. Whether or not the results are satisfactory, you’ll have tried something new.

Practice Abstract Photography

A great thing about abstract photography is that you don’t even have to leave your house to do it. Similar to microphotography, you’ll be able to enjoy it wherever you are. All you have to do is look at the world a bit differently. What makes these photographs so flexible is that they’re made of nothing else but light, shadows, shapes, and color. So, just look hard, and you’ll be able to find abstract subjects to photograph almost anywhere.

Look Through Your Old Photos

Sometimes, you can create something brilliant from something old. Go through your old photos and see what you’ve missed. You might find inspiration to recreate something and make it better or more unique. Another great idea is to take updated portrait photographs if you already have some and create an interesting time-lapse. Try to make side-by-side comparisons to see how much you’ve improved.

On the other hand, you could discover some hidden treasures you’ve forgotten about and add them to your portfolio.