Photo Project Ideas

Coming up with photo project ideas is difficult for someone who is new to digital photography or who has recently switched from 35mm film to digital. However, by working on an educational project or two, you can polish your picture taking and photo editing skills to create images that you are proud to display in your home.

Take better pictures by doing educational photography projects.

Move beyond snapping beginner's photographs using the automatic setting on your digital camera. While most beginners are not ready for experimental photography techniques, they can work their way to advanced applications by trying one of the following skill-building projects:

• Black and White Photography: Change the setting on your camera from color to black and white. Take one photograph in color, the other in black and white. Do this for a variety of subjects. When you download them to your computer, compare how certain subjects may look better in the grayscale image than the colored and vice-versa. In addititon, you can improve your black and white photography technique by retaking some of the photos using different lighting and composition.

• Nature Photography: Work on taking photographs outside. Try taking action photographs of animals along with plant life and scenery. Take three or four shots of the same subjects, each with different camera settings and from different positions. For example, consider adjusting your shutter speed when you photograph a squirrel scampering or switch to the micro setting to take close-up photographs of flower petals.

• Portrait Photography: Taking someone's photograph is not as easy as it sounds. Learn how to pose groups for your own family photo or how to add a soft appearance to a headshot.

Amateur photographers who have moved beyond the photo project ideas listed above may want to try their hand at something more difficult. Digital camera technology often allows users to switch between various photo formats. Learn what is raw format in digital photography, JPEG vs. GIF and what TIFF stands for in order to become a more skilled photographer. By learning which format is best for your skills and needs, you can take the best pictures using your digital camera.

Virtually every digital camera comes with an editing package. If not, you can always find free photo editing software online. The best digital photographs usually need little editing; however, until your skill level improves, you may need to alter your photos. Intermediate to advanced photographers can do editing projects to change the appearance of their photographs in unique ways.

The following are basic editing skills beginner photographers use:

• Cropping
• Resizing
• Red-eye reduction
• Increasing highlights
• Decreasing shadows
• Working with midtones
• Contrast and saturation
• Tinting

To make each of these a project, look for five to ten digital photographs that need work. Try to do each of the edits listed above in order to improve the look of the photograph. Use the "undo" option if you don't like the results.

More advanced photo editing projects often require familiarity with editing and the particular program you are using. The options vary depending on the software being used, but most programs allow advanced users to attempt the following:

• Create artistic strokes
• Flip the image
• Trace around certain parts and move them in the photo
• Cover blemishes
• Correct skin tone
• Copy sections of the photograph into other sections of the photograph
• Erase parts of the photo
• Add text boxes, borders and graphics

Most photography editing programs go far beyond the list above. Try your hand at these edits by practicing on frame worthy photographs. The better the photo is to begin with, the better your edited results will be.

Once you have learned how to take better pictures and edit them, you can create projects worthy of display. Consider the following decorative projects:

• Shoot a nature series, focusing on a single flower over the course of the day. Take a photograph from the same spot every hour. Make a slideshow to show the progression of the flower head opening and closing.

• Take a series of extreme close-up photographs of someone's face. Integrate the smaller photographs into a larger, abstract version of a portrait photograph.

• Create a mural project of important life events. Snap close-up black and white or sepia photographs of objects from major life events, such as a close-up of a baby's hospital wristband, a graduation tassel or the embroidery on a wedding dress. Blow them up and hang them in a hallway.

Theses photo project ideas are just a few to get you started on your photography journey. Begin by honing your picture taking and editing skills through educational projects. After you have mastered both your camera and editing program, you will be able to create projects worthy of display in your own home.

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