Be a Super Awesome Photographer

Description

Here are 20 super awesome photo challenges, each inspired by legendary photographers and their iconic styles. These challenges will push your creativity, encourage experimentation, and help you learn from the masters:

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### 1. **Street Photography Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson**
– **Challenge**: Capture the “decisive moment” in a busy urban environment. Look for fleeting moments where everything aligns perfectly.
– **Tip**: Focus on capturing emotion and movement in candid, unscripted moments.

### 2. **Black and White Minimalism Inspired by Ansel Adams**
– **Challenge**: Take a landscape or nature photo using only black and white, focusing on contrast and texture.
– **Tip**: Pay attention to lighting and shadows to create depth in the absence of color.

### 3. **Self-Portrait Inspired by Cindy Sherman**
– **Challenge**: Create a self-portrait where you take on a completely different character or role, experimenting with costumes, makeup, and lighting.
– **Tip**: Play with identity, gender, and narrative to tell a story.

### 4. **High Contrast Portraiture Inspired by Richard Avedon**
– **Challenge**: Take a black-and-white portrait with high contrast, using dramatic lighting to highlight the subject’s features.
– **Tip**: Position your subject against a stark white or black background to intensify the effect.

### 5. **Architectural Lines Inspired by Zaha Hadid and Iwan Baan**
– **Challenge**: Find a modern building or structure and capture its curves, angles, and geometric lines.
– **Tip**: Use symmetry and reflections to emphasize the design elements of the architecture.

### 6. **Environmental Portrait Inspired by Dorothea Lange**
– **Challenge**: Photograph a subject in their natural environment, telling a story about their life, work, or personality.
– **Tip**: Incorporate background elements that offer context about the person’s daily life.

### 7. **Dreamy Light and Soft Focus Inspired by Julia Margaret Cameron**
– **Challenge**: Create ethereal, dream-like portraits with soft focus and glowing light, often using long exposures or manual defocusing.
– **Tip**: Use diffused light sources or backlighting for a glowing effect.

### 8. **Abstract Shadows Inspired by Man Ray**
– **Challenge**: Focus on shadows, light patterns, and reflections to create abstract compositions.
– **Tip**: Experiment with unusual light sources and angles to cast intriguing shadow shapes.

### 9. **Telling a Story with a Single Image Inspired by Steve McCurry**
– **Challenge**: Capture an image that conveys a deep narrative, like McCurry’s famous *Afghan Girl* portrait.
– **Tip**: Look for expressive eyes, powerful body language, and meaningful context to tell a story.

### 10. **Close-Up Nature Inspired by Eliot Porter**
– **Challenge**: Photograph the intricate details of plants, flowers, or natural textures.
– **Tip**: Use macro lenses or zoom in on small, often overlooked subjects in nature.

### 11. **Reflection Photography Inspired by Andreas Gursky**
– **Challenge**: Capture reflections, either in water, glass, or mirrors, to create complex compositions.
– **Tip**: Play with symmetry and multiple reflections to add depth and interest.

### 12. **Underwater Photography Inspired by David Doubilet**
– **Challenge**: Shoot underwater, capturing marine life or abstract forms beneath the surface.
– **Tip**: Use a waterproof camera or housing, and make sure your lighting is effective in the underwater environment.

### 13. **Surrealism Inspired by Man Ray or Salvador Dalí (Photographic Art)**
– **Challenge**: Create a surrealistic photograph by combining multiple elements, either digitally or with in-camera techniques.
– **Tip**: Use props, unusual compositions, or double exposures to create dreamlike imagery.

### 14. **Color in Motion Inspired by Alex Webb**
– **Challenge**: Photograph a scene where motion is key, like dancers, runners, or vehicles in motion, with vivid color contrasts.
– **Tip**: Use a slow shutter speed to blur movement or freeze action with a fast shutter speed.

### 15. **The Beauty of Decay Inspired by Edward Weston**
– **Challenge**: Explore the beauty of decaying or weathered objects—whether it’s rust, peeling paint, or abandoned places.
– **Tip**: Focus on textures and the interplay between light and shadow in these scenes.

### 16. **Candid Moments Inspired by Vivian Maier**
– **Challenge**: Capture unposed, spontaneous moments in everyday life, reflecting the humanity of your subjects.
– **Tip**: Be patient, observe your surroundings, and photograph people in natural, unguarded moments.

### 17. **Fine Art Nude Inspired by Helmut Newton**
– **Challenge**: Create an elegant and artistic nude or semi-nude photograph that emphasizes form and composition.
– **Tip**: Focus on lighting, shadows, and shapes rather than explicit detail.

### 18. **Still Life Inspired by Irving Penn**
– **Challenge**: Create a perfectly composed still life, focusing on lighting, texture, and form.
– **Tip**: Experiment with both natural and artificial light to bring out the textures in everyday objects.

### 19. **Pictorialism Inspired by Alfred Stieglitz**
– **Challenge**: Use soft focus, unusual compositions, and a dreamy, artistic style to capture your subject.
– **Tip**: Embrace an old-school, fine-art photography approach with a focus on mood rather than technical perfection.

### 20. **Motion Blur and Time-Lapse Inspired by Gjon Mili**
– **Challenge**: Use motion blur creatively in your photos—whether it’s a dancer in mid-movement or the blur of a fast-moving object.
– **Tip**: Experiment with long-exposure shots or time-lapse techniques to capture movement over time.

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Each of these challenges invites you to experiment with different styles and techniques, helping you grow as a photographer while drawing inspiration from some of the greatest names in the art. Have fun capturing your own masterpieces!