It’s “Challenge Week,” in this episode of the Perceptive Photographer, so I am outlining five tasks designed to refresh and inspire your approach to your work. Each challenge ranges in difficulty and is not necessarily organized from easiest to hardest, as presented in the podcast, as everyone’s perspective on what’s challenging varies. But I hope each one can shift a perception or rekindle a creative spark if you feel a little stuck.

The first challenge is crafting project statements. I’m asking you to write three project statements, each one or two paragraphs at most, to help organize some photographic projects or initiate a new project you have only thought about. 

Challenge number two is about generosity and the power of giving away ten prints. The purpose of this is to select images you value enough to share and think about a deeper connection to what truly matters in your work as you share it.

The third challenge involves taking 25 existing images and cropping them into new aspect ratios, which hopefully pushes you to consider alternative compositional frames. This practice can dramatically shift your approach to capturing images in the future.

In the fourth challenge of the week, I am challenging you to title 50 currently untitled images. Crafting suitable titles can often be as challenging as taking the photos themselves, but it’s part of the process that adds depth to our work.

The last challenge starts with building a collection of 100 images that seem to fit together. This exercise emphasizes the importance of identifying what makes each photograph unique and also different. You are looking for the common threads that tie them together, using your own photographs as a feedback loop for growth.

Before we get into the topic just a save the date note for the Lightroom Virtual Summit 2024 for May 20 through May 24. This will be a free week packed with Lightroom training. These sessions are going to be invaluable for anyone looking to enhance their photo processing and organizational skills with this tool.

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One of the questions I get asked frequently is what sort of equipment do I use to record my podcast. I have used a variety of equipment in the years that I have been recording, but here is the current list of equipment that I am using. Also as an FYI and full disclosure, the links are affiliate links to Amazon.