Are you currently in a creative rut? Itching to pick up your camera but can’t decide what to point it at? This guide is here to help. Below you’ll find over 40 photo ideas, broken into categories to spark inspiration for both standalone images and deeper series. Bookmark this page for the next time you’re staring at your gear, wondering what to make!
One-Shot Prompts (Standalone Photos)
- A reflection in something other than a mirror
- The view from the ground (lie down and shoot upward)
- Hands doing something (braiding, painting, fixing, cooking)
- A scene framed by a window or doorway
- Movement blur from a crowd or passerby
- Contrasting textures (e.g. velvet and stone)
- A pet or animal from its own eye level
- A scene lit only by screen light (TV, phone, laptop)
- Still life with items from your fridge
- A stranger’s silhouette in golden hour
- A meaningful object with a shallow depth of field
- A piece of street art and someone interacting with it
- The mess on your floor, beautifully lit
- A portrait lit by something unconventional (a candle, flashlight, neon sign)
- A collection of one type of item (e.g. all your mugs, shoes, or sunglasses)
- A quiet moment between two people
- Rain on glass, with a story behind it
- An accidental still life (found, not arranged)
- A childhood object, aged and worn
- A stranger’s shadow overlapping your own
Ideas for Photo Series or Projects
- One Street, One Story: Photograph the same street every day for a week. Notice changes in light, people, and rhythm.
- Daily Rituals: Document small daily routines—yours or someone else’s. Focus on gesture, repetition, and atmosphere.
- Hands of a Craftsperson: Capture a local artist or worker’s hands through each step of their craft.
- Found Text: Only photograph words you find on signs, receipts, napkins, etc. Tell a story through them.
- Before/After Light: Pick a single location and shoot it in the morning and again at dusk.
- The Edge of Things: Only photograph borders. Where light hits shadow, nature meets concrete, or the end of one object begins another.
- People + Their Spaces: Portraits of people in the environment where they feel most at home.
- Objects with Stories: Photograph old or sentimental objects, and write a caption with their history.
- Back of the Head: A portrait series taken from behind. Leave the viewer to imagine the subject’s story.
- One Colour, Many Scenes: Choose a single color and photograph every place you find it for a week.
Conceptual & Creative Prompts
- A photo with no visible people that still feels emotional
- A double exposure (in-camera or digitally created)
- A scene that plays with symmetry or mirrors
- Juxtapose old and new (e.g., an iPhone in an antique setting)
- Capture a photo with only shadows and no subjects
- Photograph something that feels like a secret
- Show time passing in one frame (e.g., motion blur, long exposure)
- Photograph through an object (glass, plastic, water)
- Tell a joke through a still image
- Make a portrait without showing the subject’s face
- Take a photo that only makes sense after you explain it
Bonus: A DIY Idea Generator
Combine three random elements from this list to create your own prompt:
- A color (blue, rust, gold)
- A setting (kitchen, bus stop, alley, forest)
- An emotion (nostalgia, tension, calm, curiosity)
Example: Blue + alley + tension → Could be a photo of a crumpled blue jacket abandoned in an alleyway.
Want more exercises like this? Subscribe to the newsletter for weekly photo challenges.
If you’d like a printable version of this full prompt list to hang in your workspace, just get in touch!
MELISSA MARTINSEN 