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10 Photo Assignments to Inspire and Challenge Your Skills

Liz Masoner is a professional photographer and she shares her tips and techniques on photo editing and how to photograph nature, portraits, and events with film and digital cameras. Liz has over 30 years of experience and she is the author of three books on photography.

The best way to learn photography is to practice, though sometimes you can get stuck in a rut and not know what to shoot. That is why photographers love assignments; they give us a purpose and an idea of what to photograph. 

Why Are Assignments Important?

Self-assignments are key to any photographer's growth. Even professionals with decades of experience will work on personal assignments that they may never get paid for. The goal of any self-assignment is to spur creativity, solve problems, learn new techniques, and challenge yourself.

As you start out in photography, you're probably filled with excitement and ready to shoot anything you can. That being said, sometimes a little direction and guidance are necessary.

Below, you will find ten photography assignments. Each covers a new topic, skill, or concept and they were chosen to help you learn how to see as a photographer. They are meant to be a personal challenge that you can complete at your own pace and with no outside judgment, simply as a means to practice and improve your photography. Hopefully, you will learn something new with each assignment and be able to use that in every photograph you take in the future.

Remember when composing your images to keep in mind the basics: the rule of thirds,  shutter speed , aperture,  depth of field , and  exposure .

Assignment #1: Up Close

This assignment encourages you to get close and personal with your subject. It is an exercise in viewing a common object in a new way and examining its finer details.

• Choose an object that you see or interact with every day.
• Focus on a small part of it, get as close as your camera will allow you to focus, and shoot away.
• Try to capture different angles and unusual lighting to add to the mystery of this tiny world.

From the whiskers of your cat to a fragile Christmas ornament, and even common soap bubbles, there is an entire world that we often overlook because we don't get close enough.

Assignment #2: Motion

Photography is a static medium which means that it doesn't move. Conveying a sense of motion is often crucial to capturing a scene or emotion and it is an essential skill for photographers to practice.

The goal of this exercise is to understand how shutter speeds can be used to convey motion.

• Choose a subject or series of subjects that will allow you to convey motion in your images.
• It can be slow motions, like that of a turtle, or fast motion, like a speeding train.
• Blur it, stop it, or simply suggest that there is motion in the photograph.

Challenge yourself to capture the same motion in different ways. For instance, you might go to a race track and stop the movement of the cars completely in one image, then leave the shutter open and allow them to blur out of the frame in the next. 

Assignment #3: Shadows

Shadows are everywhere and they are vital to photography because this is the art of capturing light. With light comes shadows and when you begin to look at shadows as a photographer, your world will open up.

• Take a look around for shadows and record them with your camera.
• You could show the shadow as the total focus of the image. Perhaps the shadow is incidental to the subject.
• Is the shadow natural or created by flash?

Shadows are integral to creating depth in a two-dimensional medium such as photography. Take some time to seriously explore the "dark side" of the light.

Assignment #4: Water

Water is everywhere in photography and it presents many challenges. There are reflections and movements to work with and in this exercise, you will take a deeper look at water.

• Find water anywhere: lakes, streams, puddles, even the glass on your kitchen table.
• Pay attention to reflections and use them to your advantage in the photographs. Use this opportunity to get familiar with a polarizing filter (a very useful tool in your camera kit) so you can accentuate or eliminate reflections.
• Play with the motion of a stream or the crashing waves. Notice the difference between stopping the flow of water and allowing it to blur to create a real sense of movement.

Be sure to make water the subject and not an accent to the image. Water alone is beautiful and mysterious and your challenge is to explore all of its potential as a subject.

Assignment #5: Leading Lines

A classic assignment in photography schools, 'leading lines ' is a popular and fun subject. The goal of this assignment is to learn how to direct the viewer to your subject using lines.

• Choose a subject then look around for lines in the scene that you can use to 'lead' the viewer to the subject. 
• Find an interesting line then determine what the subject of your photograph is.
• Remember that lines can be man-made or natural. For instance, the yellow line down the middle of the road or a tree branch. Even a person's arm can be a leading line of their face.

Use this assignment as an excuse to take an afternoon photo excursion. Walk downtown or in the woods and look around you for interesting lines that lead the eye to a subject. There is an amazing assortment of lines out there in the world and once you begin to see them, you won't be able to stop. 

Assignment #6: Perspective

How do you normally stand when you shoot? If your answer is straight up like a 5-foot-something human being then this assignment is for you. The perspective assignment challenges you to view the world from an entirely new perspective, which in turn gives the viewer a new look at the ordinary.

• Take another afternoon or evening for a photo excursion wherever you like.
• This time, every time you find something to photograph, stop!
• Ask yourself: How would a squirrel see that tree? How would a robin view that birdbath? How would a snake view that log?
• Take your photographs from very high or very low angles. Get on your belly or stand on a chair, whatever you have to (safely) do to get the 'right' angle on your subject.

If you pay attention to professional photographs, many of the images that have the WOW factor are photographed from extreme angles. People enjoy these photos because they've never seen an object from that viewpoint. It is new and unique, and you can train yourself to shoot with this in mind.

Assignment #7: Texture

You may have captured a few textural details in the 'Up Close' assignment, but this assignment takes that to the next level. The goal in this one is to study textures and forget about the object itself: the texture becomes the subject. You will also begin to realize how light affects the appearance of texture.

• Find a few objects that have very detailed textures like trees or rocks, even knit sweaters or woven rugs.
• Photograph them as close as your lens will allow.
• Use different angles and capture the same texture as the light changes. Notice how the different lighting directions and camera angles can change how much texture appears.

Textures are all around us and many of the best photographs in the world play up the textural element. This assignment should teach you how to recognize and accentuate those elements in your photos.

Assignment #8: Color Harmony

Color is important to photography because the world is full of color. This exercise requires a bit of study in color theory, which you will then put into practice in your photographs.

Do you remember art class in elementary school? You may have learned that yellow and blue make green, but color theory goes beyond that. There are cool and warm colors, complementary and contrasting colors, neutral colors, and bold colors.

It can get quite complicated, and photographers should have a basic understanding of color so you can use that when composing photographs. You don't have to study color like a painter would but can use tricks used by interior designers to influence your color decisions.

• Once you have an idea of color theory, take another photo excursion and put what you've learned into practice.
• Capture photographs with the primary or tertiary colors.
• Look for complementary colors then contrasting colors to photograph.
• Try finding a scene to photograph that is filled with neutral colors, then one that uses a bold color to 'pop' from the scene.

This is an advanced lesson, but one that any photographer working with color images will find useful. As you practice working with colors, it will become second nature and you will know how to work with color to change the feel of your images.

Assignment #9: Emotions

Take a photo of a person smiling or scowling, right? Not so. The intent of this assignment is to convey emotion in photographs  without  a face.

• Take photographs that express each of the basic emotions: happy, sad, and mad.
• How would you express the feeling of anger with no person? What about happiness? Sadness?

This is a purely conceptual assignment, but it is important to be able to relay emotion in your photographs and you might not always have a person available to do that with. Challenge yourself to think deeper about this one.

Assignment #10: Don't Look!

Are you ready to put your photography skills to the test? In today's world of digital cameras and the ability to see image captures right there on the LCD screen, photographers are losing some of the skills needed to visualize a photograph.

In this assignment, your challenge is to shoot as if you were using a film camera. That means that you will not look at the photographs you've taken until they are downloaded on your computer. Instead of relying on the camera's screen to see if you 'got the shot' you will rely on your instinct and knowledge, just like photographers did before digital photography. Can you do it?

• Plan a photo excursion to a particular location and permit yourself to photograph only 36 images (a roll of 35mm film).
• Turn off your camera's LCD screen so it does not show you the image after you have taken it.
• If you cannot turn off the camera's screen, cut a piece of thick paper and tape it over the screen. Use masking or painter's tape so you don't leave a residue on the back of your camera.
• Go out and shoot your 36 frames, thinking carefully about each image because you don't have an endless number of shots. Bonus points if you turn your camera to completely manual settings for focus and exposure.
• Don't peek at your photos until you get home and download them.

How did you do? Were you able to get good exposures on your own? How did it feel to be 'blind' and not know how your image turned out right away? 

This is similar to what it is like to shoot with film and it does require you to think harder about every image you take. Next time you shoot, slow down and pay attention, pretend that the screen is not there and rely on your own skills to create a great image. You will be a better photographer in the end.

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AP PHOTOS: 10 years after her killing, Anja Niedringhaus’ photos speak for her

FILE - A girl tries to peer through the holes of her burqa as she plays with other children in the old town of Kabul, Afghanistan, April 7, 2013. Despite Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus’ reputation as a war photographer, very often she found beauty and joy on assignment. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A girl tries to peer through the holes of her burqa as she plays with other children in the old town of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Despite Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus’ reputation as a war photographer, very often she found beauty and joy on assignment. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

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FILE - A picture of Afghan President Hamid Karzai hangs on a wall in the main room of the district municipality in eastern Kabul on Saturday, March 29, 2014, ahead of the April 5, 2014 election to choose a new president. Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus was best known as a conflict photographer. Her work helped define the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - An honor guard stands next to men who arrived to mourn the death of late Vice President Field Marshal Mohammed Qasim Fahim outside his house in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, March 10, 2014. The influential vice president, a leading commander in the alliance that fought the Taliban who was later accused with other warlords of targeting civilian areas during the country’s civil war, died March 9, 2014. He was 57. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A topless Ukrainian protester is arrested by Swiss police after climbing up a fence at the entrance to the center where the World Economic Forum is held in Davos, Switzerland Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. The activists are from the group Femen, which had become popular in Ukraine for staging small, half-naked protests against a range of issues including oppression of political opposition. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Serena Williams of the United States reacts after winning against Zheng Jie of China during a third round women’s singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Saturday, June 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A nomad kisses his young daughter while watching his herd in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Oct. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Britain’s Mohamed Farah celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the men’s 5000-meter final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - An umpire watches the ball as a match unfolds on Court 18, as seen through wooden slats, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Boys play soccer during a break at their school in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Pakistani children get ready for class at Malala Yousufzai’s old school in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan on Saturday, Oct 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A woman takes a dip in Lake Geneva at sunrise in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday, July 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Afghan Army soldiers gather at a training facility on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Injured U.S. Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after being lifted onto a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army’s Task Force Lift “Dust Off,” Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment on Saturday, June 4, 2011. Britt was wounded in an IED strike near Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. During his first operation in Afghanistan he suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A woman reacts while sitting in a taxi as different television networks call the presidential race for Barack Obama, in New York on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A young Afghan girl plays with a broken shovel outside her makeshift house at a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, May 10, 2013. Thousands of Afghans displaced by the war in their own country live in slum-like conditions in refugee camps on the edge of the capital. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Seen through the eye grid of a burqa, women walk through a market in Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, April 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A fruit seller lifts his son by his cheeks in the center of Kandahar, Afghanistan, Wednesday, March 12, 2014. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Children peek out of a bus as they leave school in Wajah Khiel, Swat Valley, Pakistan on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A child is administered a polio vaccination by a district health team worker outside a children’s hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Day laborer Zekrullah, 23, takes a break from preparing brick kilns at a factory on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Nov 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Journalists, including Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus, reflected in the window at lower center, surround the car of Bouthaina Shaaban, advisor to Syrian President Assad, as she leaves after meeting with the Syrian opposition at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Switzerland, Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. On April 4, 2014, outside a heavily guarded government compound in eastern Afghanistan, Niedringhaus was killed by an Afghan police officer as she sat in her car. She was 48 years old. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

If she had lived, there would have been so many more photos.

Anja could have gone to Kabul for the chaotic U.S. withdrawal, and to war-shattered Ukraine after the Russian invasion. She would have been at the Olympics, and at center court at Wimbledon. She would have been at all the places where compassionate photographers with trained eyes make it their business to be.

But on April 4, 2014, outside a heavily guarded government compound in eastern Afghanistan, Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed by an Afghan police officer as she sat in her car. She was 48 years old. Her colleague Kathy Gannon, who was sitting beside her, was badly wounded in the attack.

Anja had a convulsive laugh, a thick German accent and an irrepressible decency that elicited trust from the people on the other side of her lens. She trusted them back, making photographs that captured their struggle for humanity, even in some of the world’s most difficult places.

FILE - A picture of Afghan President Hamid Karzai hangs on a wall in the main room of the district municipality in eastern Kabul, Afghanistan, March 29, 2014, ahead of the April 5, 2014, election to choose a new president. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

The three of us became friends in Sarajevo in the early 1990s, when ethnic fighting was savaging the former Yugoslavia and a generation of young photojournalists came into their own. Anja was at the European Pressphoto Agency. We were at the AP.

But while Anja was fiercely competitive, she was also fiercely loyal. Soon we were sharing armored cars, unheated hotel rooms, games of Yahtzee and too many Marlboros.

At a time when women journalists were rare in war zones, Anja was best known as a conflict photographer. Her work helped define the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Some of the most memorable images from those dark pages in history — ones you might well recognize — came from her camera and her vision.

But Anja never made much out of being a woman surrounded by men. And to see only her conflict work would be a mistake.

FILE - An honor guard stands next to men who arrived to mourn the death of late Vice President Field Marshal Mohammed Qasim Fahim outside his house in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 10, 2014. The influential vice president, a leading commander in the alliance that fought the Taliban who was later accused with other warlords of targeting civilian areas during the country’s civil war, died March 9, 2014. He was 57. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

She was one of the great sports photographers, whether capturing Serena Williams jumping for joy after a Wimbledon victory or the immense smile of British runner Mohamed Farah as he takes Olympic gold in the 5,000-meter. She photographed everything from European elections to global summits. She mentored young photographers everywhere she went. She expertly told small stories of everyday life in dozens of countries.

And despite her reputation as a war photographer, very often she found beauty and joy on assignment — even in those difficult places where she spent so much time. And especially in the place where she ultimately lost her life.

Just look at her photos. She found joy in the moment when an Afghan nomad tenderly kissed his infant daughter, and happiness among Afghan girls finally able to go to school. She found beauty as a swimmer waded into Lake Geneva at sunrise.

She did it all. Now she is 10 years gone. And these images — the ones that were so important to her and so important to understanding a jumbled world — are what is left to speak for her.

FILE - A topless Ukrainian protester is arrested by Swiss police after climbing up a fence at the entrance to the center where the World Economic Forum is held in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 28, 2012. The activists are from the group Femen, which had become popular in Ukraine for staging small, half-naked protests against a range of issues including oppression of political opposition. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Serena Williams of the United States reacts after winning against Zheng Jie of China during a third round women’s singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, June 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A nomad kisses his young daughter while watching his herd in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Oct. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Britain’s Mohamed Farah celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the men’s 5000-meter final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - An umpire watches the ball as a match unfolds on Court 18, as seen through wooden slats, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Boys play soccer during a break at their school in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, Oct 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Pakistani children get ready for class at Malala Yousufzai’s old school in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan, Oct. 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A woman takes a dip in Lake Geneva at sunrise in Geneva, Switzerland, July 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Afghan Army soldiers gather at a training facility on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, May 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Injured U.S. Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after being lifted onto a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army’s Task Force Lift “Dust Off,” Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment, June 4, 2011. Britt was wounded in an IED strike near Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. During his first operation in Afghanistan he suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A woman reacts while sitting in a taxi as different television networks call the presidential race for Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A young Afghan girl plays with a broken shovel outside her makeshift house at a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Seen through the eye grid of a burqa, women walk through a market in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A fruit seller lifts his son by his cheeks in the center of Kandahar, Afghanistan, March 12, 2014. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Children peek out of a bus as they leave school in Wajah Khiel, Swat Valley, Pakistan, Oct. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - A child is administered a polio vaccination by a district health team worker outside a children’s hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, May 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Day laborer Zekrullah takes a break from preparing brick kilns at a factory on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - Journalists, including Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus, reflected in the window at lower center, surround the car of Bouthaina Shaaban, advisor to Syrian President Assad, as she leaves after meeting with the Syrian opposition at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 27, 2014. On April 4, 2014, outside a heavily guarded government compound in eastern Afghanistan, Niedringhaus was killed by an Afghan police officer as she sat in her car. She was 48 years old. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

Jacqueline Larma is deputy director of photography for special projects for The Associated Press. Enric Marti is deputy director of photography for enterprise. Both are veteran AP photographers.

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Comparing modern identification methods for wild bees: Metabarcoding and image-based morphological taxonomic assignment

With the decline of bee populations worldwide, studies determining current wild bee distributions and diversity are increasingly important. Wild bee identification is often completed by experienced taxonomists or by genetic analysis. The current study was designed to compare two methods of identification including: (1) morphological identification by experienced taxonomists using images of field-collected wild bees and (2) genetic analysis of composite bee legs (multiple taxa) using metabarcoding. Bees were collected from conservation grasslands in eastern Iowa in summer 2019 and identified to the lowest taxonomic unit using both methods. Sanger sequencing of individual wild bee legs was used as a positive control for metabarcoding. Morphological identification of bees using images resulted in 36 unique taxa among 22 genera, and >80% of Bombus specimens were identified to species. Metabarcoding was limited to genus-level assignments among 18 genera but resolved some morphologically similar genera. Metabarcoding did not consistently detect all genera in the composite samples, including kleptoparasitic bees. Sanger sequencing showed similar presence or absence detection results as metabarcoding but provided species-level identifications for cryptic species (i.e., Lasioglossum). Genus-specific detections were more frequent with morphological identification than metabarcoding, but certain genera such as Ceratina and Halictus were identified equally well with metabarcoding and morphology. Genera with proportionately less tissue in a composite sample were less likely to be detected using metabarcoding. Image-based methods were limited by image quality and visible morphological features, while genetic methods were limited by databases, primers, and amplification at target loci. This study shows how an image-based identification method compares with genetic techniques, and how in combination, the methods provide valuable genus- and species-level information for wild bees while preserving tissue for other analyses. These methods could be improved and transferred to a field setting to advance our understanding of wild bee distributions and to expedite conservation research.

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2024 Circuit of The Americas pit stall assignments

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series driver will pit for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Starting lineup | Weekend schedule | At-track photos

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