dPS Bi-Weekly Photo Challenge – Something New

What’s he on about NOW? ‘Something New’ what does that even mean… Well, I’ve got a large list of photography techniques for you, below, and you need to pick one* that you’ve never tried before and make a photograph (single image for each technique) using one new technique that you’ve never used.

You need to say which technique you’ve chosen with each photograph.

*You can pick up to three and do a single image for each technique!
**If you’ve done ALL of the 25 techniques below, choose one and make a photo.

Make sure you include the hashtags #dPSWeeklyChallenge and #dPSSomethingNew in your post, here in the comments or over on social media. You can tag us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!

1. Rule of Thirds: Divide your frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically, placing your subject on or near the intersection points for a more balanced composition.
2. Leading Lines: Use lines or patterns in the environment to lead the viewer’s eye towards the main subject.
3. Framing: Utilize natural elements like archways, trees, or windows to frame your subject, adding depth and focus.
4. Depth of Field: Adjust your aperture to control the depth of field, creating a blurred background (shallow depth of field) or sharp background (deep depth of field).
5. Bokeh: Achieve a pleasing, out-of-focus background by using a wide aperture (low f-stop number) and focusing on the subject.
6. Long Exposure: Capture moving subjects with long exposure times to create motion blur or smooth water and clouds.
7. High-Speed Photography: Freeze fast-moving subjects using a fast shutter speed.
8. Silhouettes: Shoot against a bright background to create striking silhouettes of your subject.
9. Golden Hour: Take advantage of the warm, soft light during the hour after sunrise and before sunset for beautiful outdoor shots.
   
   Great list so far! More below…
   
10. Blue Hour: Capture the magical blue hues in the sky during the hour before sunrise and after sunset.
11. Light Painting: Use long exposure and a light source (flashlight, sparkler, etc.) to “paint” light onto the scene.
12. Multiple Exposures: Combine several exposures in-camera or in post-processing to create unique and artistic images.
13. Panning: Follow a moving subject with your camera, using a slow shutter speed, to create a sharp subject against a blurred background.
14. High Key/Low Key: Experiment with high key (bright and mostly white) or low key (dark and mostly black) lighting setups for different moods.
15. Reflections: Incorporate reflections from water, glass, or other surfaces to add interest and complexity to your composition.
16. Selective Focus: Draw attention to your subject by using a wide aperture to blur the background while keeping your subject sharp.
17. Forced Perspective: Play with the size and distance of objects to create optical illusions and surreal images.
18. HDR (High Dynamic Range): Combine multiple exposures to capture a broader range of highlights and shadows, especially in high-contrast scenes.
19. Double Exposure: Overlay two images to create a dreamy and artistic effect.
20. Light Trails: Shoot moving lights, such as car headlights or city lights, at night to create mesmerizing light trails.
21. Infrared Photography: Use an infrared filter or a converted camera to capture the invisible infrared light spectrum, resulting in surreal and ethereal images.
22. Macro Photography: Capture extreme close-ups of small subjects to reveal intricate details not visible to the naked eye.
23. Candid Photography: Capture authentic and spontaneous moments by photographing people when they are unaware of the camera.
24. Environmental Portraits: Photograph subjects in their natural surroundings to tell a story about their lives and personalities.
25. High-Contrast Black and White: Experiment with bold and dramatic black-and-white photography by emphasizing strong contrasts.

Great list! I’m certainly going to be trying a few of them.

Make sure you include the hashtags #dPSWeeklyChallenge and #dPSSomethingNew in your post, here in the comments or over on social media. You can tag us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!

Find all of our previous weekly challenges here.

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favourite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.