25 photography goals and photo challenge ideas, from a daily photo to a first exhibition

Photography goals for beginners

Beginner goals are about taking the camera out and learning what each control does.

• Take one photo on purpose every day for 30 days.
• Shoot in manual mode for a whole week.
• Take 50 photos of one subject from different angles.
• Learn what aperture, shutter speed and ISO do, with 10 test shots each.
• Go on one photo walk a week for 2 months.

Photo challenge ideas

A photo challenge is a day count or a week count with one picture as the proof.

• Do a 365 project: one photo a day for a year.
• Do a 52 week project: one theme a week for a year.
• Shoot 30 days with one lens and no zoom.
• Shoot 30 days in black and white.
• Photograph one colour a day for 2 weeks.

Camera skill and light goals

Skill goals are small experiments you repeat until the result is no longer a surprise. Seeing light and shape is the same training you get from art goals.

• Photograph the same place at sunrise, at noon and at sunset.
• Take 20 sharp photos of moving subjects.
• Take 10 portraits by window light.
• Shoot one roll of 36 frames with no deleting and no checking the screen.
• Make 10 night photos on a tripod.

Portrait and people goals

People goals are less about the camera than about asking.

• Photograph 50 strangers, with their permission.
• Make one portrait of every person in your family.
• Shoot one event for a friend from start to finish.
• Take 10 portraits where the person is not looking at the camera.
• Photograph one person once a month for a year.

Editing, printing and sharing goals

Sharing goals finish the picture. Posting on a schedule is its own discipline, and content creator goals cover it.

• Choose your 12 best photos of the year, one a month.
• Edit and export 5 photos a week for 2 months.
• Print 10 photos and hang them.
• Make one photo book.
• Show your photos in one local exhibition.

What is a good photography goal?

A good photography goal counts pictures you make, not reactions you get. A review of 35 years of goal research found that specific, hard goals lead to higher performance than being told to do your best. "Take better photos" is vague. "50 portraits of strangers by December" is specific and hard.

Limits make good goals. One lens, one colour, one subject, one roll with no deleting. A limit turns a walk with a camera into an exercise with a result you can compare.

Then look at the work. Once a week, pick the one photo that worked and write down why. That is all a weekly review is, and it is where the daily shooting turns into learning.

How to track photography goals

Tick off the day once the photo is taken. A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and that recording it beat keeping it in your head.

A photo a day is a day count, and a full year of it is a 365 day challenge. Portraits, prints and edited photos are amounts that add up.

A 365 project is long enough to lose track of. A picture that fills up one photo at a time shows you the year, while your camera roll only shows you today.

Frequently asked questions

What are some photo challenge ideas?

One photo a day for a year. One theme a week for 52 weeks. 30 days with one lens. 30 days in black and white. 50 portraits of strangers. Each one is a simple count with a picture as the proof.

What are good photography goals for beginners?

One photo on purpose every day for 30 days, and one week in manual mode. The daily photo builds the habit of looking. The week in manual teaches you what the controls do.

What is a 365 project?

Taking and keeping one photo every day for a year. The count is the whole challenge: 365 days, 365 photos. If a year feels too long, a 52 week project asks for one photo a week.