If you are obliged to stay close to home, either through illness or maybe a bad weather day, here’s a challenge that doesn’t need superhuman strength or feline superpowers that I hope will keep you busy. It might also get you up on your feet for a few healthy stretches.
The mission for you and your camera, wherever you are in the world and whatever the season is some fun, and maybe a little excitement. Ready for some lightweight skill building? Let’s go!
A cat photo scavenger hunt!
A Scavenger Hunt is a game in which the organiser prepares a list of specific items, which the participants seek to gather or complete all items on the list, usually without purchasing them.
Wikipedia
Fun Photo Scavenger Hunt Ideas
Set yourself a limit. Maybe you will do five, or three, or a dozen photographs.
Look for subjects around your home (or garden). The aim is to find inspiring cats and things to photograph, and look at them in a different way. You can find things that look ordinary and transform them into something different or unrecgnisable by looking for different angles.
- Photograph your cat by thinking differently. Try a super close-up, from above or on the ground.
- Try a cat accessories ‘still life’ without your cat. No cat of your own? That’s fine pick another object close to your heart.
- Want a change? Try a family treasure. An ornament, a precious piece of costume jewellery or a fun coffee mug you got for Christmas. A graduation cap in black and white, a favourite cat bed.
- Try a single object. How close can you get? What difference does lighting make? Have you tried black and white? Anything casting a strong shadow can be amazing. Is your object a favourite cat toy, or a much-loved blanket that will look fabulous in black and white? If you want to try close-ups take trial shots to see how close you can get.
How close you can get depends on your camera. How close can you get before a smartphone gets blurry? Do you have a DSLR and a nifty-fifty prime lens?
A camera is moved during the exposure for a creative or artistic effect. This causes the image focus points to move across the recording medium, producing an apparent streaking in the resulting image.
ICM Wiki
Shooting Suggestions
If you are not sure where to start, here is a list of fun tips to kickstart your photographic creativity. These work for every camera from a mirrorless to a smartphone or compact.
- Fill the frame with a super close-up pet portrait.
- Take a black and white photograph, or a colour and change it with a filter.
- Get down at ground level for a cat’s eye view of life.
- Move the camera as you press the shutterand to see what happens. This has a name ‘intentional camera movement‘ and it might surprise you.
- Capture a Tongue Out Tuesday candid moment.
- Shoot upwards for a different point of view.
- Use a filter. Make the photos of your challenge into a work of art.
Scavenger Hunt Tips
I have camera posts that will inspire you click through the links.
- Camera Skills Page
- Black and White Photos for Beginners
- Cat Close-up Photography
That spiderweb photo is so cool! I just completed a photography class, my first one, and We tried a lot of these techniques. I really like Fill the frame photos, I hadn’t done those before. This is a great challenge!
These are great ideas!
I Loooove this idea! How fun! And it can be done with dogs, too! I love those gorgeous pics, especially that first close-up. Great fun for kids learning photography to do when home on break, too! Sharing!
This is a fun idea! I would really like to try this challenge. I’m going to mark it down and when I get a few free moments, I’m going to give it a whirl with Henry. It might just be the kick in the backside. Thanks for always being the kick I need, Marjorie!
What fun ideas! Would have been great during the long days of ‘lockdown’!
One of our sons had to do a similar project when he took a camera class in high school.
Interesting projects for future household excursions!
Thanks for joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop! (4th try)
Got you Brian!!!
Love the idea of the photo challenge, especially for folks to keep busy around the house. We need the distraction! I hope you get lots of great entries.ac
Sounds like fun! I love challenges like this because I feel like they help me see familiar subjects in new ways, which can make for much more interesting photos. Thanks for sharing.
Hi-‘
Love the idea of a picture scavenger hunt. But I am afraid my artistic skills are lacking. Hopefully, by applying some of your tips I can improve some. Wish me luck.
Thanks for sharing.
Happyoodles
Don’t let limiting beliefs hold you back, you can take awesome pictures! Check my beginner’s course and page!
guyz !!!!! we haz knot vizited in 85 yeerz; though 83 yeerz oh thoz we waz offline coz de gurl waz knot at werk; { we sneek round blogland frum her werk pea sea !!! } we saw thiz post N said what a FUN awesum eye dea…we hope itz knot two late ta join in…we hope evereee onez happee, healthee & livin large & in charge…..bee well, stay well anda happee week oh end two all 🙂 ♥♥
You are welcome to join any time tabbies 🙂
awesome. our emails sometimes go to spam because of our “speech”. look for our first try in a few minutes. it may come through as da tabbies or dude K 😺
What a fun project to do when humans are stuck at home. Our mom is starting to research new cameras.
A photographic scavenger hunt? How fun!
Happy Wednesday, Marjorie. Hope all is well with you! 🙂
I think I’ll hunt for a nap later on!
LOL Good move Brian!
Those are all great tips. I love experimenting with different angles of snapping Athena using my iPhone.