Sharpen Your Photography Skills, Knowledge and Passion

Welcome to week 23 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Urban Decay An unusual photography genre that stemmed from urban exploration (UrbEx), urban decay photography embodies the idea that there’s beauty in everything. There’s a story to tell even in abandoned places and old, deteriorating buildings. If you’re up for that challenge, this is right up your alley. Since these locations are often not the first to come to mind for many photographers, some consider this an acquired taste. Apart from the [...]

Welcome to week 22 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Symmetry Symmetry is one of the most popular photography techniques primarily because it’s pleasing to the eye. We are naturally drawn to symmetrical or near-mirror compositions because of their clean, harmonious, and balanced visual aesthetics. For this week’s challenge, your task is to use horizontal, vertical, radial, or reflective symmetry to create stunning images. There are plenty of locations, scenes, and situations where you can apply symmetry in your compositions. But most [...]

Welcome to week 21 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Forced Perspective Feeling extra creative and experimental this week? How about taking on this week’s forced perspective photography challenge? With this technique, you can make clever use of optical illusion to make your subjects look smaller, bigger, closer, or further away. If you’ve ever seen travel photos where tourists are pushing at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, holding the tip of the Eiffel Tower, or cupping the sun as it’s setting, those [...]

Welcome to week 20 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Patterns and Textures Photographing patterns and textures is one of the most effective ways to exercise your eye for detail and observation skills. You can find interesting patterns and textures everywhere, both in nature and man-made spaces. They come in different shapes, sizes, and colors, and may stand out on their own or complement the main subjects of your photo. In this challenge, your job is to make patterns and textures the [...]

Welcome to week 19 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Negative Space Negative space or white space refers to the empty space surrounding and between the subject/s or visual components of an image. It’s a term typically used in art and design, but is also a useful concept for photography, particularly for minimalist approaches to the craft. When skillfully done, you’ll be able to both draw the viewer’s attention to your subject and the vast emptiness that envelops it. The key to [...]

Welcome to week 18 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Portrait Photography One of the most popular genres, portrait photography involves capturing the identity, character, and personality of your subject. If you want to take it up a notch, you can even use portraits to tell a story. To do this, you’ll need to skillfully and creatively use lighting, posing, locations, and backgrounds. The right equipment will help you get the best results, but having the right mindset, vision, and goals is [...]

Welcome to week 17 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Architecture As the term suggests, architectural photography is all about photographing buildings and similar structures in an aesthetically pleasing and accurate manner. Because interesting buildings are everywhere, it’s one of the most popular and accessible genres to get into. Also, it’s not limited to capturing the exterior of a building. Showcasing building interiors and their stunning details is also part of architectural photography. Interest or appreciation for stunning architectural structures and impressive [...]

Welcome to week 16 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Panorama Panoramic photography, also sometimes called wide format photography, provides a unique perspective that photographers can use to show a more expansive view of a scene. While the usual image formats represent a small portion of a bigger picture, panoramas serve as a more dramatic way to showcase the beauty of sweeping scenes. It’s also a versatile technique that you can use for various subjects or settings, such landscapes, cityscapes, and architecture. [...]

Welcome to week 14 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Black & White Black and white photography is a classic and timeless genre that emphasizes contrast, texture, and composition over color. By removing the distraction of color, black and white images allow the viewer to focus on other elements of the photo, such as light, shadows, shapes, and forms. This type of photography can convey a range of tones and emotions, often resulting in powerful and evocative imagery. For further reading on [...]

Welcome to week 13 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge!  Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Abstract Abstract photography captures elements of a subject that may not be immediately recognizable, emphasizing shape, form, color, pattern, and texture. It explores surreal and thought-provoking imagery by disregarding traditional representation.  Techniques include using macro lenses, playing with light, capturing motion blur, and experimenting with angles. For more insights, check out the many articles and inspiration on Photofocus or check out 5 tips for beginners from depositphotos. The Scoop: Submissions will be [...]

Welcome to week 12 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Food Food photography composition focuses on artfully arranging food to create visually appealing images, emphasizing key principles like focal points, balance with negative space, and applying compositional rules like the rule of thirds or golden ratio. The choice of lens, angle, and color usage also play a significant role in enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the food. For more detailed insights on food photography composition, read 12 Tips for Making Your Food [...]

Welcome to week 11 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Bokeh Bokeh in photography is the aesthetic quality of the blur in out-of-focus areas of an image, creating a soft, visually pleasing effect that highlights the main subject. Achieving bokeh involves using a wide aperture to create a shallow depth of field and positioning the subject at an appropriate distance from the background. For more information on bokeh in photography: Photofocus’ article with 5 tips for capturing the magic of Bokeh with [...]

Welcome to week 10 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Low Light/Night Low Light or Night Photography focuses on capturing images in environments with minimal lighting, often creating atmospheric and dramatic scenes. This genre requires careful consideration of camera settings, such as using a tripod for stability, choosing a wider aperture, and shooting in RAW format for better post-processing flexibility. For concise and detailed information on low light and night photography, you can explore these resources: Shotkit provides essential tips for low-light [...]