Photography Series Ideas

45 Photographic Series Ideas to Inspire

If you are taking your first steps in photography, then photo series projects will be a great start. You can concentrate on one goal and get a consistent series of creative photo ideas. By shooting conceptual photography series, you are growing as a photographer.

1. Take Two Photos to Tell a Story

If you want to tell a story or emphasize similarities, you can create a collage of two shots called a diptych.

This genre will be especially interesting for those who like experimenting with contrasting themes, colors, and various design solutions. Take a look around and you will find many cool photographic series ideas for your diptychs.

You can use elements of architecture, people's faces, nature, various emotions and feelings as the basis for your photo projects.

2. Use Captions or Drawings

If you like to document fleeting moments and write stories, then adding text to your pictures will be a great solution. It can be friends' signatures, wedding capions for photos, quotes, some kind of memory, etc. If typography is not your thing, then try to write ordinary scribbles.

One of the most interesting photography project ideas is to draw things in interaction with the people you shoot. For example, when making a photo series for a family album, you can draw a cartoon character talking to the children.

• Check out more Instagram photo ideas.

3. Take Photos of the Same Place in Every Season

Another good idea is to shoot the same place at different time periods. This can be a bit challenging since you have to photograph the subject under various conditions.

Capture the subject over a long period of time. The longer it takes, the more brilliant the results you get. It can be either one day (for smaller projects) or a whole year.

• Learn more about landscape photography.

4. Capture Different Periods of Your Pet’s Growth

Pets change so fast. That’s why a cool series of photography can be dedicated to the life of your kitten, parrot, puppy, or other pet. Such series of pictures take a long period of time, but the results will be pleasing you for years to come.

5. Shoot Photos of Photos

Take a photo of a photo to emphasize the surroundings. It is absolutely simple: to save money on developing photos, you can use digital pictures. Take Polaroid shots or printed photos to illustrate the changes in a person, create surreal scenes, or show the beauty of your favorite locations.

This type of series photography will help you create peculiar optical illusions and experiment with compositions.

6. Food Scenes

This is one of the best photography series ideas with food. Find a set of model figures to use when shooting. One of the best options would be Hornby 00 gauge figures.

The set has many poses, so it allows you to realize a lot of ideas. You can also purchase Preiser miniatures. The main task is to create a story. For example, you can capture a scene with a climber on a mountain talking with your colleagues below.

• Read about other food photography ideas.

7. Shoot Minimalist Landscapes

Create a series of landscape shots instead of trying to get everything in one frame. Remember to set a long exposure. Use a symmetrical method if you want to make an accent on the simple look of the frame. It is also possible to apply a square crop to embody your ideas photo project. To avoid the difficulties with long exposures and be able to use them at any hour, you should include a strong ND filter in your equipment kit. A tripod helps you prevent camera shake.

• Use a Tiffen 77mm Variable Neutral Density Filter to take a photo of clear water.

8. Show a Tiny World

Shooting toys and models in a real-world situation is one of the most popular photography series ideas. You can easily realize it. Just choose a small prop and carry it with you to take photos in different situations.

Make sure you are close enough to the model to blend it with the rest of the scene. Remember to use a flash if the subject is in shadow. In this way you will add fill-in lighting.

9. Create A–Z pictures

Avoid shooting stock images depicting letters in road signs and shop fronts. It’s better to pick up shapes and objects resembling the alphabet. Consider such photo series examples like the curve of the rivers creating an S-shape or the frame of swings forming the letter A.

10. Depict Numbers 1–100

This idea photography series is similar to the previous one. You can capture objects illustrating the numbers 1 to 100. Pay attention to your surroundings and you'll find it's possible to photograph elements which add up to every number or objects resembling numbers.

11. Include Faces in Interesting Places

Among the many interesting photography series ideas, this one is definitely worth your attention. But to achieve it, you'll need to train your eyes to notice the ‘faces’ which are formed by usual objects; for example, a pair of bath taps or anything like that. Check the Faces in Places blog to get a dose of inspiration.

12. Use Light Orbs

Your photo series can benefit from light painting. Take a string of battery-powered LED lights and wrap them around a hula hoop. Then spin it in front of a tripod-mounted camera. In case you are taking a picture of yourself, consider the self-timer function. You will have time to pose yourself well before the exposure starts.

• View more night photography ideas.

13. Use Mixed Techniques

This sketchbook was done for an AS Photography project and it presents the topic of "Unknown and Forbidden".

Mixed media photography techniques will easily add another dimension to your shots. Also, they can assist in exploring conceptual photography series ideas.

14. Redraw a Part of a Frame

This technique resembles the previous one. However, it involves more than using just painterly colors or textures in a picture. Look at the example on the left.

Part of the digital picture was erased and then replaced with an image painted by hand. Many students have great drawing and painting skills. Using such techniques is a nice opportunity to show your own talents.

15. Place Objects on Top of Images

This technique becomes more and more popular for realizing creative photo shoot ideas. Retaking shots of shots is similar to scanning. Feel free to use this method when the nature of the added elements can’t be scanned. It will be also suitable when you are eager to use alternative angles and other techniques to change the picture more.

16. Take Pictures with a Monochrome Lens

Many photographers do not pay much attention to black and white shots. However, such pictures have great creative and emotional potential. Create a monochrome series of photo to emphasize contrast and expose feelings. Thanks to this kind of series, you can take a fresh look at your familiar environment and improve your creative abilities.

• Find inspiration from amazing examples of black and white photography.

17. Shoot Water Drop Splashes

This is one of the best creative photo shoot ideas to provide you with incredible results. Fill the liquid container, start moving, and then let a few drops fall through the hole. Take a picture of the splash.

Make sure you have correct shutter speed settings to get perfect results. I recommend that you try this combination: two flashguns with the settings set to 1/128; the aperture should be set to f/22. To get a more viscous liquid, use water with xanthan gum.

18. Indoor Splash Photos

To realize this series photo idea, you need to stock up on the necessary props and equipment. You should have a colored background. Don’t forget about a flash with the ability to be controlled remotely.

A transparent container and a tripod are also important. Arrange everything and then put the flash on the container. The camera must be mounted on a tripod.

Adjust the following settings: ISO is 200, an aperture is f/8, and shutter speed should be at the maximum. Throw the subject into the water and capture it.

19. Play with Smoke

Still-life photogs love using smoke effects while shooting. However, I suggest going beyond the usual frame and working on one of the photography series themes in Photoshop with the use of shapes.

The next step is to apply the blending tool to Screen and reshape the image using the Warp Transform. Go on until you create a new picture from a series of smoke shots.

• View more about smoke bomb photography.

20. Experiment with Cross-Polarization

The essence of this series photos idea is to use a specific effect that we can observe when polarized light affects some plastics. For this project, you need to have two polarizing filters. I recommend using a piece of polarizing film as one of them.

Place the film in front of a single light source or on a lightbox. If you do not have polarizing film, you can use the screen of your computer or iPad. As a rule, such screens have a built-in polarizing filter.

Create a white document so that it fills the screen and use it instead of the film. Next, you should position the circular polarizer on the lens and move it until you see colors in transparent plastic objects.

• Use a Tiffen 58MM Circular Polarizer to achieve this effect.

21. Icy Flowers

Put the flowers in a plastic reservoir with de-ionized or distilled water. It is possible to buy de-ionized water at home appliance or auto stores. To prevent flowers from floating, you must affix them to the surface or add weight to them.

Freeze the containers and then remove the pieces of ice. Put them in a transparent glass or bowl and place it on a white sink or dish. Arrange everything so that the light is reflected from below.

• Check out more creative still life photography ideas.

22. Create Oil Abstracts

Create unique abstracts by capturing oil floating in water. This method is based on the distorting qualities of bubbles and oil and their ability to emphasize colors. This is one of the simplest photography projects for beginners.

You should put some drops of oil in a glass container with water. The dish should be 25cm above the surface. Lay the colored paper underneath and light it with a flashgun.

23. Take Close-Ups in the Kitchen

Use the space of your kitchen to create a close-up photo series. There are many reflective surfaces that can be used as a background for your pictures. Thanks to a low depth of field, you can take awesome shots even with the most ordinary things.

For example, you can create a stunning triptych that you can use as a decoration in the kitchen. However, before shooting, you should definitely consider how good everything will look together.

24. Use Light Trails

Create an unusual still-life picture series by using light trails. Take an ordinary torch and remove its end so you expose the bulb and get more direct light. Stick a colored sweet wrapper to it with electrical tape.

Shutter speed should be set to 30 seconds. The aperture is approximately f/8. Before you press the shutter, you should begin moving the light source.

25. Landscape Projects

Take some landscape photos while walking to bring to life your incredible photography series themes. You need less than half an hour to get enough fragments for your composition.

Do not use complex settings and filters. Also, do not take a tripod with you. Set Aperture Priority mode and capture everything that attracts you.

26. Starlight Sceneries

Without a clear sky, photographing star landscapes is almost impossible. Try to choose a time when there is no moon in the sky. This way, you can get detail in the entire sky in one exposure.

You must also take care of the required shutter speed as it affects the blurriness of the picture. In this case, I recommend taking pictures in Manual mode.

Two-second shutter speed and high enough ISO will also contribute to the quality of your starlight photography series ideas. The aperture should be at least f/4 but f/8 is preferable.

27. Find Textures

To get a great series of photos, you don’t need to look for places and objects for a long time before you start shooting. Take a look around. You can find inspiration even in the parking lot.

Bring your DSLR camera with you and you can see a lot of interesting textures, shapes, patterns for your projects.

28. Benefit From Optical Illusions

These types of photography project theme ideas are based on playing with the perception of objects of different sizes in one picture. Capture the subject so that it seems as if he/she is interacting with someone or something significantly larger than him.

Place the second object in the background to get the desired effect. To enhance the result, use a small aperture.

• Check out more photo manipulation ideas.

29. Think of 360-degree 3D Panoramic Shots

Innovative technologies make it possible to perform different digital picture manipulation techniques using cameras. For instance, you can combine numerous images taken from various angles into 360-degree pictures. Pay attention as some devices have two different lenses to produce a 3D effect in series photos while others feature only one.

30. What About Aerial Photography?

If you are looking for creative photography project ideas, then kite aerial photography certainly deserves your attention. It involves lifting a device with a kite using a DIY or purpose-built ring.

In this case, the shutter is triggered automatically or remotely. Such a technique is quite challenging and not very safe. However, it allows you to experiment with different camera angles and height. As a result, you will get attractive pictures similar to those by Pierre Lesage.

• Check out the best aerial photography drone for ideas like this.

31. Try a Tilt-Shift Effect

This photography list of ideas includes the 'toy-town' effect. You can get it applying an expensive tilt-shift lens or using Photoshop (PS). Just open PS and blur everything except a small area in the picture. To make the photo look more convincing, photograph the scene from a high point on a cloudless day. In this way, you can accentuate the village look of the model.

32. Steel Wool on Fire

Many famous photo series involve using fire. But make sure you have no flammable objects by your side. Shoot only in an open area. Weave thin wire wool into a metal whisk and fasten this to a chain.

Next, set the wool on fire and spin it. Ask some brave volunteer for help and prepare a tripod. Set an exposure of about 15 secs at f/11 and ISO 100.

• Use Red Devil Steel Wool to achieve a similar effect.

33. Alternative Car Trails

A car may help you realize photography project theme ideas. You can take photos from a moving car at night when your friend is driving slowly along a well-lit road. The exposure should be 30 seconds. Fix the tripod to the passenger seat. Use a remote release to trigger the shutter.

34. Subtle Motion Effect

For this idea you need to prepare a series of animated GIFs featuring subtle motion. Of course, such an option requires working in Adobe PS as well as capturing videos rather than pictures. Anyway, the result will be impressive.

Prepare a tripod, which must remain still during shooting. Select a scene where shifting objects are looping or continuous.

Such a trick will help hide the start and stop points in the finished video. A subtle movement like a breeze blowing the leaves on a tree will be great.

35. Achieve a Lo-Fi Look

You can easily bring to life any photography series themes using Lightroom or Photoshop. But if you want to achieve a more authentic look, then think of the style you want your pictures to have.

Lo-fi effects can change any shot in an interesting way. They work well with plain, graphic subjects that are very simple to recognize.

36. Try the Time-Lapse Technique

Not all shooters have time to practice time-lapse photography regularly. But you should try it to understand what results you can expect.

37. Experiment with Burn Photographs

High school students have a wide choice of photography assignment ideas. They can also experiment with scratching or burning negatives before or after printing shots.

Look at the pictures taken by Lucas Simões. He targets the faces and leaves a single eye. Mind, using such dangerous techniques is possible only with care and under the supervision of a teacher or adult.

• Read more about famous photographers.

38. Join Pictures

Lisa Kokin prepares an interesting series of photos. She takes various unrelated pictures and stitches them together. The shooter fabricates a relationship and creates a fancied life using this technique.

• Read more about famous photographers.

39. Use a Wrap of Torn Plastic

Try to realize photography series ideas in an unusual way as Jessy David McGrady does. He takes a plastic sandwich bag with a hole torn in the side. Then the shooter places the ring of plastic around the camera lens.

He leaves rough and slightly crunched edges. They are visible through the viewfinder but do not hide the whole image. As a result, the picture acquires a seductive and ethereal atmosphere.

40. Consider Using a Prism

A series photo will look even more interesting if you place a prism or a convex lens in front of the camera. As a result, great reflections, ‘bokeh’ and distortions will appear.

Mind that the results are always unpredictable, but when they work they look impressive. All in all, you will be able to play with light and color, producing more unusual photos.

41. Try to Unfocus Lights to Get ‘Bokeh’

Takashi Kitajima likes creating a unique series photo. The shooter takes urban landscapes photos of Tokyo at night. As a rule, the composition features only one focused area that is surrounded by glowing 'bokeh'.

It is achieved in various ways, using different lenses. Bokeh appears unintentionally in the background.

42. Through Visible Handheld Lenses

These pictures were created with the help of circular lenses. The shooter distorted and inverted crowd scenes through them. The lens frame becomes the main compositional element. It creates blurred and abstracted figures which are split into strokes of undefined color.

43. Create a Vortograph

Alvin Langdon Coburn was one of the first shooters who took abstract shots and presented a sequence of photos that tell a story. Such a picture is called a vortograph and is taken through a triangular tunnel of three mirrors.

44. Experiment with Projecting Shots

Pictures can be combined not only digitally. It is possible to project one shot across a three-dimensional form to create a close interaction between two separate scenes.

As a result, the projected photo becomes blurred because it bends around a 3D form. Deciding to project pictures onto people is a cool way to boost your abstract photography skills.

45. Explore Underwater Photography

Everyone who is searching for sequence photography ideas can get an incredible dose of inspiration looking at Elena Kalis’ works. Her fantastic quality of underwater pictures will help you discover more abstract photography ideas.

• Learn underwater photography tips.

46. Always Edit Photos Before Posting

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FREEBIES for Editing Series of Photos

One of the most important aspects of photo series is consistent image post-production. You will be able to achieve it easily with the help of the presets and actions presented below.

Black and White LR Preset "Brighten"

Apply this filter to urban pictures. It perfectly matches cityscapes, making an accent on buildings and skyscrapers. Regulating basic parameters, it provides fantastic results.

Lightroom Cross Process Preset "Cold"

Lightroom cross process presets will appeal to shooters who want their series photos to have slight shadows as well as soft textures. These are cold and moody filters that reduce warm photo tones. So, choose this preset for street style images or pictures where a sudden moment is captured.

Lightroom Film Preset "Toning Warm"

If you want to make children's series of photos, fine arts, and women’s portraits look warm, then select this filter. It adds gentleness and a special coziness to the picture.

Fashion Action Photoshop "Brighten"

You can transform a boring pic into a real masterpiece with this action. Thanks to it, colors will become brighter and balanced.

Free Photoshop Action Matte "Chocolate"

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With chocolate toning, narrative photography series will become warmer, softer, and more atmospheric. You can achieve such a result with this PS action. A chocolate shade matches well with portrait, wedding, fashion or kids' shots.

Tata Rossi

Hi there, I'm Tata Rossi - a professional blogger, read more