The winter months can be grueling on the creative juices, can’t they? Once the time changes and the days become shorter, it’s hard to tap into the artistic spirit. Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration to jumpstart your creativity, so I’ve put together a few photo prompts (I like to call them adventures!) for you to get those creative juices flowing again… because rain or shine, it’s always a good time for a photo shoot!

Here are 12 Photo Adventures to get you through the winter months:

1 | Learn to Love the Rain

I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t enjoy being caught in the rain. But did you know that rainy days can make for some fantastic photography conditions? First, the light is diffused… thank you, clouds. And the rain can give your photos a great moody look.

Check out this photo below. While on a road trip to Northern Idaho, the Hubster and I stumbled upon a little shower in our trek through the mountains. I took out my iPhone and started snapping a few shots (no worries, he was driving, I was hands-free!). I love the moody, mysterious look the rain gives this photo.

Try out different perspectives… raindrops in focus or blurred. See which you like best.

iPhone 7+ | Edited in Snapseed

2 | Reflections

I know, I know. Everyone suggests reflections for a photo prompt. But hear me out… winter months are great for reflections in photos. Think about all the rain and ice that nature gives us.

Take for instance the photo below… this is a beautiful pond in the mountains, right? Nope. It was actually a puddle left from melting snow in a farmer’s field just off the roadway. I loved how it gave the perfect reflection of the sky and mountains in the distance, giving the foreground interest that otherwise wouldn’t be there. Look for these spontaneous types of opportunities, and you might be surprised by what you find!

Nikon D7000 | 18-55mm lens at 18mm | f/11 | 1/40 sec | ISO 100 | Blur Technique in Photoshop

3 | Set Up a Still Life

This is a great way to experiment with lighting, whether it be artificial or natural light coming in through a window. Grab some unique pottery, maybe some fresh flowers or fruit from the supermarket, an heirloom, anything that can add interest to a photo. Play with the background, the composition, just have fun with it and see what kind of artistic photo you can create. An added challenge… browse through still life masterpieces and re-engineer one of those paintings into a photograph. Bonus points if you add some textures in editing!

4 | Look Up!

One thing you can count on during the winter months are storms. And you know what comes with storms? Some pretty cool cloud formations. So for this challenge, look up! Make a collection of cloud photographs, try capturing them from the same location to document how conditions change. Have fun capturing all the beautiful colors nature provides, even in the winter months!

iPhone 7+ | Edited in Snapseed

5 | Grab an Artificial Light Source

Since natural light is at a minimum during the winter months, grab a different kind of light source like a tablet, smartphone, or even the TV. These types of photos tend to look great when converted to black and white, eliminating artificial color casts. It’s an interesting challenge when you’re just focusing on light and contrast.

Photo by Michelle Johnson | Canon Rebel | 50mm lens | f/1.4 | 1/50 sec | ISO 1600

6 | Shoot for Emotion

Draw an emotive word out of a hat. Literally. Leave it up to chance! If you get an emotion you’re not familiar with shooting, that’s perfect! That’s the idea of a challenge… to push yourself. Open your mind to thinking in a new way. See what happens to your creative process when you change up your shooting style.

iPhone 7+ | Edited in Snapseed

7 | Go Back to the Archives

When the weather outside is less than desirable, it’s a great excuse to stay inside with a warm cup of coffee and settle into some photo editing. This is the perfect chance to go back through your archives of photos and choose something that you might not have given a second look the first time. You might be surprised by what you find.

I did this with the photo below. As I was scouring my folders for photos, I ran across this one and thought, “Wow, I think this has potential.” With a few edits in Camera Raw and the addition of a couple of Photo Veils, I was in love!

Nikon D7000 | 50mm lens | f/1.4 | 1/1000 sec | ISO 200

8 | Try Out a New Technique

Is there a specialty or creative technique you’ve wanted to try out? Focus stacking? Compositing? Multiple Exposure? If there’s something you’ve had your eye on and just haven’t had the time to research it, give it a go! Find books, YouTube videos, online tutorials and devour all the information you can on the topic. Then try your hand at it. The winter months are perfect for honing your skills and/or learning new ones!

Nikon D7000 | 18-300mm lens | Composite of 2 Photos in Photoshop (one exposed for sky, one exposed for moon)

9 | Delve into a Good Photography/Art/Design Book

What better time to cozy up by the fire and delve into a good book! Sometimes all you need to get into the creative spirit is to surround yourself with beautifully inspiring images. So buy that Photography book on Amazon you’ve had your eye on. Check out that biography out of the library. Or dust off your favorite Art/Design book from the bookshelf. Open it up and just devour all the gorgeous images you can. Make notes of any ideas that come to mind as you peruse. Bonus points if you act on one of those ideas. They don’t call these photo challenges for nothing!

10 | Maximize Minimalism

One thing that a blanket of snow does is create the perfect conditions for minimalism in your photography. Use this natural condition to your advantage, creating plenty of negative space or white space (literally) around your subject.

Nikon D60 | 55-200mm lens at 145mm | f/5.3 | 1/200 sec | ISO 400

11 | Capture the Christmas Spirit

A must for photographing the winter months, is capturing the spirit of the holidays. And what better way to do that than to photograph a Christmas tree! For tips on what settings to use, refer to our post, “3 Tips for Capturing the Holiday Season in Photos.“

For the photos below, I used my iPhone to take a series of shots at a local Christmas Tree Lighting a couple years ago. This shows that it’s possible to capture some fun photos with just your smartphone, too, so don’t rule that out when shooting holiday lights!

iPhone 7+ | Edited in Snapseed

12 | Go Somewhere Warm

And finally, if you’ve exhausted all other options and you’re coming up dry in the creativity department, it might be time to throw in the towel and go somewhere warm! If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere warm, then hold a soft spot in your heart for your neighbors to the north, while we freeze our butts off photographing snow!

All joking aside, sometimes all that’s needed is to see something in a new light. It’s when we get out of our comfort zone, we start to notice things we otherwise wouldn’t. And if that looks like travel, then great! If not, why not pretend you’re a tourist in your own hometown? …even if it’s snowing! Find a visitor’s guide to your town and see things with fresh eyes. You might be surprised with what you find!

Final Thoughts

I hope this list of photo adventures helps inject some creativity into your photography this winter. I’d love to see what you come up with! Share your photos with us on Instagram by tagging us at @lovethatshotco. We’ll be featuring one of these challenges each week on our feed, so follow along and join the fun!

Until next time, Happy Shooting!