I started a photography group on a social media platform called MeWe back in the summer of 2019. At the time, I was trying to replicate a similar hiking group I’d participated in on GooglePlus, but somehow, this new group also took on elements of other groups I worked with, including one owned by a British man named Johnny Wills. He passed away a couple of years later, but he left me with an excellent example of how to run fun themed photography challenges in social media groups.
In this post, I’ll give you some of my favorite photography themes (the ones that went over the best… in other words, not snakes and spiders, because half the group refused to even enter the group that week) along with some I’ll be using in the group in the future. I’ll also explain how I host the events and ideas for how you might expand upon my ideas. Plus, this would be a great jumpoff point for a 52 Week Photography Challenge, a 365 Day Photo Challenge, etc. All of these can be completed with either a traditional camera, DSLR, or smartphone, though some features may be limited on a non-manual camera/smartphone for the technical themes.
How I Host Photography Challenges and Themes on Social Media
1) I keep the challenges very chill. We share photos relating to the theme. There’s no competition, though some groups will have challenges to choose a featured photo or banner photo or simply to see which post gets the most love.
2) I host a different theme each week (basically, a weekly photo challenge). Others like to do daily themes (Johnny Wills always had daily challenge or sometimes a weekend theme), a quarterly theme, a monthly theme, or a theme one week out of a month.
3) I post the theme of the week on Monday morning, though any day of the week will work as long as it’s consistent.
4) I don’t limit the group to only theme photos because the point of the group is to share hiking experiences. If the group is built entirely around the challenges, it would make more sense to only allow theme pictures. (That said, I also have group rules (like no politics), so posts do have to fit the rules of the group.)
5) I do allow old pictures, but you’re welcome to only allow newer photos, especially if this is an in-person group and you’re all out trying to fulfill the theme together.
6) I do try to comment something on each challenge photo (which works better with a smaller group – if you have a hundred people all participating, commenting on every post is time-consuming, and you might want to ask for help!)
7) I allow as many photos as people wish to post, but again, there are times when limiting the number of photos per person can be helpful (for example, some of my challenge groups limit each person to 7 or 8 pictures in each challenge – it makes tallying up the final votes much easier than if everyone posted a dozen or more pictures!)
8) The themes here are definitely stilted toward the outdoors (it’s a hiking group, after all!) But many can also be adapted to any type of photography group.
Without further ado, let’s get on to the 365 themes for photography challenges!
365 of my Favorite Photography Group Challenge Themes
These are in no particular order other than that I’ve broken them up by general theme.
Nature/Hiking (91)
Trails
Bike trails/trails open to bicycles
“Where’d the trail go?”
Social/unofficial (legal) trails
Off-trail (legally only)
Trees
Tree roots
Looking up into trees
Forest
Deep in the forest
Lone trees
Dead trees
Vines
Tree bark
Fallen branches/trees
Under a tree
Fir trees
Deciduous trees
Tree rings
Acorns & other seeds
Pine cones
Pine needles
Mushrooms
Wildflowers
Single flower
Wildflowers currently in season
Yellow flowers
Purple flowers
Blue flowers (harder than you think!)
Red flowers
Pink flowers
Orange flowers
Spring blossoms
Fruit blossoms
Flower centers
Leaves
Single leaf
Leaf veins
Cacti
Blooming cacti
Lichen
Moss
Mossy rocks
Ferns
Meadows
Grass
Photos from favorite hikes in 2026 (or whatever year)
Across the Lake
Across the Canyon
Canyons/gorges
Light painting
Night
No sky
My kind of hike
Holes
Rocks
Rock layers
Rock formations
Arches
This rock formation looks like…
Fall colors
Food on the trail
Sand dunes
Mountains
Hills
Rolling hills
Cliffs
Cliffy mountains
Big mountains
Small mountains
Mountains and lakes in the same photo
Sand
Sand (not on a beach)
Gravel
Pebbles
Petrified wood
Desert
Desert plants
Fields
Geothermal
The horizon
No horizon
Narrow spaces
Ropes & rock climbing
Blazes & cairns (legal blazes & cairns only)
Urban hikes
Local parks
Trails you’ve hiked often
Wild berries & fruits
Erosion
Photos from a specific state, country, region, or park
Water-related (31)
Waterfalls
Big waterfalls
Small waterfalls
Narrow waterfalls
Mud
Fountains & spraying water
Beaches
Sandy beach
Ocean
Waves
Tide pools
Found on a beach
Rocky coastline
Driftwood
Found on the beach
Lakes
Large lakes
Small lakes/ponds
Frozen lake
Creeks/streams
Rivers
Rapids & riffles
Ripples
Splash
Bubbles
Riverbanks
Rivers from above
Reeds & swamp plants
Puddles
Reflections
Reflections (no lakes)
People/Humans (14)
Hiking companions
Parents/children
Footprints
Silhouettes of people
Feet/hiking footwear
Hands or other body parts
Jumping
Walking away
Evidence of humans on the trail
Camping/campgrounds/camping gear
Fishing/fishing gear
Picnicking
Photos of a photographer
Picture of your camera/camera gear
Weather (33)
Clouds
Puffy clouds
Wispy clouds
Dramatic clouds
Overcast day
Clouds that look like… (faces, puppies, whatever!)
Skyscapes (2/3 of the photo must be of the sky)
Sunrise
Sunset
Golden hour
Blue hour
Clouds at sunrise/sunset
The sun
The moon
Into the sun
Sun rays
Sunstars
Evidence of wind
Astrophotography
Milky Way
Star trails
Rainy day fun
Dew & raindrops
Storms
Rainbow
Lightning
Frost & ice
Snow
Summer snow
First snowfall
Snowy fun
Icicles
Fog/mist
Animals (38)
Underwater animals
Animals
Big animals
Animal encounters
Birds
Birds in flight
Big birds
Small birds
Songbirds
Birds of prey
Ducks
Geese & swans
Geese in a V formation
Birds in the water
Bird nests
Mammals on the trail
Rodents
Lizards & other scaly creatures
Desert animals
Rabbits and bunnies
Deer, elk, & moose
Squirrels & chipmunks
Butterflies
Bees & dragonflies
Bugs and insects
Snails & slugs
Caterpillars, centipedes, and similar
Spider webs
Frogs & toads
Turtles & herons
Water animals (not birds)
Grazing animals
Dogs on the trail
Animal/insect eyes
Feathers
Animal tracks
Animal babies
Animal parents & babies
Historic/Architecture (23)
Historic buildings
Inside Historic Buildings
Abandoned
Old things
Rock art
Barns & windmills
Fences
Wooden fences
Grates & chain link fences
Roads
Road with a view
Dirt roads
Rural roads
Skyline
Benches & outdoor seating
Gates
Doors & doorways
Stone walls
Walls & windows
Ladder & stairs
Bridges
Covered bridges
Signs & signposts
Colors (18)
Green
Dark green
Light green
Yellow
Red
Orange
Brown
Tan
White
Blue
Dark blue
Light blue
Pink
Purple
Black
Gray
It’s white on top
Colors in the sky
General Ideas (36)
Starts with A (and B, and C, and D…) (26 total)
Favorite photos taken within the last year
Favorite photos taken within the last month
Under cover of darkness
Serenity or Peaceful
Unusual things
Strangest thing you’ve found while hiking
Really bad photos
Silhouette
Shadows
Long shadows
Reflected light
Look up
Look down
Bicycles
Canoes & kayaks
Sailboats & other non-motorized boats
Harvest
Taken in a year ending in… (for example, ending in 9 could be 2009 or 1959)
Taken in the month of… (November, for example)
Autumn
Summer
Spring
Winter
Worm’s eye view
Bird’s eye view
Same view, different visits
Famous places from unusual angles
Two different viewpoints of the same thing
Photo collage of the same thing, focusing on different parts of it (like a tree or a waterfall)
Most people walk past this!
Tiny subject (make it look small)
Make something big look very small
Make something small look very big
Photograph the familiar
Pastoral
Photography Techniques (52)
Black & White
Monochrome
High contrast black & white
Shallow depth of field
Deep depth of field
Showing depth via layers
Minimal
Abstract
Leading Lines
Rule of Thirds
S-curves
C-curves
Slow shutter speed (long exposure)
Squares
Rectangles
Triangles
Circles
Repeating shapes
Macro
Macro (no flowers)
Panoramas
Vertical panoramas
No foreground
Fill the frame
Negative space
Off center
Framed!
Framed with branches
Symmetry
Asymmetry
Patterns
Blur
Foreground blur
Motion
Ground-level angle
Extreme closeup
Wide-angle
High viewpoints
Backlit
Side lighting
Front lighting
Dappled sunlight
Sun flare/bokeh
Strong light
Texture
HDR photography
Intentional camera movement (ICM)
“I used my entire zoom!”
Zoomed in
Time-lapse
Mostly one color
Juxtaposition
Games/Storytelling (9)
Two Truths and a Photo (post a photo along with three things about the photo, two of which are true and one of which is a lie – everyone guesses which thing is the lie)
Guess the state/country/location shown in the picture
Polls (not necessarily photo-related – questions like, “Do you use a GPS,” “Would you rather hike uphill or downhill,” “Do you prefer to hike solo, with one or two people, or in a group,” “What footwear to you prefer on the trail,” “What’s your favorite thing to see at the end of a hike?”)
One location, 5-10 photos (especially fun to use the exact same location for several people – and see what they see, which will not be the same at all!)
Tell a story with 5 photos or less
A hike I’ll never forget
A special place (explain why it’s special)
The first hike I ever took
Favorite-ever photos
Have another photography challenge theme? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
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