Step Into The Unknown-Preparing for our 2nd Image Competition of 2025

Step Into the Unknown: Week 2 Challenge – Experiment with the Unfamiliar

We all LOVE photography! But, sometimes doing the same thing over and over again, well, it gets old. What if your next creative breakthrough lives just beyond the edge of your comfort zone?

This month's theme to prepare for Image Competition is all about boldness, curiosity, and a willingness to explore paths you’ve never walked before. We’re calling it: Step Into the Unknown. Whether you’ve been shooting for ten years or ten months, there’s always something new to try—something that invites you to let go of control and lean into experimentation.

Why This Matters

It’s so easy to get stuck in a creative routine—same lighting setup, same go-to angles, same types of subjects. While consistency has its place, growth rarely happens in the familiar. That’s why this month, I want to challenge you to shake things up.

Creativity thrives in discomfort.

When you stretch beyond what you know, something magical happens. Even if the image doesn’t come out “perfect,” you learn, you grow, and you get closer to uncovering your next signature style element.

What to Do This Week

• Try Something Completely New.
  Shoot at a time of day you usually avoid. Use a light modifier you’ve never touched. Photograph a subject you wouldn’t normally consider. Portrait shooters—try still life. Product photographers—get candid with people. Flip your camera, tilt your lens, shoot through something. The goal isn’t to impress; it’s to explore.

• Embrace Imperfection.
  Let go of the need to produce “portfolio-worthy” images. This is playtime. Give yourself permission to fail gloriously. Some of your wildest images may surprise you. Others might flop. That’s okay. This is how you evolve.

• Action Step: One Session. No Expectations.
  Schedule a single session this week that is completely experimental. No client. No pressure. Just you, your camera, and curiosity. Capture what grabs your attention, even if it makes no sense. You might leave with an entirely new idea for your brand or style—or at the very least, a shot you never would have taken before.

Your Turn

Are you ready to trade perfection for possibility?

This is your invitation to be bold. Be weird. Be fearless. There’s no roadmap—just instinct, curiosity, and the willingness to see what happens when you let go of the outcome. Let us encourage you to grab the Twelve Elements of a Competition Image HERE and use this as a guide to make sure you know what you are looking for. 

Tag your experiments with #StepIntoTheUnknown along with #ppsdc and share what surprised you the most HERE on our Facebook page. Let’s inspire each other to explore the edges.

What will you discover when you say yes to the unfamiliar? We can't wait to see what you create!

Submissions open on April 29, 2025, The Deadline to enter is: 11:59pm on Wednesday, May 14, 2025

This month Image Comp is on the 3rd Tuesday- May 20th!