A photography theme is one idea, subject or quality that a set of pictures shares, such as red, doors or sorrow. This page lists 328 of them from A to Z, with shortcuts by kind and a section on picking one for a competition, a class or a club.
Pick one, then shoot several different pictures of it. Working with photography themes explains how a theme turns a pile of snapshots into a finished set.
Need a theme for a competition, a class or a club? A photography scavenger hunt turns a list like this into a game, and fifty project ideas turn one theme into a finished set of photos.
Photography themes by kind
Eight groups, each drawn from the full list below. Every word here is a theme on the list, so you can find it again under its letter.
Colour
Black and White, Blue, Bronze, Brown, Colours, Gold, Green, Orange, Pink / Purple, Red, White, Yellow.
Colour themes work well with colour in photography, and the monochrome one has its own page: black and white photography.
Shape and line
Arches, Circles, Columns, Curves, Dots / Dashes / Diagonals, Horizon, Parallel Lines, Patterns, Perspective, Round Things, Rows of Things, Zig Zags.
Lines pull the eye through a frame. Patterns and repetition covers the repeating ones.
People
Bald Heads, Bare Feet, Catching People Unaware, Dancers, Eyes, Kids, People At Work, Sleeping People, Smiles, Uniforms.
Ask first when a stranger will be recognisable. Street photography covers shooting people in public.
Places and buildings
Abandoned Buildings, Architecture, Back Alleys, Barns, Bridges, Churches, City Skylines, City Street Scenes, Harbours, Jails, Junk Yards, Railroad Tracks.
Buildings have their own page: how to photograph architecture and buildings.
Nature and animals
Birds, Butterflies, Cats, Dogs, Fish, Horses, Leaves, Mushrooms, Trees, Waterfalls, Wildlife, Zebras.
For animals you cannot approach, see wildlife photography.
Objects and details
Bottles, Door Knobs, Forks, Keys, Locks, Masks, Mirrors, Peeling Paint, Rust, Shoes, Spoons, Watches.
Small subjects reward a close look. Macro photography and still life are the natural partners.
Weather, season and time of day
Autumn, Clouds, Lightning, Night, Rainbows, Raindrops, Snow, Spring, Sunrise, Sunset, Winter.
After dark, night photography sets out the exposure.
Feelings and ideas
Anger, Contrasts, Elation, Happiness, Hidden, Hunger, Inspiration, Joy, Mood, Opposites, Sorrow, Speed.
These themes ask you to show a feeling or an idea through something visible. Abstract photography is one way in, working with shape, colour and texture when no single object says it.
All 328 photography themes, A to Z
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
- Abandoned Buildings
- Abstracts
- Amphibian
- Anger
- Animal Portraits
- Arches
- Architecture
- Autumn
B
- Back Alleys
- Bad Weather
- Bald Heads
- Balloons
- Bare Feet
- Bark
- Barns
- Bees
- Bicycle Parts
- Bikes
- Birds
- Black and White
- Blimps
- Blue
- Bolts
- Bones
- Books
- Bottles
- Bridges
- Broken Glass
- Bronze
- Brown
- Bump
- Butterflies
C
- Campsites
- Car Details
- Catching People Unaware
- Cats
- Celebrations
- Choice
- Church Windows
- Churches
- Circles
- City Hall
- City Skylines
- City Street Scenes
- Close-up
- Clouds
- Cold
- Colours
- Columns
- Computers
- Contrasts
- Covered Bridges
- Critters
- Culture
- Curves
- Custom Cars
D
- Dancers
- Decorations
- Demonstrations
- Devilish
- Dew
- Digital
- Disappearing Professions
- Disappearing Technologies
- Dishes
- Documentary
- Dogs
- Dominating
- Doom and gloom
- Door Knobs
- Doors
- Dots / Dashes / Diagonals
- Drawers
- Duplicates
E
- Easter
- Eggs
- Elation
- Embrace
- Emergency Situations
- Enthusiasm / eager
- Environmental Trash
- Events
- Eyeglasses
- Eyes
F
- Farm Animals
- Feathers
- Feet
- Feisty
- Femininity
- Fences
- Fetes & Festivals
- Fire
- Fire Engines
- Fireworks
- Fish
- Flags
- Flower Petals
- Flowers
- Fog
- Food
- Footprints
- Forks
- Forms in Nature
- Fountains
- Framed
- Freeways
- Frozen
- Fruit
G
- Games
- Gardens
- Gates
- Gears
- Older People
- Glamour
- Glass
- Gold
- Graceful
- Graffiti
- Green
H
- Hair
- Halloween
- Hallways
- Handles
- Hands
- Happiness
- Harbours
- Harvest
- Hats
- Hidden
- History
- Holiday
- Horizon
- Horses
- Hot Rod Cars
- Hunger
I
- Ice
- Inclines
- Ancient Ruins
- Indigenous Art
- Industrial
- Insects
- Inspiration
- Iridescent
- Iron
- Isolated Objects
J
- Jails
- Jets
- Jewelry
- Jobs
- Joints
- Journalistic
- Joy
- Jugs
- Junk Yards
K
- Keys
- Kids
- Kin or Families
- Kitchens
- Kites
- Knives
L
- Landscapes
- Lazy
- Learning
- Leaves
- Legs
- Letters
- Light
- Lightning
- Lights
- Locks
M
- Machine Parts
- Macro
- Marine life
- Masculinity
- Masks
- Mass flowers
- Mirrors
- Money
- Monuments
- Mood
- Movie Theater Marquees
- Muse
- Mushrooms
N
- Negative Space
- Neon Signs
- Newspapers
- Night
- Night lights
- Nonsense
- Noodles
- Numbers
- Nuts
O
- Objects
- Odd Couples
- Old Everything
- Olympic
- Opposites
- Opulent
- Orange
P
- Pairs
- Paper Abstracts
- Parallel Lines
- Patterns
- Peacocks
- Peeling Paint
- People
- People At Work
- People Walking Dogs
- Peppers
- Perspective
- Pets
- Pictures in Pictures
- Piles of Things
- Pink / Purple
- Polished
- Porches
Q
- Quad
- Quarters
- Queens
- Quiet Corners
R
- Railroad Cars
- Railroad Tracks
- Raindrops
- Rainbows
- Red
- Red Barns
- Reenactments
- Reflection
- Reflections in Glass
- Reflections in Water
- Religious
- Roadscapes
- Rocks
- Round Things
- Rows of Things
- Rust
- Rustic
S
- Sand dunes
- Sand Patterns
- Sea Shells
- Seascapes
- Seasons
- Self
- Shadows
- Shoes
- Signs
- Silhouettes
- Skulls
- Sky
- Sleeping Animals
- Sleeping People
- Small Furry Animals
- Smiles
- Smoke Stacks
- Snow
- Soft Curves
- Sorrow
- Spanish Moss
- Speed
- Spoons
- Sports
- Spring
- Squirrel
- Stacks
- Stairs
- Statues
- Steam Railroads
- Still life
- Strange Signs
- String Instruments
- Structures
- Summer
- Sunrise
- Sunset
- Superstitions
- Sweets
- Swings
T
- Tattoos
- Teddy Bear / toy
- Textures
- The Local School
- The spot (X marks it, you know)
- Toads
- Tombstones
- Tools
- Tools of the Trade
- Transport
- Tree Knots
- Trees
U
- Ugly Everything
- Umbrellas
- Ungulates (hoofed animals, pigs, goats, deer, horses)
- Unusual Angles
- Uniforms
- Urban
- Utensils
V
- Vacation
- Valves
- Vegetables
- Habits
- Views
- Vignettes
- Vines
- Visitors
W
- Watches
- Water
- Waterfalls
- Weather
- Weathered Wood
- Wet
- Wheels
- White
- Wide Angle Everything
- Wildlife
- Windows
- Winter
- Woods
X
- X Shapes
- Xenon
- Xylophones
Y
- Yachts
- Yellow
- Yo-yos
Z
- Zebras
- Zig Zags
- Zipper
- Zombies
- Zoos
How to choose a theme for a competition, class or club
A theme that works for a group has three qualities. It is open to interpretation, so ten people produce ten different pictures. It is possible in any town, at any time of year, with no travel or special gear. And it is judgeable, meaning a person looking at an entry can tell whether it fits.
Single concrete nouns are easy to judge but often produce the same picture ten times. Qualities and feelings invite more readings, but need a short note saying what counts. A good middle is a thing plus room to read it: the word is plain, the angle is the entrant’s.
Here are 20 themes from the list that suit a group, with one way each can be read.
- Reflection: water, glass, a spoon, a puddle, or a metaphor for looking back.
- Shadows: the shadow as the subject, or a shadow that tells you what is out of frame.
- Doors: a closed door, an open one, or the person walking through.
- Hands: work, comfort, age or gesture.
- Opposites: two things in one frame, or two frames shown together.
- Contrasts: light and dark, old and new, large and small.
- Hidden: something half seen, covered or easy to miss.
- Speed: a blur, a frozen moment, or the feeling of rushing.
- Pairs: two of anything, matched or not.
- Rows of Things: repetition, with one item that breaks the row.
- Patterns: found in nature, in cities or on a kitchen table.
- Textures: rough, smooth, wet or worn, shot close.
- Windows: looking in, looking out, or the window itself.
- Signs: the words, the shape, or the wear on the sign.
- Light: a beam, a glow or the quality of the hour.
- Water: still, moving, frozen or falling.
- Rust: decay as colour and texture.
- Mirrors: a reflected world, or a self.
- Umbrellas: weather, colour, or people sheltering.
- Stairs: lines, climbing, or a place to stop.
For a college or student competition, set the rules for how literally the theme must be read before entries open. Say whether text, edits and composites are allowed and how many photos each person may enter. The photography competition guide goes through competition rules and categories and how to choose work to enter.
For a class or club, a monthly theme from this list gives members the same starting point and different results, which gives the group something to talk about. A theme that fits no one’s taste is still a good theme if it is easy to shoot in a week.
From a theme to a set of pictures
One photo of a theme is a snapshot. A set is a small argument about it. Try these steps.
- Pick one theme and write it at the top of a page.
- List five ways to read it: a literal subject, a detail, a mood, a colour, a person.
- Shoot at least two pictures for each reading, changing your distance and angle.
- Choose the strongest picture from each reading, then cut any that repeat another.
- Order the survivors so each one adds something the last did not.
Is the subject too ordinary to look at twice? How to see like a photographer covers training yourself to notice light, patterns and textures.
Want a theme a week to keep going? The 52-week challenge gives you a theme a week with a way to approach each.
Does the set need to tell a story? The photo essay guide shows how to sequence pictures so they build.
Photography themes: common questions
What is a photography theme?
It is a single idea, subject or quality that a group of photographs shares. A theme can be a thing (doors), a look (blue), a feeling (joy) or a way of seeing (close-up).
How many themes are on this page?
There are 328, listed from A to Z. A few sit close to one another, and each can still lead to a different picture.
What are good themes for a photography competition?
Pick ones that anyone can shoot nearby and that allow different readings, such as reflection, hands, opposites or hidden. The section above lists 20 with a way each can be read.
What themes work for students?
Ones that need no travel or gear and fit a week of shooting: shadows, windows, patterns, textures, shoes. A student can follow them with a phone and still find a personal angle.
Is a theme the same as a genre?
No. A genre is a kind of photography, such as portrait or landscape, and a theme is a subject or idea that can appear in any genre. Rust can be a landscape detail, a street picture or a still life.
How do I choose from 328 themes?
Open one of the eight groups at the top, pick the first word that makes you curious, and shoot it before you change your mind. The point is to make pictures, so a quick choice beats a careful one.