Challenge #18

Who captures ‘hope’ best in a photo?

Rules of the photo battle

• You need to be at least two people for this challenge, so choose a friend to do this battle with. Even if you don’t know much about photography, you’ll have a fun, memorable experience for sure!
• Choose a location that will be your starting and ending point.
• From your starting location, you will split up for a certain amount of time that you and your friend have set for this battle (recommend at least 15 minutes, or 1 hour if you want more creative / impressive results).
• Now it’s shooting time. Try to make the best photo you can of what represents ‘hope’ to you.
• Before the time is up, each participant needs to be back at the starting location, else that person automatically loses the battle.
• Now find a stranger who wants to be the judge of your battle. Show your photo and explain your thoughts of why you took this photo and why it represents hope for you. When both of you have done this, let the judge choose which one he/she think best captures ‘hope’.

Optional variants

• After you have taken the photos, you can set a certain amount of time for editing, and then find a stranger to judge the final results.
• Phones only / mirrorless or DSLR only
• Portrait only / landscape only
• Wide angle only / medium only / close up only
• Etc.

The inspiration behind this challenge

Listen to this wise comment from Jesus: “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.” (Luke 11:34).

What we see and focus on has a very big impact on our lives. It influences how we feel and think, what we pursue and prioritise. In many ways, it decides the direction of our lives.

So how helpful wouldn’t it be, if we actively choose to focus on hope. Looking for hope. Capturing hope. And more than the positive influence that will have on our own mental state of mind, we then show this to a stranger. As this person signs up for judging your photos, you can share with them your inspiring perspective of hope. What an opportunity to share with them the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15)! This may be completely new to them, make them think, touch their heart. It may literally change the way they see life, so it can be filled with light.

Share this challenge with friends