In my last post I outlined some ways in which I have found a photography challenge to be beneficial to my photography.

Here are 5 of my most recent challenges, all of which have helped to inspire me and encouraged me to get out with my camera to discover new ways of shooting.

The first two challenges were posted in Digital Camera magazine, when two photographers were challenged to 'exercise their creative muscles'.

I decided to take up the challenges.

Challenge 1: Capture an image that contains abstract content.

An everyday household object, shot from an unusual angle.

Challenge 2: Capture an image where contrast is the content.

Light and shadow, rough and smooth, straight and curved.

Challenge 3: The third challenge was posed by Kim Grant on her YouTube channel. The Water Challenge asked viewers to capture an image that involved or related to water, but the challenge was to look for different, more creative images than normal.

ICM - The River Bed.

If you wish to take part in one of Kim Grant's challenges, the next challenge EARTH is open until mid October.

Challenge 4: This challenge was inspired by James R Burns who challenged himself to shoot monochrome street images in square format.

Challenge 5: The Big One - GuruShots describes itself as 'The World's Greatest Photo Game', where you receive a daily challenge along with millions of photographers worldwide. The challenges are voted on by the GuruShots community and you get the chance to move up the ranks according to the votes you receive.

There is a new challenge every day, one of the recent being Mostly White.

Some photographers enjoy taking part online while others simply use the suggestions as inspiration for their own personal challenges.

The main aim in taking a challenge is to improve our photography by getting creative with our shots. This will involve experimenting and encountering lots of failures as well as successes.

Each challenge encourages us to think outside our comfort zone and to look for different ways of capturing an image based on the topic or theme of the challenge.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of challenge ideas published online and even if some of them do not appeal to you, or suit your photography style, there will be many that will present you with interesting and motivating challenges.

Why not take on a challenge today?