Weekly Photo Challenge: Everyday Life

Photo courtesy of Jon Sanwell

This week’s photo challenge is guest hosted by Jon Sanwell of Without an H. Read on for more about this week’s theme and his photography tips!

Everyday Life. This challenge is all about people and the things they do every day: working, eating, drinking, chatting, dreaming, walking, exercising, or any of those things we do all the time without really thinking about it. Take a walk around your neighbourhood, or around the streets where you work or study, and take a look at the people you see. (The shot above was taken at lunch time on a street in Ho Chi Minh City.) You might think that your neighbourhood isn’t very interesting, but imagine that you’re giving a guided tour to someone from the other side of the world—what’s normal for you might be extraordinary to them.

Share a photo that means EVERYDAY LIFE to you!

Tip: My advice for taking pictures of people in public is to be friendly, open, and honest. Smile. Talk to people. Not everybody likes being photographed, but plenty of people do, especially if the photographer is nice to them. Secondly, remember that this challenge isn’t just about people; it’s also about the things they do—and that means providing context. I love taking close head-and-shoulders portraits, but they don’t necessarily show everyday life, as they don’t have any context. A wider angle, from up close, shows us something about what the subject is doing, and puts the viewer right into the frame.

Jon Sanwell is an English language teacher with a camera. Originally from Tunbridge Wells in the UK, he is now living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam. Follow his recent work on his blog, Without an H.

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New to The Daily Post? Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, you’re invited to get involved in our Weekly Photo Challenge to help you meet your blogging goals and give you another way to take part in Post a Day / Post a Week. Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, we’ll provide a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Friday when the next photo theme will be announced.

2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “Weekly Photo Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ tag.

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