Photos are great tool for writing reflection. And because most people have a camera on their smartphone, photos are easier and less expensive to take. So I thought it might be useful to brainstorm a list of photo related prompts for journal writing.
The photo prompts are based on topics and things that are accessible in your home, community, and the city or town where you live. You don’t have to be a skilled photographer to take photos. You can literally point and shoot to get a decent photo, especially for writing purposes.
You might try taking one or two photos a week for your journal writing. If you keep digital journal like Day One, you can even turn the pictures and journal entries into a book.
Note: the following are prompts that I came up with. You will no doubt come up with more ideas for your own photo prompts. If you do, please share your ideas in the comment section below.
Happy journaling.
Photo and Writing Prompts
- Take a photo of your favorite hangout and write about it.
- Take a photo of the person or people you love the most and write a journal entry about the people who appear in the photo.
- Take a before and after picture and write about it. Example: De-cluttering a space in your home or apartment, or working in your garden.
- Take a pic of the sunset and write about it. Google “sunset today” to find out what time the sun will dip below the horizon where you live.
- Take a pic from top the tallest place you can find and write about the view.
- Take a pic of a closed door of a room and write about what’s on the other side of the door.
- Photograph an animal and write your relationship to it.
- Find the oldest place in your neighborhood, city, or town and write about it. If you can, convert the photo to black and white. Takes notes while you’re at the place.
- Photograph a tourist spot in your city or town and write about its significance and what people do when they visit.
- Take three or more pictures of the same thing, place or person from multiple angles and write about it.
- Take a pic of a bridge and write about what it was like to walk across it.
- Locate an attractive, colorful building, park, or place. Write about how you felt when you took the picture and walked around the place.
- Drive around or walk downtown and take pics of three or more interesting signs and write about them.
- Cook a new meal and write about it. Include the recipe, and write about the experience of cooking the dish.
- Take a pic of a stack of your favorite books and write about the experience of reading them.
- Take a picture of something you cherish and write about it.
- Go to a busy place where there are lots of people and take a photo of a stranger. Write about the experience.
- Visit and take a poverty-stricken area in your community or city and write about it. Write about your relationship to the place or your distance from it.
- Locate a piece of public art in your city, neighborhood or town and write about it.
- Take a picture of one of your favorite places to eat and write about it.
- Take a picture of a river, lake, or ocean and write about it.
- Find a newspaper stand and take a pic of it. Write about the news items on the from page.
- Take a picture of the oldest person you know and then write about that person.
- If you don’t normally eat a good breakfast, wake up one morning and cook a nutritious breakfast that includes fruit and take a pic of it. Write about the experience and how made you feel the rest of the day.
- Take a pic of where you work and write about it.
- Take a pic of a field or garden of flowers and write about it.
- Attend a public event and take multiple pictures. Write about the experience.
- Take a picture of your favorite beverage. Write about how good or bad that beverage is for you.
- Take multiple pictures of places in your community and write a reflection about your community.
- Take a selfie pic and write about what they pic does and doesn’t show about you.
- Take pics at an amusement park and write about how you felt visiting the park.




Share Your Ideas
I hope this list inspires you to share your own ideas for photo prompts. Please share a few in the comment section below. Thank you.
Be very cool if Day One could do a random pick of a photo from one’s library and insert it as a prompt. Less planned, more spontaneous.
Good idea, and sounds like it could work. Thanks for sharing.