Tag: photo challenge

7-Day Photo Challenge: National Pet Week

On April 25, 2020

For most pet owners, showing appreciation to your furry friends comes naturally. After all, they help to make us feel happier every day. Although life can get pretty busy, so time isn’t always on our side when it comes to giving our pets the attention they deserve. That’s where National Pet Week comes in – a whole seven days dedicated to our pets – and it’s just around the corner! That’s why we’ve been conjuring up a plan to help you celebrate this special occasion with your furry friends, and it’s another 7 Day Photo Challenge.

This time, we challenge you to pull together a mixture of witty portraits and candid shots of your pet – but be sure to get their good side…

Day 1: Doing a trick

The ultimate dog photo challenge! Start with a bang and show off your pet’s skills with a snap of them doing their best trick. Whether that’s of them up on their hind legs, shaking hands (or paws), rolling over or another fun pet trick. If the photos are turning out blurry, try taking them in burst or live mode to try and get the best shot. And remember, with the Nixplay smart frames you can display both videos and photos – so don’t worry if you can’t get the perfect still shot, choose video instead!

Pet can’t do any tricks? No problem! A cute snap of them looking their best is just as good.

Day 2: Fresh air

Whatever the weather, we want to see a picture of your pet enjoying the great outdoors. Whether you’re off on your daily walk, at their favorite outdoor spot or you’re trying your hand at a mini photoshoot in the back yard. Maybe your pup likes to prance around in the puddles or bask in the warmth of the sun – either way, capturing them in their element is sure to produce a happy photo that’s worth sharing with family and friends.

Day 3: Smiling for the camera

It’s no secret that an adorable photo of an animal smiling into the camera can pull on the heartstrings. So why not share a snap of your pet showing off their best smile? Simple yet effective, you could even use a black and white filter for a timeless and ‘pawfessional’ look.

This one might be a bit tricky, but we’re sure a little treat wouldn’t go unnoticed…

Day 4: Favorite toys

It’s day four and we want to see your pets with their favorite friends. From squeaky toys and cuddly animals, to tug of war ropes and bouncy balls, every pet wants to show off their favorite toy and this is the perfect opportunity to do it. So why not capture a quick shot of them playing with or even cuddling their favorite toy as they sleep?

Day 5: Dinner time

Serving up their favorite treat for dinner? Share a snap of them indulging on gourmet meal for day five. While a candid shot will work, you could also style it up to create a comical scene of your pet politely sitting at the dinner table. Better yet, take a different angle and show off your furry friend in a chef’s hat “preparing” dinner!

Day 6: Playing dress up

Dress them up in their Sunday best or a comical costume for a fun twist on today’s photo challenge. From fake glasses to jumpers and hats, there’s a range of pet clothes out there to try – although don’t force them into it. If they’re not feeling comfortable, simply set them up in a comical scene instead! Whether that’s reading a book, sitting at a computer or having a drink on a deck chair in the back yard.

Day 7: Pets and owners

For this last day, we ask you to take a photo with your pet. National Pet Week is all about promoting and encouraging responsible pet care, which is why we want to see you and your pet together. Whether that’s a selfie, an old portrait or a snap of you lounging in the local park. (We can also answer the age-old question of whether pets look like their owners…)

Pet Photography Tips

Wondering how to take good pet photos ahead of National Pet Week? Pets are unpredictable and often move about quite quickly, so capturing the right moment might be tricky. So, here are some of our top pet photography tips to get you started:

Take your pictures in burst mode: If they can’t sit still, shooting a burst of photos in one go will increase your chances of getting the perfect shot.
Look for the best light: As with any image, good light is everything – especially when it comes to pets with darker fur.
Offer a reward: Putting them through this many mini photoshoots most definitely deserves a reward! A few cuddles or treats should do it.

But the most important tip is to always remember to keep your pet safe, because putting them in danger to get the “perfect” photo definitely isn’t worth it.

Discover our top 4 pet photography tips to find out more about how to take good pet photos to prepare for your 7 Day Photo Challenge.

Sharing Your 7 Day Photo Challenges for National Pet Week

Remember to share your daily photo challenge updates with your friends and family. Upload your National Pet Week challenges to your social media profiles with the hashtags #NixplayNationalPetWeekPhoto Challenges and #NationalPetWeek and showcase your snaps. Better yet, share your photo challenges with other Nixplay users and connect your digital photo frame to your social media accounts! Create the ultimate pet photo frame with a loving slideshow of your favorite furry friend photos. Sharing memories has never been easier.

7 Day Photo Challenge: Easter Edition

By Alice Murray

On March 31, 2020

In Holidays

Learning how to take the best photos entails more than knowing how to work the camera. It’s about setting up the right shot and working with the materials and subjects that you’ve got. This new 7 Day Photo Challenge series lets you get more creative with your photography and lets you share these moments with family and friends.

Start Your Easter Photo Challenge

To celebrate Easter this year, we want you to take part in our 7 Day Photo Challenge, filled with fun activities that you and the family can enjoy. Upload your photo challenges to your social media profiles with the hashtag #NixplayEasterPhotoChallenge and showcase your favorite snaps this Easter season!

Check out our Easter Instagram photo challenge ideas below.

1. All The Chocolate

Since a large portion of the Easter period is spent munching on chocolate, we’ve taken the opportunity to challenge you to take the best chocolate-filled photo. We’re looking for candid shots of your little ones diving into their first Easter egg, or mouthwatering snaps featuring your edible Easter bunnies. This Easter photo idea is simple but effective–and as a sweet bonus, you get to eat all the chocolate, too.

2. Fresh Flowers

Head down to a flower garden or meadow, or pick up some fresh blossoms to feature in your photos. Spring is all about colorful blooms and new life, so there’s no better way to celebrate than with a beautiful photo of fresh flowers, be it a charming bunch of hand-picked daisies, a scenic photo of a meadow, or a portrait of a loved one with a bouquet. Get creative and play around with petals, leaves, and blossoms to come up with a memorable image. If you’ve got time to play around, you could even put together a flower crown for each of your family members to wear. If all else fails, don’t forget that green grass and brightly colored flowers make for the perfect Easter photo backdrop!

3. Painted Eggs

Give your family another challenge and have a competition for the best decorated hard-boiled egg. Painting and decorating eggs is a classic Easter activity that both children and adults can get involved in, so why not treasure the moment with a photo challenge? Here are some egg painting ideas to get you started:

Dye your eggs using drops of food coloring in a bath of water
Draw faces on your eggs using a permanent marker
Paint Easter bunnies, flowers, and polka dots
Use finger painting techniques

If you want to up the ante, let your family and friends who live far away vote by sending photos of your finished eggs to their Nixplay Wi-Fi cloud frames! It’s a great way to get the whole gang involved, no matter where they are.

4. Easter Egg Hunt Candids

It’s finally spring, so make the most out of the weather and step outside for the ultimate Easter egg hunt. Take your camera out with you to snap some cute candids of your little ones while they’re on the lookout. Prepare lots of Easter eggs and wicker baskets to get the perfect snaps. You can set up in the back yard, or head over to the local park for your Easter egg hunt.

Top tip: When taking candid photos, use Burst Mode on your Smart Phone to get the best in-the-moment shot.

5. Bunny Ears

Pick up some bunny ears from your local fancy dress shop for our Day 5 photo challenge. Put them on the kids, on your furry friends, or on the whole family for the perfect Easter snap! You can even have a little fun with it and wear them out in public, sharing your snaps with friends and family using the Nixplay App as you go.

6. Easter Cupcakes

We challenge you to bake and decorate some delicious Easter cupcakes! Whether they’re topped with baby chicks, adorable bunnies, fluffy sheep, or an edible bird’s nest made of chocolate, we want to see it. Be as creative as you can be with it, but here are some top tips to get you started:

Use piping nozzles and green icing to top your cupcakes with “grass”.
Decorating with sheep? Use mini marshmallows to make them look nice and fluffy.
Dip strawberries in orange icing and stick them on the tops of your cupcakes to create the illusion of baby carrots sticking out of the ground.

After this, have a mini photoshoot with your Easter cupcakes to show them off to your friends and family (that is, if you can wait to eat them!).

7. Baby Animals

Celebrate new life at Easter and head to your local petting zoo to take some shots of the adorable lambs and baby chicks, plus the cute puppies, bunnies, and kittens. Try to get the best shots for your final submission to the Nixplay 7 Day Photo Challenge–and we’ll give you bonus points if you can capture a smile!

Sharing Your 7 Day Photo Challenges

Remember to keep everyone up to date with your 7 Day Photo Challenge! Share your photo challenges with other Nixplay users and connect your digital photo frame to your social media accounts. You can also send your Easter photos to your frames via email, the Nixplay app or our website–so sharing memories with the family has never been easier.