Welcome to Project MCP: Develop Your Skills as a Photographer
UPDATE: for 2013, we are moving Project MCP to the MCP Facebook Group:”Shoot Me.” Join now for periodic skill-based photo challenges and creative editing challenges, plus conversation with photographers around the globe. Share your images edited with MCP products, and ask for critique on your images. It’s fun and it’s free. So join us NOW!
www.groupmcp.com
You know what they say, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!”
Today, Project 12 officially becomes Project MCP. As a faster-paced, challenge-filled project, Project MCP is sure to inspire, teach and get you taking more photos.
What is Project MCP and how will it work?
Project MCP is designed to push your creativity, improve your photography skills and help you capture images and memories to last a lifetime. Beginners, hobbyists and professional photographers are all invited to share in the journey.
On the first Saturday of each month, the Project MCP Team will offer up four, or five, challenges; one for each week of the month. The challenges might be a theme, technique or inspirational. Complete all, or just a couple. Take your photos in one shoot or in multiple sessions. This way you can fit Project MCP into your schedule and your life.
To keep you motivated, each Saturday you can check back on the MCP Actions Blog to learn more about the challenges, see other photographer’s work and learn new techniques.
Where to upload your images:
You spoke, and we listened!
Submit your Project MCP photos by uploading your images to the Project MCP Flickr group (formerly known as the Project 52 Flickr group) or on the MCP Actions Facebook page.
- You can upload five images to the Flickr group for each set of challenges posted.
- Important: When posting your images to our group or page, tag them with the project name, month and challenge number. For example: Project MCP, March, Challenge #1.
How to participate in Project MCP:
- Comment below and let us know you are on board. There is no timeline, so you can feel free to join anytime. The project is flexible; you can complete as few or as many of the challenges as you would like. Photos must be taken specifically for this project and within the time-frame indicated.
- Join the Project MCP Flickr group and/or our The MCP Facebook Page, take your photos and upload your images.
- Visit our Blog on the first Saturday of each month to find out the new challenges.
- Bookmark this page: http://projectmcp.info – this will help you find the posts each month.
- Remember, you can share unedited or edited images, iPhone, point and shoot, or SLR photos, anything goes. If you edited with MCP Actions, we’d love you to indicate what you used.
- Spread the love – Everyone likes praise. Visit the Project MCP Flickr group and the MCP Actions Facebook page to view submissions and leave comments for your fellow photographers. Please only give constructive criticism if asked for. Remember many participants are non-pros and are just looking to have fun. If you want detailed feedback and critique, indicate that.
- Spread the word – Share on Facebook, Twitter, your blog and photo forums all over the web. The more participants we have, the more we will learn from each other as photographers and the more fun it will be. Grab a Project MCP Banner here.
A few guidelines:
We would still like to keep things as relaxed as possible for 2012, but to help things run smoothly we will stick to these guidelines.
- Photos need to be taken in the within the noted time period and fit the challenge requirements. Do not use old photos which happen to fit a theme. You will be cheating yourself.
- Photos on the Flickr Group will be moderated. It make take up to 24 hours for your photos to appear.
- Collages fitting the topics and time-frame are welcome. You can use tools like our Blog it Boards to display these.
- No pornography, nudity, violence or any content deemed illegal by the United States Government. MCP Actions and its designees reserve the right to remove any photos deemed objectionable.
- Images must be taken by you. You cannot submit images from another photographer.
- By uploading to our project, you maintain copyright, but give us permission to use the photo on our Blog/Facebook, in the context of Project MCP. If we want to use a photo for any other purpose, we will contact you and obtain permission in writing. Please consider watermarking and branding your photos using tools like our Finish It actions or Free Facebook Fix Photoshop actions.
- Most importantly, have fun!
We hope that you will participate in Project MCP. We truly appreciate your feedback regarding Project 12 and hope that Project MCP is a change in the right direction. See you Saturday for the first challenges!
The Challenges Box: Current and Past Challenges
March, Challenge #1 - Take a picture from a high vantage point, from above your subject
March, Challenge #2 – Capture a photo using natural light.
March, Challenge #3 - Express the following word in a photo: Transition
March, Challenge #4 – Create a “guess what” photo – this is a photo that is so close up that the subject becomes abstract.
April, Challenge #1 – Illustrate the following in a photo: Showers/Wet
April, Challenge #2 – Take a picture using a shallow depth of field
April, Challenge #3 – Interpret the following in a photo: Blooming
April, Challenge #4 – Get Low. Lie Down on the ground and shoot above
May, Challenge #1 - Illustrate the following word in a photo: Neighborhood
May, Challenge #2 - Sunny Day - Capture a photo with sunflare
May, Challenge #3 - Illustrate the following word in a photo: Friend
May, Challenge #4 - Get moving - Take a photo using motion blur
May, Challenge #5 - One click – Don’t cheat. Think twice, click once - Show us your first shot
June, Challenge #1 – Express the following in a photo: Summer Love
June, Challenge #2 – The days are getting longer, but those summer nights are fun – Show us a night photo
June, Challenge #3 – Summer is about having fun - Snap a candid photo
June, Challenge #4 – Illustrate the following in a photo: Refresh
July, Challenge #1 – It’s the 4th of July – Capture the meaning of the word “independence” in a photo
July, Challenge #2 – Still feeling patriotic? – Take a photo of something red, white and/or blueJuly, Challenge #3 - Try a new technique – Take a bokeh photoJuly, Challenge #4 - Summer is in full swing! – Take a photo of your favorite summer activityAugust, Challenge #1 – The Olympic rings represent the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world – Take a photo illustrating repetition – bonus admiration for circles!
August, Challenge #2 – It’s all about sports – Capture a sports themed photo
August, Challenge #3 - It’s a multi-cultural event – there are 193 countries participating in the 2012 Summer Olympics – Capture a photo which captures the essence of your country
August, Challenge #4 – Everyone wants to bring home the gold – Take a photo of something “gold”.
September, Challenge #1 - Lots of pencils, more and more books – Take a photo illustrating “back to school” or the word “return”.September, Challenge #2 – Everyone knows a good teacher makes all the difference – Take a photo illustrating the word “teach or teacher”.September, Challenge #3 – The weather is getting cooler and it is getting dark earlier – Take a photo with the theme “signs of fall”..(If it is not Fall in your part of the world, go ahead and take a photo with your current season’s theme.)September, Challenge #4 – red, green, gold and brown are the signature colors of Fall –Take a photo with a Fall color scheme.October, Challenge #1 – It is getting darker earlier and the sun is getting lower –Take a silhouette or shadow photo.October, Challenge #2 – The chilly fall air makes me want to curl up on the couch with a good book – Take a photo illustrating the word “cozy”
October, Challenge #3- The leaves are beginning to fall from the trees. –Capture a photo of fall leaves
October, Challenge #4 - picking apples and pumpkins, visiting the fair and creeping through the corn maze - Take a photo of your favorite fall activity.
October, Challenge #5 – All Hallow’s Eve is upon us – Capture a spooky photo!
November, Challenge #1 - November is Child Safety month – Take a portrait of a favorite child
November, Challenge #2 – The days are getting shorter – Take a low light photograph
November, Challenge #3 - Veteran’s Day – Snap a photo documenting those who serve
November, Challenge #4 - Giving Thanks – Take a photo of something you are thankful for
November, Challenge #5 - Christmas is Coming, the goose is getting fat – Take a photo of the first signs of Christmas
December, Challenge #1 - Decorations are popping up everywhere – Capture a photo of a favorite piece of Christmas decor
December, Challenge #2 - Christmas is full of traditions – Take a photo representing the word “tradition”
December, Challenge #3 - The Christmas spirit – Capture a photo of the Christmas spirit
December, Challenge #4 - Twas 2 days before Christmas, and all through the house…Snap a photo of your Christmas wish
December, Challenge #5 - Happy New Year – 2013 will come in with a bang – Take a photo representing the number “13″.
We want to thank our corporate sponsors for Project MCP:
Next Post: The Importance of Looking Back At Your Old Photography
Me too
wish i was better at marketing
I’m in.
I’m in!
I’d like to participate. Thanks for the challenge!
Count me in!
This time I´m in!
I’m in
I’m in!
I’m in! I joined for the year and got my photo in for January but just ran out of time for February… so I’m ready for March. Bring it!
I’m in and very excited to learn from others!
Sign me up!
Sounds good. Count me in.
Would love to try. Thanks!
i’m in
I’m on board
I’m really needing some inspiration and motivation to get back to my hobby. I’ve been off the bandwagon for a while. This looks great!
Me too!
I’m in!
This sounds fun. I’m in!
I’m in
Excited to see that you are doing this on flickr! I’m in!
im so glad its changed and is bck to flickr!!im in
I like the more specific challenges to try. Thank you! Looking forward to helpful feedback as well.
Awesome! I’ll be joining in! Doing a weekly project on my own wasn’t working out…
Count us in!!!!
Iam in!
we’re in!
Im in! You can count on me.
I’m excited to be a part of this group.
Im in.
I’m in!! Very excited already.
I am in, too!
I’m in! So excited to complete these challenges!
I am in
I am in too! Thanks guys!
I want to join!
Okay, I was on board for the MCP 12 option and will switch things up for this. I need to downloard the new button for my blog!! I think the Challenges will be fun!
I’ll give it a try.
Im in! This sounds like so much fun for a newbie-photography like me
Just found out about this and am going to dive right in! Yay…
Sigh. I was so excited about the one-theme-a-month; it just worked for me. I’m willing to give this a go too, though.
I’m with you, Christina. There are tons of these time-intensive projects out there. I was looking for something that would fit with my busy schedule and allow me to explore one theme thoughtfully, on my time.
Christina, the other project was not very well received so we changed it – we are listing 4 themes and people can do all or just one. And submit 1 photo for each – a few for 1, or just do 1 theme. In a way this should make everyone happy.
We are open to feedback but there was too much lag for most in a once a month project, so we decided to make it so it could go either way depending on the person.
Sorry you are disappointed. Jodi
It’s okay. I know you can’t have everyone jumping for joy all the time. : ) I worked on my photos for March’s challenges today, and I’m feeling better about it. Sorry for complaining…
i’m in!!
I want to participate to the challenge
I’m in! The themes for March look great!
I’m excited about participating – so count me in!
I’m in! I was in for January, and I love the new format.
Iiiiiiiiiiin!
Im in, many I will learn how to take a good picture!
In!!
Ugh. I shan’t be participating in this new project. I was really excited about the full-month, single-focus challenge. The reason I joined it was because I don’t have time to devote to these weekly or highly social-media driven project. Shame you threw the baby out with the bathwater on that.
Michelle, the other project was not very well received so we changed it – we are listing 4 themes and people can do all or just one. And submit 1 photo for each – a few for 1, or just do 1 theme. In a way this should make everyone happy.
We are open to feedback but there was too much lag for most in a once a month project, so we decided to make it so it could go either way depending on the person.
Sorry you are disappointed. Jodi
A perfect fit for my calendar, hopeing to get two a month done!
Gonna give it a try!
I’m in!
I’m in!
I’m in, hopefully
keen to give it a try
I am in, but I can’t seem to find the time frame mentioned. Am I looking in the wrong places?
Only taken in March? February?
IM IN!
Sound great! I’m in!
I’m in!
Think I’m in.
I’m in.
I’m in… I hope. I have started projects like these before, and get so busy with other responsibilities, I fall behind. Wish me luck, this time!
Sounds fun ~ count me in! =)
How exciting! Count me in!
I am in!!
I’m in.
This is better than just one challenge a month! Count me in!
Thank you! I will be participating.
I’m in!
I’m IN!!
I’m in! Hoping this gets me back into the swing of things!
count me in:)
Thank you for the challenge, I’m in!
[...] Last week I was reading a blog post over at MCP Actions and saw that they were doing a photography project called Project MCP. [...]
just jumped in. Am already in the Flickr Group from last year.
Sounds fun!! I’m in…
[...] This past weekend, I got the opportunity to shoot some pictures at a nearby park. My friend and her girls ended up going with us. Her daughter .J. proved to be a very willing poser and I got some great shots of her on a spontaneous photo shoot. I used the one above for the natural light challenge. [...]
I want to Join.
I’m in!
i’m in!
I’m in!
On board
Did one! cooool!
I’m in! Looking forward to being pushed to practice and improve my skills.
I’m in
I’m in!
I’m in!!! Just posted my first 2!
Not sure if I responded or not but I am definitely on board!
I am in!!
[...] photo challenge for this week was “Express the following word in a photo: [...]
I would like to join the challenge.
would like to participate.
Better late than never…I’m on it, dog-gone-it!
I’m in…
I am so in. Sounds like a lot of fun with a sprinkle of challenge. Thank you.
i’m in
Sounds great!
I’m going to try it, but I still doubt that I’ll do more than one challenge. I don’t mind so much the way that the assignments have changed because it’s really left up to us, as it is… but rather the uploading method. I very much preferred the link-up. That was the appeal for me. I’m in though…