In early May, a fellow gamer reached out to me on Instagram to ask if I'd be interested in co-hosting a photo challenge. I've participated in a few before but have never hosted one so this was a new opportunity for me to dive further into the world of Instagram!
What's a photo challenge?
A photo challenge on Instagram is where one or more people ("hosts") come up with a theme and specific prompts, encouraging the community to participate by posting photos with a specific hashtag. Photo challenges help get your content out to folks who may not have come across you before as well as help you make new friends with similar interests.
My co-host, spookytootz on Instagram, came up with a really fun theme: the Color of Gaming. We'd give folks a color for the day and they were encouraged to post anything gaming related that they thought of for that color.
How'd it go?
We shared information about the photo challenge in advance, hoping that some people would try to plan a few photos to include. When Day 1 arrived, I was so excited to see someone post after we did! But we had no idea how well it was going to go.
Nearly 300 posts from dozens of accounts later, I was having trouble keeping up with liking, sharing and responding to everyone's photos. My co-host and I were so thrilled to see gamers share photos with their own style, showcasing their collections and knowledge. I am very grateful to the gaming community for joining us on this challenge, for encouraging each other and for being general good people. We look forward to spring 2020 where we will host the challenge again!
Take a look at the #ColorofGaming tag on Instagram and see the creativity!
What did I post?
I made sure to have something to share every day during this challenge since I was one of the hosts. I also wanted to be sure I interacted with everyone who posted during this challenge, so I followed the #ColorofGaming hashtag to keep up to date on everything people shared.
Day 1: Red
This red GameBoy Pocket was the first GameBoy I ever had. It’s pretty scratched and beat up now, but still works. (The hard part was searching the house for batteries!)
Day 2: Orange
My favorite color! I really love how orange fits in with Overwatch, whether it’s in my bright orange Tracer jacket or a subtle accent in Reinhardt’s helm.
Day 3: Yellow
I have a confession to make. When I was a kid, I couldn’t stand Pikachu. Why was Pikachu on all of the US marketing products? I don’t think I was a huge fan of Pikachu in the original anime at the time. But as an adult, I adore the different styles of Pikachu that have come about, and I’ve completely changed my mind on the electric mouse.
Day 4: Green
Bulbasaur was my least favorite starter Pokémon as a kid, but holy cow all the bulbas in Detective Pikachu are SO CUTE! I got this @originalfunko 10 inch bulba Target exclusive over the weekend. They’re in high demand right now and the staff at my Target were kind enough to dig one up in the back for me!
Day 5: Blue
I always think of Zelda games and the beautiful Hylian Shield when it comes to the color blue. I bought this plastic shield online and used it in our engagement photos!
Day 6: Purple
My husband and I actually have a large tabletop gaming collection so I thought I’d focus on some purple games!
Day 7: Black
When I was a kid, all I cared about were gaming toys. But as an adult now, I’m really into theming my house with gaming decor. Recently I got this adorable handmade pillow from @mrs_foxdesigns. It fits in our home perfectly!
Day 8: White
I thought I’d put together a handful of interesting items for this one. These Nintendo Power magazines are from 2006 and 2007 (before the Wii was released!) and I’ve got my Eevee Tamagotchi (yes it’s currently dead lol). But my favorite thing is the pixelated heart headband, I wore it at my wedding!
Final thoughts?
I had a great time hosting this photo challenge and I'm so glad spookytootz asked me to join him. If you're on Instagram and are interested in hosting a challenge, I hope you do!
A unique idea and hard work will determine your success. Spookytootz and I made sure to brainstorm beforehand: we created graphics to share online, he made sure to choose a hashtag that hadn't been picked before, we spent a lot of time during the week responding and interacting with posts, and we made sure to thank everyone when the week was over.
