The Wheel of Doom Challenge: Why I Let a Spinning Wheel Decide My Photography

There are days when every photographer asks the same question:

“Where should I go shoot today?”

Instead of spending an hour trying to decide, I decided to remove myself from the equation entirely.

Welcome to the Wheel of Doom Challenge.

The Rules

I built three spinning wheels.

🎥 Wheel #1 – Camera & Lens

This wheel decides what gear I have to use.

Examples include:

Sony A7R III + 35mm f/1.4
Sony A7R III + 70-180mm f/2.8
Sony A7R III + 17-28mm f/2.8
Sony A7R III + 28-75mm f/2.8
Sony RX100 VII
Sony A7 + Any Lens

No changing once the wheel decides.

📷 Wheel #2 – Photography Challenge

This is where things get interesting.

Possible challenges include:

Rule of Thirds
Leading Lines
Shoot From Ground Level
Shoot Vertically
Black & White
Reflections
Architecture
Fill the Frame
Portraits
Flash Required
Telephoto Only

Whatever the wheel lands on…

Those are the rules.

🌎 Wheel #3 – Destination

The final wheel decides where I have to go.

Examples might include:

Asbury Park
Belmar
Long Branch
Sandy Hook
Sea Bright
Downtown
Nature Trail
Anywhere within 20 minutes

No backing out.

The First Challenge

For Episode One…

The wheel landed on:

✅ Sony A7R III

✅ 28-75 mm lens

✅ Rule of Thirds

So I grabbed my camera, jumped in the car before sunrise, and headed to the Jersey Shore.

The goal wasn’t simply to take pretty pictures.

The goal was to force myself to think differently.

Instead of placing everything in the center of the frame, every image had to intentionally use the Rule of Thirds.

What Is the Rule of Thirds?

Imagine dividing your photograph into nine equal sections using two horizontal and two vertical lines.

Instead of placing your subject in the middle…

Place it near one of those lines or where they intersect.

It creates balance, movement, and often a much more engaging composition.

While editing this challenge, I even overlaid the Rule of Thirds grid on each image so viewers could immediately see why the composition worked before revealing the final photograph.

What I Learned

One thing became obvious very quickly.

When you intentionally shoot with one rule in mind, you stop taking random photographs.

You begin looking for compositions that naturally fit the challenge.

It forces creativity instead of waiting for inspiration.

Why I’m Doing This

Photography should be fun.

Somewhere along the way it’s easy to become obsessed with gear, editing software, and social media algorithms.

This challenge brings me back to simply going outside and making photographs.

No pressure.

Just creativity.

Follow Along

I’ll be documenting each challenge as a short Instagram Reel.

You’ll see:

The wheels spin.
The gear selection.
The challenge.
The location.
Behind-the-scenes footage.
The final images.

Every episode is different because I never know what the wheels are going to decide.

Help Build the Wheel

I’d love for you to be part of this project.

One Spin. The wheel makes the rules.

That’s the only rule.

See you on the next challenge.

Follow the journey:

📷 Instagram: @alphawolffphotos

🌐 Portfolio & Blog: AlphaWolff Journal

Which image from the first Wheel of Doom Challenge was your favorite? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to suggest a challenge for a future spin!