The “colour photo walk” trend is a viral social media challenge where people turn a regular walk into a creative game

The “colour photo walk” also widely called the “colour spotting” or “colour hunting” trend is a viral social media challenge where people turn a regular walk into a creative game.

How it works
1. Pick one specific colour before you leave the house (for example, bright yellow, forest green, or electric blue).

2. Go for a walk with your phone or a camera, without any planned route.

3. Let the colour guide you. Every time you see that colour, whether it’s on a fire hydrant, a flower, a piece of trash, or a building door, you walk toward it and snap a photo.

4. Compile the photos into a beautiful aesthetic grid or video collage to share online.

How it helps
Younger generations have embraced this trend because it works like a “cheat code” for mental health and creativity. This trend forces your brain to play a game of real-life I-Spy. Because you are hyper-focused on finding a colour, your brain naturally stops worrying and anchors you in the present moment.

Where did it come from?
While it is becoming a trend Instagram recently, the concept actually has a fascinating history that goes back decades. The famous American writer William S. Burroughs first wrote about this exact exercise. He called it “walking on colours” and used it as a tool to unlock memories and spark new ideas for his books. For years, photography and art professors have assigned “colour walks” to students to teach them how to look at the world differently and study how different colours interact.