Approach 100 strangers and ask to photograph them. Keep count. Publish every one.

The number matters because it forces you past the easy conversations. The first ten are people you have something in common with, people who say yes immediately. By number forty you are approaching people who make you nervous. By number eighty you have had enough rejections to know they don't hurt, and enough acceptances to know that most people are more interested in being photographed than you assumed.

The photography itself is almost secondary to what the project does to your confidence. The street photographer's fundamental problem is hesitation. This project eliminates it through volume.

Practical notes: ask openly, explain briefly. 'I'm working on a portrait project — could I make a quick photograph?' is enough. Accept every no gracefully. Move on immediately.

Watch for: the temptation to only approach 'interesting-looking' people. Resist it. Everyone is interesting at close range.

The point: 100 strangers is not about the photographs. It is about who you become by the time you've made them.