New Year's Resolutions for Photographers
By Geoff Harris •
Assessing your photography can be a difficult task. It’s always easier to be objective about someone else’s photography than your own. However, there’s an argument to be made that you’re doing well as a creative photographer if, in the space of a year, you produce ten images that are better than anything you’ve produced before. These are images that show real artistic or technical development compared to previous years.
The first step then is to look for these images. It’s worth spending time over this process. A morning or afternoon would be reasonable period, particularly if you’ve had a productive year. The images on this page are some of my favourites from this year – though I've not allowed myself the opportunity yet to assess this year's collection thoroughly. Perhaps I'll do that early January before work begins again in earnest.
Once you’ve made your selection (and made a note of your choice for future reference) it’s then time to work out why those images are the best. Think about what you did to produce the images. Did you spend more time than usual composing or thinking about exposure? Or, were the images created more intuitively? Once you’ve worked this out think about how you can recreate this way of shooting in the future.
The immediate future is of course the year that stretches ahead. I don’t know about you but I always feel a tingle of excitement and optimism in early January. There is a sense that anything can be achieved if I put my mind to it. The key is work out a series of goals. Goals such as starting (and possibly completing) an interesting photographic project or shooting in an unfamiliar location, either close to home or even in a new country entirely.
The most challenging goal is to learn a new photographic skill. Last year I vowed to master the use of flash as a creative tool. This year’s goal? Well, hmmm actually I think it’s still to master flash as a creative tool (though much progress has been made during 2013).
It’s slightly daunting to start to learn something new. However, there’s no reason to do so alone. Joining a local photography club is a good way to tap into the experience of others (and make new friends along the way). Another good way to learn something new is to enrol on a photography course. Rather usefully you're looking at this blog on the very website that will enable you to do this. Just click on the 'Courses' link above to find out more.
What ever you do in 2014, make it a good year. Happy New Year Everyone!
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