Here we are sitting on the final week of 2010. I hope that 2010 met you with all sorts of personal growth, new experiences, and an ever-increasing love for photography. As 2010 heads to a distant memory, it is now time to look at 2011 and how to make it a better year than 2010. Just how can you do that? It is not so hard!
1. Don’t leave home without a camera! Yeah, I have said this a lot! It still applies no matter the day, month, or year. Never leave your home without a camera of some sort. You never know when a photo opportunity is going to creep up. Even a simple cell phone picture can tell a novel of a story. Do not end the day wishing you had caught just that one image. Besides, it is a great way to keep your photography skills up to snuff!
2. Network, network, and network some more. It does not matter how experienced or inexperienced you are, networking is the best way to grow your skills, business, and pool of peers. Even if you are just learning the ropes, there are people out there willing to share their knowledge and help you on this fantastic path. Networking also gives you people to just go out to coffee with and discuss why one lens is far superior to another one, or gripe about how cold it is. You know, whatever suits your fancy. The important part is meeting new people, building great friendships, and continuing to learn. Start simple and talk to people on Twitter if that is what it takes!
3. Get critiqued at least once a quarter. If you are honestly looking to get great photos, get a photo critique once every three months. Do not just settle for a “this is a great shot” kind of critique either. Ask what makes it great. Find out how to make it better. If you are told it is a terrible shot, do not get down on yourself. Ask question on why it is bad, how to improve it, what to do differently, or even examples of similar shots. Honest critiques are good for the photographer soul burning inside you.
4. Setup some photo projects for yourself. Photo projects are great for focusing you onto one or two things. You may want to post a photo online everyday for the year, maybe you want to take pictures of sunsets at every state capital. The list of possibilities here is endless. Start cooking up themes now so that when January 1 rolls around you are ready to start busting out some great project work. These can even be personal projects like building a calendar of your images. Then you give this calendar away to friends and family. Choose things that are both fun and challenging to you.
5. Print one piece of work and hang it in your home. Living in a digital world is great for sharing photos, instant feedback, and even instantly seeing your new photos. Yet there is nothing like having a professionally printed piece you can hold, touch, and see. Take one of your best shots and have it printed by a professional printing company. Why do this you ask. Anticipation really. You send out the photo, and then you wait the days it takes to get that photo back. It is like a mini holiday gift to say the least. Holding your work in your hands makes all that hard work so much more real. If you have never sent a photo off, do this soon and see just what I mean by this. And yes, I still get giddy every time I get something back from the printer.
6. Never stop learning dang it! You can never stop learning. The moment you do is either the moment you are dead or to elitist for your own good. There is always something new to explore and challenge yourself. Just because you shoot portraits does not mean you cannot learn a thing or two about food photography. Who knows, you may find dealing with strawberry pie to be extremely satisfying. Ultimately, this causes you to branch out to include a few food photos in your portfolio. The only way to grow is to learn!
7. Just celebrate the small wins. I do this a lot. Whatever you consider a small win, celebrate it. I had a compliment come in from Brian Matiash (someone I have followed and idolized for some time now) on just one of my Lego photos. Yeah, it was only a compliment. Sure, it is only on one photo. That compliment single handedly made my night though. I still get excited to see comments, compliments, and people sharing my work. Take time to relish in the little things, as they are what bind all the major accomplishments together.
8. I am going to say this yet again: HAVE SOME DANG FUN! At the end of the day, if you are not enjoying whatever flavor of photography you are pursuing, you are doing something wrong. Some of you may do this just as a hobby, while others are doing this as their full time professions. No matter what your skill level is, having fun is what makes this so great. Enjoy what you do, and the world will grace you with more enjoyment.
That’s it, eight measly things to get you started. Most of these have all been covered before, but they are important enough to re-iterate. What will you do to make 2011 that much more spectacular than what 2010 was?
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This is where you would expect me to tell you about my life, how awesome I am, or why I am so superior to other people in this line of business. I would enjoy telling you how I have wrestled grizzly bears 10 feet tall. Maybe you would like hearing how I have taken on Velociraptors in my days as a young man. Even better is the story how I have traveled to the furthest reaches of space to stop catastrophic alien invasions. The problem will be that you might not believe my awesome stories.
I will keep these awesome stories for the campfire though. I’m just a man, taking pictures, trying to make a living. I ditched my education in computers in favor of pursuing my passion for photography. I enjoy a good cold beer on a warm day. I have a fondness of the outdoors.. I have enjoyed years capturing life’s unscripted moments. Hopefully, I can enjoy many more years of slacking off without fear of those grizzlies taking me out before my time.
My Philosophy is to capture those non-scripted moments. To capture the little details that this world really has to offer. From weddings to insects, I enjoy capturing the life, the details, and the moments that come and go in a flash.
RT @TrevorCurrent: New Post: Photography 101: Make 2011 Better Than 2010 https://currentphotographer.com/photograp… #photog #togs
#5 is especially true. If you’ve never done it, I highly recommend it. And get it done from a true, professional printer that offers choices of archival art paper – not from your desktop printer. It can make all the difference, especially once it’s framed. It’ll be a constant reminder of what you can produce, and also gives the added benefit of having a finished product to show to prospects.