With Christmas just around the corner, you might be thinking about setting yourself some creative goals for the photographic year ahead. One option is to shoot a 365 project, where you take one image every day for a year.
This sounds like a simple enough task when you enjoy photography as much as you do, but I know from experience it’s quite an undertaking having tackled one a few years ago.
These are my top eight pieces of advice to make sure you shoot for the whole year and don’t give up before the end of January. Good luck!
Avoid unnecessary restrictions
At the start of my 365 project, I thought I’d shoot everything on just one camera, but it quickly became apparent that would be too restrictive. Cameras that are pocketable and have a good range of features, such as the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC- RX100 III, are great for 365 projects but there might be a day when you want to capture a specific image that demands a particular lens, or some function that your chosen camera doesn’t have. There might also be a day when you accidentally leave the camera at home (it does happen). That’s why my 365 project contains images shot on everything from an iPhone to a DSLR.
Don't shoot the first thing you see each day - get creative!
Be creative
Personally, I think a 365 should be a creative challenge and that means actively looking for images rather than just photographing the first thing you see. A 365 littered with photographs of your lunch or your commute to work isn’t really the idea. There’s no reason why you can’t shoot these subjects, of course, but don’t do them repeatedly and try to be creative with how you shoot - you are a photographer after all!
Keep it fun by setting mini challenges
Everyone has different reasons for shooting a 365 project, but the overriding driver should be to have fun with your photography throughout the year. So if you find yourself grinding to a creative halt - take action! One way to do this is to set yourself mini challenges. These could be anything you like; subject, technique or equipment based. I spent one week, for example, just shooting portraits, while on other days I would take pictures with LensBaby accessories to give my images a more quirky look and feel. Doing this can help you overcome creative blocks and keep the whole project enjoyable.
Let people know you’re doing it
Shooting a 365 is time-consuming especially if, like me, you decide to blog about it every day throughout the year. It’s important to tell friends, family and colleagues for three key reasons. First, there will be times when you’ll be sitting at home and the light will suddenly be perfect, so you’ll dash out to make the most of it. I went out at all times of day and night, in the middle of meals, everything! Second, these people will often come up with great ideas for things to photograph - it’s always best to have multiple minds coming up with potential subject matter. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, they will encourage you to see it all through.
You might have to miss a meal to make sure you're in the right place at the right time
Have some back up ideas
There may be some days when you won’t be able to get out and about with your camera. You might be in a meeting for the day, or with family, or just might not be feeling very well. When these days happen, it’s handy to have a few back up ideas that you can shoot quickly at home when you do get a few spare minutes. Carry a notebook with you and jot down ideas as and when they come up.
Create mini milestones
Taking one picture every day is a challenge and if you look at the task as a 365 day chunk it’s easy to get demoralised, especially if you’re only on day 23. To overcome this, I found it helped to create mini milestones throughout the year. Start by celebrating when you complete the first week, then the first month, then the first 50 days, then when you hit 100. Breaking the time down like this gives you regular milestones to achieve and means you’ll always have a short term goal alongside the year-long achievement.
Keep your batteries charged so your kit is already ready for action
Make sure your kit is always ready for action
Your camera kit is going to get a lot of use over the year, so make sure it’s ready for the onslaught. This means always making sure that the battery is charged and is loaded with a freshly formatted memory card. Buying spares is a good idea, too and will mean that you’ll never be caught out without power or memory.
Organise and backup your shots
For each day of my 365, I shot at least 20 images and I’d often take many more than that, so it’s important that you get your storage organised right from the start. My filing system was simple enough - I sorted my shots by month first and then individual weeks, keywording the images when I worked on them in Lightroom. Don’t forget to backup your shots as you go as well - I saved mine to an external hard drive, just to be safe!
Keep your photos organised so they're easy to find
. digitalrev.com2018-12-20 03:00
