Be a Better Photographer (& human) in 365 Days: Part 2
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed thinking about completing a personal year-long photography or film project, you are in the RIGHT PLACE! Whether your plan is a photo a week or a photo each day, it feels like a BIG undertaking & it’s easy to get buried in the work of it all, but don’t stay stuck there! Let’s walk through some ways to make it manageable together because I’ll be right there with you BOTH skipping AND muddling through the year! If you haven’t read PART 1 start HERE! Your intentions set there will be the fuel which drives the practical part of a successful year-long project.
Alright let’s get the camera out, decide what to capture, organize all the files, edit & then figure out what to do with all those finished photos!
“AND THAT”S WHY I NEVER FINISH!” Did you just say that or was that me?
Take some deep breaths (talking to myself here)…. & grab a coffee so we can sort through these obstacles to put your yearly project within reach.
By this time next year, you’ll be flipping through a huge book of photos of the daily life you love!
FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT I want you to know this is YOUR project and YOU get to make the rules! Design a project that fits your needs & your life, not something “extra” to shove into an already full schedule. This is where setting goals & intentions really comes into play. Be clear about what is important & when you fall off the boat (yes I said when), you will be far more likely to pick back up where you left off because perfection isn’t the goal, a deeper life-perspective is!
Perfection isn’t the goal, a deeper life perspective is!
Let’s dig in & face the objections that made us break into a sweat a few seconds ago!
Get the Camera Out
This is a habit you will build into the daily routine. It’ll be tricky at first, but will soon be second nature! You’re probably used to taking quick snaps with your cell phone and keep your “big camera” safely put away (& maybe one of your “rules” is to use your phone camera-that’s fine too!). I encourage you to place your camera somewhere super accessible to grab at a moments notice. Pretty light will catch your eyes, your kids will be acting less barbarians than usual (though by ALL MEANS document the savagery too!) & you won’t capture it if the camera isn’t in reach, WITH a battery & memory card. The moment will pass & later you’ll wish you had taken the photo. I have found a different place in each house we’ve lived which is relatively safe to store my camera in the open. In our current place I have a green painted buffet in the dining room where the camera lives when it is not in my hands.
2. DECIDE WHAT TO CAPTURE
DO NOT WAIT FOR PERFECTION BECAUSE IT WILL NOT COME! Throughout this year, you will take wonderful pictures & some crummy photos too. It’s all part of the growth so each shoddy image is valuable too! When you put your work together at the end of the year no one will look at the compilation & say “wow beautiful work, but you really struggled February 22nd & May 16th” NO ONE, not one person (& if they do let me know so we can kick them in the shins together!). Some days will be interesting & some days will find themselves a touch boring, but I have confidence that what we see as drudgery today will be a premium feast for the eyes in the future! Don’t overthink this, photograph the morning routines, snack times, games, meals, teeth brushing & bedtime stories because the normal transforms in a blink of an eye! If you want a TON of ideas CHECK THIS OUT!
3. ORGANIZE THE FILES
This one is specific to how your brain works, but I wanted to show you what works for me. Each January I start my hard drive with a file system as such (visual below). A folder for the year, then a folder for each month, each month has 3 folders- Photo Edit, RAWS. & Video. When I upload I throw all the RAWS in the folder & Videos in the folder (I do divide the video up into separate folders for the week they were captured for editing purposes, see last image below). After I edit, I place the finished files in the Photo Edit folder. I hope you find this helpful, but if you find it more confusing, feel free to ask me questions!
4. EDIT
Each year/week/day has a unique rhythm & will require different habits & systems to be formed to not get too piled up & overwhelmed. I have done this SO MANY ways over the years, but for me, it works to edit once a week. I don’t share photos daily & it’s actually not a goal of mine to share at all except for with my family, so I don’t stress over editing at the end of the day when my eyes are already spent. Some years I edit at my kids’ naptime at the end of the week, or at a time I set aside on Sundays or the list goes on & on, but the goal is to edit regularly. You will get busy & have a backlog at some point, but THAT’S OK! Pick right back up where you ended & keep chugging!
5. WHAT DO I DO WITH THE FINISHED PHOTOS?
Do you want to share on a special social media account or let the images live on a personal or business account, or would you rather not share at all? Whatever you choose! I’ve shared publicly some times/years & have held them as my own sacred personal art at other times. The choice is absolutely yours. This past year I have shared weekly in a group designed for personal year-long projects at the FILMING LIFE ACADEMY. These are my people & I found it was a healthy balance of accountability with load of grace. If you want a safe space to learn, grow & share your work-meet me there! No matter if/where you share online I encourage you (plead with you really) to print the photos so your family can flip through & retell the stories of the life!
Hang the photos on the walls, keep loose photos in a box, make a year book-SEE the tangible evidence that your family lives & loves!
If you’re on board with a year-long project, I want to cheer you on! I can’t wait to see what you create!
