Photo Goals for 2013

I may not be the resolution type in any other aspect of my life, but I find that with the new year, definitely comes new goals with my photography. I thought writing them out here might help me to not only... ahem... remember them, but also to give me a bit of a checklist each week.

So I guess the best way to start is to qualify what I liked about this past year. I finished the Project 52, taking a photo each week with a given theme. It became difficult at times, especially the more cloudy and/or ambiguous the themes got. How exactly do you capture "euphoria" in a given week? But, it challenged me and kept me shooting and a few of my photos were featured, so yay, for positive feedback and motivation.

This photo was featured in June with the theme "Seasons," on the My Four Hens Blog

The other photo challenges I participated in weren't quite as regular, so I'll be sorting through those and deciding which are keepers.

So here goes... My list of goals:

1. I plan to participate in this year's Project 52 again, but with the added challenge of trying to fit the theme without using words. I want the photos to speak for themselves. I'll probably still write something here on the blog, this is me we're talking about, but I hope they'll pass the test without an explanation and will not write much on the Flickr site to explain them.

2. I think my photography has improved this year, but that may have a lot to do with my new camera. So, in its honor I'll be shooting a lot more.  I'll participate in other weekly challenges, including DPS's challenge, which is much more technically-based, Sweet Shot Tuesday, which is just a nice way to post a favorite photo based on nothing except the fact that I like it, and a few others, e.g. Simple Things Sunday as I feel inclined (not overcommitting.)

3. Get myself in more photos. My ever-attentive husband heard me talking about this goal and put a remote control for my camera in my stocking this year. So, no excuses, good or bad, I know my kids will want to see me in photos.  Here was my first New Year's Eve effort:

 

(Note to self: You're not going to get away with boring couch poses all year! I know, it's better than nothing, but, Get creative! Sheesh.)

4. Create a strong portfolio. Strong as in: universally powerful (not just dreamy because they're of my kids). I'm told by the experts I should have an ever evolving portfolio of 24 or so photos, so I'll aim for that. As the photo above attests, I don't consider this blog my portfolio in that sense, because "I'll post anything!" Gadzooks.  Additionally, I guess part of this resolution is to decide where I want my portfolio to live. Working on that.

Ok, so just to undo the taste that last photo left, here's one that I might consider portfolio-worthy:

 (You didn't think it would be one you haven't seen already, did you?)

5. Learn More.  When I first subscribed to Kelby Training, I was watching a video per week on all sorts of topics. By the end of the year I couldn't fit it in as well, but "I RESOLVE" to get back to that once-per-week schedule. There's so much there to learn. Some of my topics of interest are white balance, better use of flash and lighting set ups and photoshop topics.

6. Print More. By the end of 2012, I had decided that I needed to make use of all of these photos I have filling up my hard drives (yes, plural). I printed a handful of my fall favorites and decorated my mantle with the intention of changing it with the seasons. So, I'll be working on that.  I also intended to make lots of Christmas gifts with photos and managed to make a few, which were well received. Lots more ideas though, so I'll be aiming to do more.

Well, there are lots more resolutions I could make. I have a loooooong way to go, but it's good to have a starting point.