Tag Archives: Photo-sharing

After Christmas – rested and ready to go..

A happy new year to all our readers and followers! How wonderful, a whole year to do more photography. Here are a few project ideas you might like. Get them up and running for the new year. There is nothing like a good project to crystallize your vision and get your photography off to a great start. A great project will also help you improve your photography and to think of ideas about the best photographs to take.

Panda by kevin dooley, on Flickr
Panda by kevin dooley, on Flickr

Panda to your passion

If you have a pet passion then photography is a great way to express it. If you love the rainforests, relish a good book or are passionate about people you can find a way to express your enthusiasm. The best way to make your photography work for you is to focus it on something you are really motivated by in your life. Even if your project is about the rainforests and you won’t be going there, why not make your project about selling pictures to raise money. Love books? Create great scenes that depict the story, or a part of it. Your ideas will help you to develop your photography and really give your photographic story-telling skills a work out. If you really love something then expressing it through your photography is both compelling and exciting.

Photo-diary

Lots of people would love to keep a diary – but somehow it gets lost in the words. Pictures on the other hand say so much. There are lots of ways to express yourself with images. At the same time they provide you with a great way to tell the story of your activities. You can do it day by day or focus on the best times.

There are a number of ways you can do a photo diary. Some people just do a photo-blog. There are lots of possibilities. Have a look here for a few inspiring ideas: 50 Wonderful inspiring photoblogs. You can start a blog for free at WordPress.com.

Another possibility is to try a 365 Project. This is where you post a photograph every day for a year. It is a bit of a commitment. But you soon get into the swing of things. There is nothing better than carrying your camera with you every day, every where, to improve your photography. The project I recommend is 365project.org. I have been posting on that site for nearly two years now. What a great community. You will be welcomed with open arms and there is plenty to do there to keep you interested and focussed. You can try it out with a free daily account. Many committed 365ers go on to take an ‘ace’ account. For a small payment you can have three albums, photo-editing facilities and options to extend your account. There are great learning opportunities and most of the users are starters. So you are all getting going together. It is wonderful to see pictures made by people you become friends with. People post from all over the world and you will see some places you never thought you would. Its a great place to get your photography off to a flying start.

Photo-sharing websites

Another popular choice for getting your photos out there to be seen is on photo-sharing websites. Flickr, 500PX, Instagram and dozens of others provide opportunities for you to store your pictures where others can see them and comment on them. Of course what you post there is up to you. If you make friends and comment on other peoples images they will often comment back. You might already know people there who will be happy to look at your pictures too. Have a look at all these possibilities on Google.

Getting started

There is no doubt that the start of a project is down to you. You can choose some of the ideas above. When it comes down to it however, it is up to you. You need to define your ideas and get on with your project. You can make as much of it as you like or as little as the time you have to spare. Whatever you do, start with a little planning. Write a short paragraph about what you are going to do. Say how many photos you hope to achieve. Not total shots, but the top keepers. Say, “I will have completed this project when I have [insert number of images] top quality images of [your subject here]”. By giving yourself a defined target you are helping to set your boundary and your scope. Make your goal achievable but a challenge. Never let it be said you underperformed! Your project should be fun. It should also help you to enjoy and improve your photography. After all, we would all like to make our pictures better.

A productive 2013…

If you do a project – have fun. If you decide to be more general in your approach… still have fun. Your photography is all about having a great time.

Let me wish you all a happy and photography filled new year. Be productive and most of all enjoy your photography.

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

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