Photofocus

It’s that time again. The calendar turns over another year. Many of us will make resolutions – mini contracts with ourselves to improve something, achieve something or even acquire something.

Goal setting is an important part of my personal success, and New Year’s resolutions are merely another way to talk about goals.

What are your photographic goals in 2011? Perhaps you want something simple to acquire like a new camera. Maybe you desire something that’s harder to achieve like learning how to tell compelling stories with your camera. Whatever your goals, it’s important that you have them.

While New Year’s resolutions can sometimes be fun – they can also be serious. I’d like to challenge everyone reading this to set concrete goals for the 2011 photography year. Track the goals. Record your progress. Work with someone else to hold you accountable. Demonstrate progress. Don’t just write them down in your diary and forget about them.

Here are some things you might work on in 2011.

1. Learn a new style of photography. If you’ve always shot weddings, spend a week shooting wildlife or macro. Mix it up.

2. Take a workshop or two or three. Set a goal to make photographic education a 2011 priority.

3. Rent, buy or borrow some new gear and become familiar with it for the sole purpose of broadening your photo horizons.

4. Give back. Find something philanthropic to do with your photography in 2011. Find a non-profit or charity that you can work with.

5. Shoot more. This is my favorite New Year’s resolution and one that I try to embrace every year. Shoot more. Shoot every day. Shoot twice a day. The more you shoot the better you will be.

Whatever your photography resolutions are for 2011 I wish you success and happiness in the new year and look forward to spending another year with you here at Photofocus.

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Sponsored by PMA – It’s not too early to mark your calendar because this is big. For the first time in the USA, the PMA tradeshow and conference will be open to the general public – September 6-11, 2011 in Las Vegas. See you there – http://bit.ly/9yaL2I