2010 New Year, New Beginnings | davem photography

It's a new year and it's standard practice to create a list of resolutions. So let's start with the simple personal ones.

2009 was the year I got back into running. So it only makes sense that I continue running, but with more goals for the year. In 2009 I ran the Peachtree 10k, the Atlanta 13.1 Inaugural Half Marathon and a couple 5k's. I'm going to participate in the same runs, but I'm going to add a couple more. I've already registered for the ING Half Marathon in March and will consider doing the ATC Half Marathon on Thanksgiving day, bringing my total to 3 half marathons in 2010. I also ran the ATC Resolution 10k on January 1st, so I'm already off to a good start. I'm also going to do my first triathlon, something I've always considered doing, but was always concerned about the swim. Most individuals make resolutions to lose weight, but with no specific goal to get you there and no accountability. So registering for a half marathon forces you to get out and train for it. I plan on taking a similar approach to my photography.

Once again, I'll start with the easy resolutions for my photography.

1) First of all, I'm going to stop looking at Google Analytics stats for my website. It's a waste of time to be concerned about how many people viewed your site. Yes, SEO is important and you want your site to be viewed, but not at the expense of sucking time from actually working on the business and creating images.

2) I'm also going to update my portfolio only 4 times a year and by update, I mean to tightly edit it down to 20-25 of my best images. I'm going to clear out all images that do not show the kind of work that I want to be doing.

3) I'm not doing any TFP (free) shoots this year unless it's something that I feel I learn from or can lead me to the kind of work I want to be doing. I've got a couple ideas of the kind of work I want to be doing and I'm lining up a couple projects that I hope to share here. Of course there's Help Portrait and that's an exception to this rule.

4) I am going to narrow down the kind of work I want to do. I know I like doing individual & family portraits, but  I'd also like to do portraits in a more editorial look & feel.  I've got a couple opportunities coming up including some commercial and product photography that will help me explore and develop my style.

5) I'm going to give back. I've had some great help learning photography from others. I want to share my  knowledge with others as well here on the blog. You'll be seeing some lighting diagrams and my thought process on some of my shoots. I'll be trying out some new lighting setups and I'll share my ongoing learning experience.

6) I need to read up  and teach myself some photographic history. If I'm going to build my craft on the shoulders of giants that came before me, I need to know who those giants were and give them the credit they deserve.

7) I'm not going to lust after the newest & latest camera gear that's announced. It's not to say that I won't be informed of new releases. Technology moves quickly, so its important to stay up to date. I just don't want to obsess over the newest camera or feel that having that new gear will make me a better photographer.

8) Most importantly, I want to make sure that every client is completely happy with my work. My goal is to exceed your expectations and even my own.

A lot of these thoughts have come up while reading "Visionmongers" by David duChemin. It's a great book about how to make the transition to a professional photographer. If your following me on Twitter, you've probably seen some of the quotes from the book. I'm going to refer back to the book and may even post my thoughts on it when relevant throughout the year. I highly recommend it, even if you're not a photographer, but to anyone in the creative field.

Hope you all have a great year. 2010 is going to be a big year for me and I hope you join me on this journey.

If you're looking for a portrait photographer in the Atlanta area, visit my portfolio.