Thinking Out Loud: Setting Goals
Recently, I’ve felt like my photography isn’t really going anywhere. Don’t get me wrong… I feel like I am improving, I still love creating great images and, with all the travel that I’ll be doing in the next month, I’m extremely excited about the photos I have yet to shoot. But, when it comes to turning this into a career, I feel like I’m not really going anywhere. So I started thinking about what I needed to do to go to the next level. Even if you’re not looking to turn your photography into a career, it’s easy to fall into a rut where you feel like you’re just drifting along and not moving forward.
I’ve decided that what I needed was a plan. A quantifiable set of goals and milestones for my photography over the next year. I’ve been thinking about this strategic plan, so to speak, for the last week or two. As I’ve quietly brainstormed the things I wanted to accomplish over the next year or so, I figured I’d share some of the ideas that I might put into my own plan in the hopes that it might help you with yours.
Income
This is really what’s it all about, right? I mean, sure, it’s about the photography, too, but, unless you’re independently wealthy, you’re going to have to sacrifice photo time for money-making time. The goal is to turn your photo time into money-making time. So let’s begin our goal-setting with a real, challenging, yet realistic, income goal. I’m not talking going from $0 one year to $50,000 the next (though if you manage to do this, let me know how you did it). I’m talking about going from selling no photos last year to, say, 5 this year. Or, if you’ve already sold a few photos, consider doubling that amount this year. Write it down. It’s not really a goal until it’s on paper. Hang it above your desk. Put it on a little piece of paper in your wallet or purse. Make sure it’s in your face as much as possible.
Start and complete a project or two
What if you’re not really in this for the money? Or, even if you are, what if you’re still looking for a way to push yourself and your photography to a new level? Obsessing over numbers and sales certainly isn’t going to do that for you, but starting a new photo project might!
Come up with a photo project idea or two and start working on it! This could be something relatively simple like photographing people on their cell phones or something fairly complex like photographing complete strangers with each holding one word of the Declaration of Independence. Imagine how much fun that would be!
Or, if you’re into photojournalism, like I am, the possibilities are endless. Just because you’re not on the payroll of the New York Times or just because it’s not practical for you to fly to Pakistan to cover elections, doesn’t mean you’re not a photojournalist. A photojournalist tells a story through their photos. Think of how many stories you could tell just within your own community! Go down to the local animal shelter and photograph and interview some of the people working there. Go to your local town hall and I’m sure you can find a million stories that could be told through photos. Or, for something even simpler, you could interview and photograph a relative… I don’t know about you, but my grandmother could go on for hours telling stories of her youth and she absolutely loves to be photographed. It doesn’t have to win a Pulitzer prize to be photojournalism and it just might give you the direction and experience you’re looking for.
Finally, if you just can’t think of any cool ideas for a project, head on over to PhotoChallenge.org and participate in their monthly and weekly challenges.
So, go, come up with some ideas for a couple projects and get to work!
Learn from those who are already doing it
This might be the single best thing you could do to improve your photography. Regardless of the kind of photography you want to do, there is certainly someone who is already doing it.
Let’s start with an example that anyone can do… Go to Google and search for “wedding photographers” in your area. Depending on where you live, I’m sure most of you will find more than just a few. What if you reached out to some of them and offered your services as an assistant, and whatever photos you take, for free! Of course, you might want to show them some of your work and they may want to interview you first since weddings are pretty important occasions, but you just might find a few who are willing to take you up on your offer. Sure, you won’t be making any money but think of what you’ll be getting in return… The experience of shooting an important event for a client, lighting tips, getting to see the “business” side of photography, you’ll get to build your portfolio, and so on. And, even if you don’t want to be a wedding photographer, chances are you might want to be open to shooting a wedding or two if, for no other reason, than to pay the bills while you’re waiting on your Reuters contract. 
Of course, those photographers that require special access (such as professional sports photographers, the top political photojournalists, etc) might be harder to shadow, but, if you look and, at least, ask you never know what you might stumble upon.
So, think of what you want to learn, find some photographers who are already doing it, and offer to assist!
Conclusion
In conclusion, remember that actively working toward a challenging but realistic goal, in any area of your life, can be one of the most satisfying things you can do. You’ll be pushing your photography to a new level, you’ll be re-invigorating an already-fascinating hobby, and, you just might end up with a new career!
These are just some of the things I am looking at doing over the next year in an attempt to give my photography some direction.
Do you have any goals for your photography over the next year or two? Share them in the comments!
Tags: apprentice, career, goals, income, photojournalism, professional, projects
